Galleon deputy faces trial in second round of insider cases

Zvi Goffer, a former deputy to Galleon Group LLC co-founder and hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, faces trial today along with two associates as the second round of cases tied to a nationwide insider trading investigation begins in Manhattan federal court.

Jury selection in Goffer’s case comes less than a week after Rajaratnam was convicted in the same courthouse of directing the biggest illegal stock-tipping ring since the 1980s. He faces as long as two decades in prison at his July 29 sentencing.

Goffer, 34, who left Galleon to work at Schottenfeld Group LLC and then founded his own firm, Incremental Capital LLC, regularly attended Rajaratnam’s trial. He is charged along with his brother, Emanuel Goffer, 32, and Michael Kimelman, 40, both of whom were traders at Incremental.

Referred to by some of his accomplices as “Octopussy,” prosecutors said, Zvi Goffer was at the centre of the insider-trading scheme, one of three overlapping rings tied to Galleon. The reference to the 1983 James Bond movie was due to his many sources of information, according to the government.

All three defendants are charged with conspiracy and securities fraud and face as long as 20 years in prison if convicted of fraud. On May 13, Emanuel Goffer lost a bid for a two-week postponement in the case because of “inflammatory” publicity stemming from Rajaratnam’s May 11 conviction.