The founder of a California-based independent equity research firm pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sharing inside information with two hedge fund managers who previously admitted to trading on corporate secrets.

Tai Nguyen, the owner and sole employee of Insight Research, admitted that he shared nonpublic information about biotechnology company Abaxis with fund managers Noah Freeman and Samir Barai, who were clients of his research firm. Both men pleaded guilty to criminal charges and Freeman agreed to cooperate with the government's probe.