A dentist and his former City intern son were facing jail last night after being convicted of a £110,000 insider dealing scam.

Matthew Uberoi, 24, was on a work placement scheme at Hoare Govett, the corporate broker, when he used a secret code based on Chinese food to tell his father Neel about upcoming takeovers he was working on.

After receiving messages such as “Get involved with Chinese now!”, Neel Uberoi, 62, bought tens of thousands of shares in three companies just before they announced deals that sent their share price rocketing.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found the Uberois, of Kenley, Surrey, guilty of 12 counts of insider dealing between June and August 2006. They were cleared of a further five counts.

Neel Uberoin remained impassive while his son wept after the verdicts were announced. They were released on bail until their sentencing on December 10.

Judge Peter Testar told them: “Absolutely no undertaking is being given and no promises being made.”

Insider dealing carries a maximum of seven years imprisonment, although sentences are usually much lower.

In March, Christopher McQuoid, a solicitor, was jailed for eight months after being found guilty of tipping-off his father-in-law about a takeover. James Melbourne, the father-in-law, was given an eight month suspended sentence.

Neel Uberoi’s punishment is likely to take into account that he suffers from high blood pressure.

Both men denied the accusations throughout their three-week trial. Matthew Uberoi claimed that he did not understand what inside information was because his Hoare Govett compliance training was ineffective. He told the jury that he had learnt more about the rights and wrongs of insider dealing from “films like Wall Street”.

Neel Uberoi told the jury that he had spent tens of thousands of pounds on shares in companies he had not previously invested in based purely on “internet research”. He bought shares in three companies ahead of deals in which his son’s Hoare Govett team were advising.

The Uberois were prosecuted by the Financial Services Authority.

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