NEW YORK - A LEHMAN Brothers broker who gleaned tips about pending mergers from his wife, a partner at a high-powered public relations firm, was charged on Thursday in a wide-ranging insider trading scheme that earned $4.8 million (S$6.9 million) in profits, authorities said.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission brought the case on Thursday against Matthew C. Devlin, who authorities said enabled clients and friends to make millions of dollars while he was rewarded with gifts including cash, a Cartier watch and a widescreen television.

The SEC said those who received tips so treasured the information Devlin took from his wife that they began referring to him and his wife as the 'golden goose'.

Devlin also referred to his wife as the 'golden goose', the SEC said.

The SEC said Devlin, 35, took secrets from March 2004 through last July about more than a dozen pending mergers and acquisitions from his wife, Nina, a partner at Brunswick Group LLC, an international public relations firm.

Attorney Jim Benjamin, who represents Nina Devlin, said her husband obtained the information without her knowledge by being close to her and monitoring her travel schedule.

In a statement, Brunswick group called the insider trading scheme a 'violation of trust between husband and wife'.

It said there was no indication Matthew Devlin accessed Brunswick's confidential systems.

'We believe she was unaware of her husband's activities and is devastated by these events,' the company said, noting that she has not been charged 'or implicated in any way'.

Brunswick is an international firm that employees more than 400 people, including more than 75 partners, as it advises major companies about financial and corporate communications and opinion research. It has 15 offices in 11 countries.

According to the company and criminal court papers, Matthew Devlin already has pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud in a deal aimed at winning leniency at sentencing.

The SEC said Devlin gave the secrets to his clients and friends, including three who worked in the securities or legal professions.

At least four people face criminal charges while the SEC named seven people in its civil complaint. -- AP