"Raj Rajaratnam is not a master of the universe, but rather a master of the rolodex," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's division of enforcement. "He cultivated a network of high-ranking corporate executives and insiders, and then tapped into this ring to obtain confidential details about quarterly earnings and takeover activity," Khuzami said.

Goel allegedly provided insider tips to Rajaratnam about certain Intel quarterly earnings and a pending joint venture concerning Clearwire, in which Intel has invested, the SEC said. Based on the insider information, Rajaratnam executed trades on Galleon's behalf. The tips netted Goel close to $250,000 in illicit profits after Rajaratnam executed trades for Goel's personal brokerage account based on confidential tips concerning Hilton and PeopleSupport.

Goel has been placed on administrative leave until the company looks into this matter, said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. Intel has not been contacted by authorities about the charges, but will fully cooperate if and when contacted.

The SEC said IBM's Moffatt allegedly provided inside information about Sun Microsystems to New Castle Funds' Chiesi. The information was provided when IBM was considering acquiring Sun. Chiesi allegedly made trades on behalf of New Castle Funds based on the tips and netted about $1 million in profits.

IBM declined comment on the subject.