Three former securities traders were found guilty on Monday of fraud and conspiracy to commit insider trading on pending mergers, part of the U.S. government's broad probe of corporate secrets leaked to hedge funds.

Brothers Zvi Goffer and Emanuel Goffer and a third trader, Michael Kimelman, their former partner at Incremental Capital LLC, chose to go to trial when dozens pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the face of FBI phone taps in evidence.

The guilty verdicts were another victory for prosecutors in what they describe as the biggest probe of insider trading at hedge funds on record, which also included the conviction of Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam a month ago.

The convictions of Zvi Goffer, 34, Emanuel Goffer, 32, and Kimelman, 40, carry a maximum possible prison sentence of 25 years apiece.

The case is USA v Zvi Goffer et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 10-00056.

(Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Raj Rajaratnam Investment Insider trading