John Kinnucan, the president of Broadband Research, LLC, an investment research firm located in Portland, Oregon, pled guilty to insider trading charges.

In an effort to obstruct the ongoing federal criminal investigation, from December 2011 through February 2012, Kinnucan made nearly 25 threatening telephone calls to prosecutors and agents responsible for the investigation of his unlawful activities.

In these telephone calls, Kinnucan made repeated references to genocide, sexual and other forms of violence, and threatened physical harm to one of the prosecutors handling this matter. He also made multiple telephone calls to one cooperating witness, and attempted to contact another in an effort to intimidate and harass them.

“John Kinnucan engaged in an orchestrated campaign to obstruct a federal investigation into his illegal conduct, the very conduct for which he now stands convicted,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “Today the truth came out of his own mouth, and he admitted that he is a securities fraudster, and his attempts to obstruct justice in a repugnant and disturbing manner were ultimately fruitless. Briefly a cause célèbre as some called him, Mr. Kinnucan is now a felon facing sentencing for his insider trading crimes.”

Federal officials alleged that Kinnucan obtained inside information about publicly traded companies, including quarterly revenue numbers, and sold that information to his clients.

In order to develop and maintain his network of public company sources, Kinnucan befriended public company employees and offered to provide some of them with consulting fees and/or other non-monetary consideration.

Kinnucan paid one of his sources approximately $27,500, and invested $25,000 in the business of another source.

Kinnucan faces a maximum term of 45 years in prison, a maximum fine of $5 million or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss arising from his conduct.

He will forfeit $164,000. Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2013.