Sergey Aleynikov
| Sergey Aleynikov | |
| Occupation | Former programmer |
|---|---|
| Employer | Goldman Sachs |
| Location | New York |
Sergey Aleynikov is a former programmer and vice president of equity strategy at Goldman Sachs. He was convicted in May 2015 of stealing some of the bank's high-frequency trading code. The New York jury found him guilty on only one count of stealing "secret scientific material" from Goldman. They were unable to reach a verdict on another similar count and acquitted him on a count of unlawful duplication.
Aleynikov's lawyer said the defense would file a motion for dismissal of the conviction, which he said amounted to a violation of the "double jeopardy" statute in U.S. law.[1]
Aleynikov, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, was first arrested in 2009. He admitted to having downloaded the code, but claimed that it was not a criminal act.[2] He had been previously tried and convicted in federal court over the computer code theft and served nearly a year in prison, but an appeals court overturned the conviction in 2012.
He helped inspire Michael Lewis’ bestselling book “Flash Boys" about high-speed trading in the U.S. equity market.
Background[edit]
Aleynikov was arrested by the FBI on July 3, 2009 after he landed at the Newark Liberty International Airport. The alleged stolen property included Goldman's proprietary "black box," or high-frequency trading code, and the alleged act broke two federal laws: the Economic Espionage Act and the Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property Act.
Aleynikov moved to the U.S. from Russia in 1990 and was hired by Goldman in 2007 to write high-frequency trading code. In 2009, he departed Goldman for Teza Technologies. Before leaving, however, Aleynikov downloaded Goldman source code and was caught by the company. The theft was reported to authorities and he faced a two-week trial in December 2010. He was convicted and filed an appeal.[3]
Education[edit]
- MS joint with UMDNJ, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick (1993 – 1996)
- Bachelor, Computer Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick (1991 – 1993)
- Associate, Applied Mathematics, Moscow Institute of Transportation Engineering (MIIT)(1987 – 1990)[4]
Resources[edit]
- Your Secret is Safe... Or Is It?, JLN FX
References[edit]
- ↑ NY jury finds ex-Goldman programmer Aleynikov guilty of code theft. Reuters.
- ↑ Ex-Goldman Programmer Freed After Theft Conviction Thrown Out. Bloomberg.
- ↑ Government Dealt Setback in Case Against Ex-Goldman Programmer. New York Times.
- ↑ Serge Aleynikov. LinkedIn.