A former Goldman Sachs banker was convicted of insider trading by a New York jury on Wednesday, after prosecutors said he passed tips about potential mergers to a friend.
At the trial that began in Manhattan on June 12, prosecutors said Brijesh Goel, a former Goldman Sachs vice president,He was convicted on four counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.Prosecutors said Goel gleaned the information on six companies targeted for deals — including Spirit Airlines and drugmaker Patheon — from internal Goldman emails, and then tipped Niranjan over games of squash.
Goel took the stand in his own defense during the trial and denied that he shared confidential information about the transactions.Brijesh Goel was a former Goldman Sachs vice president. He was convicted on four counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.Niranjan, who cooperated with prosecutors as part of a non-prosecution agreement, testified at the trial that he traded on information he received from Goel and agreed to split around $280,000 in profits.
Prosecutors agreed not to charge him in exchange for his cooperation in the case, which included secretly recording conversations where Goel urged him to delete text messages. The case was one of several US Attorney Damien Williams announced last summer as part of an insider trading crackdown.The case was one of several US Attorney Damien Williams announced last summer as part of an insider trading crackdown.The fraud and obstruction charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years. The average sentence in federal fraud, theft and embezzlement cases in the US last year was 22 months in prison.