Ex-IBM exec sentenced to prison term
ROBERT Moffat, a former IBM senior executive whose extra-marital affair with a trader ensnared him in the Galleon hedge fund insider trading probe, was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison and a $50,000 (£32,410) fine.
Moffat pleaded guilty in March to securities fraud and conspiracy in connection with tips he passed on about IBM’s business dealings to Danielle Chiesi of New Castle Funds, which is related to the Galleon case.
Manhattan federal court judge Deborah Batts, in imposing the sentence on Moffat, said he had committed “an outstanding breach of fiduciary duty” to IBM by tipping Chiesi. Moffat did not trade on information and did not make any money, his lawyers said.
Moffat’s more than three-decade-long career at IBM was left in ruins after his arrest in October 2009 for what US prosecutors said was a minor role in the purported scheme.
He was once considered a candidate to become IBM’s chief executive.