A former AT&T executive, Alnoor Ebrahim, on Monday, admitted tipping Apple and RIM sales numbers to traders of an expert-networking firm Primary Global Research LLC who then purchased shares based on the information, Reuters reported.

"I provided insider information concerning AT&T's sales of Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry products, as well as other handset set devices sold through AT&T distribution channels," Ebrahim told to U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan.

Alnoor Ebrahim, a 57-year-old U.S. citizen born in Tanzania, who used to work for AT&T, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud and now has been sentenced for up to two years in prison.

"We took this matter very seriously and cooperated fully with the authorities," said AT&T spokesman Marty Richtman. "The conduct alleged was clearly against our code of business conduct, and Mr. Ebrahim is no longer an AT&T employee."

An attorney for former Silicon Valley sales manager James Fleishman has identified Ebrahim as a former PGR consultant. James Fleishman, however, is an ex-PGR executive who was convicted and sentenced to more than two years in prison.

The case is U.S. v. Alnoor Ebrahim, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

(Source: Reuters, Business Week)