Ex-Goldman Sachs Employee Admits To Stealing Confidential Information
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A former Goldman Sachs employee pleaded guilty Thursday to obtaining confidential information from a one-time co-worker at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and distributing it to others at the investment bank.
Rohit Bansal entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to a misdemeanor theft of information charge.
The plea came one day after ex-Federal Reserve examiner Jason Gross pleaded guilty to the same charge. The men worked together at the Federal Reserve until April 2014, when Bansal began working at Goldman Sachs.
Authorities said Gross fed Bansal documents that Bansal distributed to others at the investment bank, providing information useful to one of its bank customers.
Bansal, of Manhattan, apologized for the crime, which he said he carried out in the summer of 2014.
``I have learned from it and would like to move forward,'' Bansal told U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein, who set sentencing for March 9, when the 30-year-old Bansal could face up to a year behind bars.
Bansal's attorney, E. Scott Morvillo, declined to comment outside court Thursday.
The theft led to Goldman Sachs agreeing to pay a $50 million penalty to the New York State Department of Financial Services.
The Department of Financial Services said last week that Bansal obtained about 35 documents from Gross by having him email them to his personal email. It said he would then relay those emails to his Goldman work email.
The Department of Financial Services said Bansal on numerous occasions forwarded the confidential information to senior personnel at Goldman, including a partner, the managing director and a vice president. It said the documents included draft and final versions of memos regarding examinations of a regulated entity.
The scheme was reported by one of Goldman's partners. The firm has said it fired two employees, including Bansal, after reporting the issue to authorities.
``We have zero tolerance for improper handling of confidential information,'' it said. ``We have reviewed our policies regarding hiring from governmental institutions and have implemented changes to make them appropriately robust.''
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