A California woman has been arrested on charges of leaking secrets about technology companies to hedge funds, as federal prosecutors expand their probe into insider trading.

Winifred Jiau, 43, was charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, said Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York. Jiau faces up to 20 years in prison on the securities fraud charge.

Prosecutors said that from 2006 to 2008, Jiau leaked inside information, including earnings, about multiple publicly traded companies including Marvell Technology Group Ltd and Nvidia Corp to hedge funds, in exchange for more than $200,000 of payments. They said the payments were made through an expert network firm.

Jiau was arrested at her Fremont, California, home on Tuesday, and is being presented Wednesday before a federal magistrate judge in that state, prosecutors said. It was not immediately clear whether she has retained counsel.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Investment Insider trading