Inside Trader Sentenced to 18 Months

MANHATTAN (CN) – An inside-trading conspirator was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. Manosha Karunatilaka, a former account manager for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, pleaded guilty in May to wire fraud and securities fraud.      Karunatilaka and his cronies “used an ‘expert networking’ firm … for the purpose of facilitating ‘consultation calls,’ during which Karunatilaka provided the inside information to firm clients,” prosecutors said in a statement announcing his sentence. “Between January 2008 and June 2010, the firm paid Karunatilaka more than $35,000 for his consultation calls.”     Karunatilaka, 37, of Marlborough, Mass., admitted in his plea agreement that the tips he provided helped other reap more than $1 million in illicit profits.****