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Officials said Sergey Aleynikov had Goldman Sachs’s codes to help his new firm with high-speed trading. |
Former Goldman Sachs employee stole trade secrets
NEW YORK — A former Goldman Sachs programmer was convicted yesterday of stealing secret computer codes that enable high-speed trading from the investment bank when he took a new job with a rival last year.
The jury in US District Court in Manhattan convicted Sergey Aleynikov of North Caldwell, N.J., of theft of trade secrets and transportation of stolen property in interstate and foreign commerce. Aleynikov, 40, of North Caldwell, N.J., faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced March 18.
The criminal case was brought after federal authorities concluded that Aleynikov left Goldman Sachs in 2008 with trade secrets to help his new company — Teza Technologies — gain an advantage with high-speed trading.
His lawyer, Kevin Marino, said that his client was merely trying to copy parts of the company’s software that were taken from public software codes. He acknowledged that Aleynikov had violated confidentiality agreements but said that was a civil matter.
The government said Goldman Sachs makes millions of dollars a year in profits from high-frequency trading and carries a competitive advantage because of the speed of its programs.
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