Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom Corp. said on Monday it’s cooperating with the government in a probe alleging insider trading that resulted in an arrest last week.
“We have been in contact with the government and are cooperating fully,” a Broadcom spokesman said in a statement.
Last week, federal prosecutors in New York arrested and charged Don Ching Trang Chu, an employee at Mountain View-based research consulting firm Primary Global Research LLC.
The government’s complaint alleged that that Chu arranged for hedge fund traders to get insider information from employees at publicly traded chipmakers Broadcom, Canada’s Sierra Wireless Inc. and Santa Clara’s Atheros Communications Inc.
According to the indictment, employees at Broadcom and other companies were paid as much as $200,000 for information including revenue and other financials that would move stocks ahead of official earnings announcements.
Chu faces charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, among other charges.
A spokesman for Broadcom, Orange County’s biggest chipmaker, said none of the employees named in the indictment were executives.
“Broadcom has strict policies designed to prevent the passing of insider information, and the company proactively communicates these policies and the severe repercussions if they are violated,” he said.
The company’s communications chips go into computers, cell phones and other consumer electronics.
