The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a former executive at a Massachusetts-based technology firm for illegally tipping non-public information about the company’s financial predicament as part of the insider trading scheme operated by now-imprisoned Galleon Management hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. Kieran Taylor, who was the senior director of marketing for Akamai Technologies, illegally tipped hedge fund portfolio manager Danielle Chiesi with confidential information about the company’s plans to lower its revenue guidance for 2008.  Chiesi in turn tipped Rajaratnam with the non-public information so they and others could trade ahead of the negative news and make millions of dollars in illegal profits.

Mr Taylor has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying more than $145,000 and being barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company.