Former Programmer Accused of Stealing Source Code Wants Goldman Sachs to Pay $2.4M Legal Fees
A former computer programmer for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who has now been charged in state court in Manhattan related to his alleged theft of confidential source code from his ex-employer to use in a new job has filed suit seeking over $2.4 million in legal fees.
Sergey Aleynikov says he should be indemnified by his ex-employer for his legal defense costs in a previous federal criminal case, in which he was initially convicted and sentenced to eight years but later acquitted on appeal, Bloomberg reports.
“Aleynikov exhausted his financial resources prior to his trial on the federal charges,” his counsel says in a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Newark, N.J. “Unless the court orders Goldman Sachs to honor its legal obligation to advance his legal fees and expenses to defend the state charges, Aleynikov’s ability to defend those charges will be irreparably harmed.”
The complaint says Aleynikov is entitled to indemnification because of his previous employment as a Goldman Sachs officer. He served as a vice president in the bank’s Global Equities Division until mid-2009.
Arrested last month and freed on $35,000 bail, Aleynikov faces state felony charges of duplication of computer-related material and unlawful use of scientific material. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as four years in prison on each count.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Calling Goldman Sachs Code Thief’s Crime ‘Economic Espionage,’ Judge Gives Him 8 Years”
ABAJournal.com: “2nd Circuit Axes Espionage Conviction of Goldman Sachs Programmer Who Took Source Code to New Job”
