The man regulators call “Octopussy,” Zvi Goffer, and six other white-collar defendants pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan to securities fraud charges.
The Associated Press reports that to date, 21 people have been charged in the case, including Raj Rajaratnam, the portfolio manager for the Galleon Group hedge fund. Eight have pleaded guilty. All defendants remain free on bail.
Zvi Goffer (pictured) worked at Galleon Group for the first nine months of 2008 before he started his own trading firm. The SEC alleges that Goffer played a central role in the insider trading ring, claiming that he was known as “the Octopussy” because of his reputation for having his hands on so many sources of information.
