Former Goldman Sachs Programmer Arrested and Charged Again For Code Theft

hypnosec writes with news that Sergey Aleynikov, once a programmer for Goldman Sachs, has been arrested and charged again for stealing code from his employer in 2009. Aleynikov was originally charged for the crime in 2009. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 97 months in prison, but an appeals court overturned the verdict, saying the corporate espionage laws were misapplied. Manhattan District Attorney Cryus Vance said, "This code is so highly confidential that it is known in the industry as the firm's 'secret sauce.' Employees who exploit their access to sensitive information should expect to face criminal prosecution in New York State in appropriate cases." The Fifth Amendment's "double jeopardy" clause is unlikely to stop this case because it's within a different jurisdiction — the earlier trial was in federal court, and this one is in New York State court.

Comments

Re:I'll Take....

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'll take Undermining the Bill of Rights for $500 Alex"

I don't think so. However, perhaps the defense is allowed to ask the following question during Voir Dire:

"Did you view any news coverage of the federal prosecution of my client for the exact same offense? If so, did you view any news coverage of a federal appellate judge throwing out the charges on the ground that the law did not apply in this case?"

We don't want a biased jury, after all.

Re:Out of his mind

[gl4ss]

How is this not blackmail?

what the AC proposed as what he should have done is indeed blackmail.
But, would anything else work with Goldman Sachs?

The secret sauce isn't probably that secret even, it's just that if it was out in the wild it would be a liability - you see, on paper it's valued on their sheets in millions if not in hundreds of millions as an asset.. that they can then borrow money against.