Government Wins - Winnie Loses.   Former technology consultant Winifred Jiau, 43, faces up to 20 years in prison for securities fraud and up to 5 years for conspiracy, as the government's crackdown on insider trading gained further momentum.   The 12-member federal jury delivered the guilty verdict after 6 hours of deliberations.  The trial was significant because it was the first involving the government's wide-ranging probe of "expert-network" firms.  Sentencing is scheduled for 9/21/11.

Government's Criminal Investigation - By The Numbers.   Of 49 people charged, 44 have been convicted or entered guilty pleas, 3 were found guilty by trial juries, and one case is pending - awaiting trial. 

With their 3rd consecutive win in insider trading cases in the past month, prosecutors now can begin to narrow their focus to other persons of interest in the ongoing probe of expert network firms, including hedge-fund analysts and traders, people familiar with the matter say.

That said, in recent weeks, FBI agents have been paying visits to potential suspects, often armed with secretly made recordings in which the people participated, in an effort to get them to admit guilt or cooperate with the investigation, people familiar with the matter say.  Prosecutors and the agents have been working to sift through a mountain of evidence seized by subpoena from hedge funds and consulting firms in recent months, the people say.

Ms. Jiau Forms Club.   Prosecutors alleged that Ms. Jaiu formed friendships with company insiders, including Sonny Nguyen, a former senior financial analyst at Nvidia Corp.  She gave them gifts, including live lobsters and an iPhone to Mr. Nguyen, and took them to lunch, prosecutors said.  Ms. Jiau eventually suggested to Mr. Nguyen that they form a "club" to trade stock tips in exchange for nonpublic information, prosecutors said.  Mr. Nguyen, who testified at her trial, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

The information she got from her sources inside Nvidia and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. was so valuable and accurate—"to the decimal point," one prosecutor said - that her hedge-fund clients paid Ms. Jiau a monthly fee as high as $10,000 a month, prosecutors said.

Ms. Jiau's lawyer said his client would appeal.   [WSJournal, 6/21/11]