A former Intel Capital director pleaded guilty on Monday to fraud in the Galleon insider trading case, telling a court that hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam gave him money for personal needs and that he profited from illegal trades.

Rajiv Goel was arrested in San Jose, California last October 16 on charges of conspiring with his longtime friend Rajaratnam in 2007 and 2008 to trade in Intel Corp and Clearwire Corp stock based on confidential information Goel received about Intel investments.

Intel Capital is the venture capital arm of Intel Corp and Goel left in December, the company said last month.

Goel is the ninth to plead guilty among 21 individuals facing criminal or civil charges in the probe that shook Wall Street and Silicon Valley and marked new ground in white collar crime with investigators' use of wiretaps to gather evidence.

Although we lived very different lives, we kept in close contact and I received money from him for personal financial needs, Goel told Manhattan federal court Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Over a number of years, he made trades that made me profits.

Goel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. U.S. prosecutors said Goel, 51, is cooperating with their investigation.

I know it was wrong to give Raj Rajaratnam the information. I gave it to him because of my friendship, said Goel, who met the Galleon founder about 25 years ago at the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania.

The charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. A sentencing proceeding was scheduled for May 28.

The case is USA v Raj Rajaratnam et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-01184.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; editing by Andre Grenon)

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