Two years’ probation after man’s reputation was “trashed on the internet”, while company pays $50 million fine
A banker has been hit with two years’ probation after getting a former colleague to steal documents from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
However, Rohit Bansal, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, was able to escape prison as the judge deemed that he had been punished enough after his reputation was “besmirched” on the internet.
According to a Bloomberg report, prosecutors had wanted Bansal to face prison time following his guilty plea for obtaining 35 documents on around 20 occasions from Jason Gross, who was employed within the New York Federal Reserve. Yet US Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein commented that due to the power of the internet his reputation was already besmirched.
Gorenstein described Bansal’s motivation as “selfish” and said that was one of the disturbing aspects of the case. However, overall, the documents he was able to acquire were “innocuous”.
Bansal worked within Goldman Sachs from July-October 2014 and provided advice on regulatory issues. This included advising clients of the New York Fed. The information he was able to obtain from Gross were in reference to a New York bank that was a client of Goldman and were described as “confidential”.
His crimes were deemed more serious than those from Gross because he directed the theft.
Bansal received two years’ probation, a $5,000 fine and 300hrs of community service; while Gross was given a year’s probation.
Goldman Sachs fired Bansal when they discovered he had obtained confidential information. According to Bloomberg, the company agreed to pay a $50 million fine and accepted a three-year ban on some advisory work in New York as part of a settlement with the state regulator. The bank admitted it failed to properly supervise the employee.
However, Rohit Bansal, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, was able to escape prison as the judge deemed that he had been punished enough after his reputation was “besmirched” on the internet.
According to a Bloomberg report, prosecutors had wanted Bansal to face prison time following his guilty plea for obtaining 35 documents on around 20 occasions from Jason Gross, who was employed within the New York Federal Reserve. Yet US Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein commented that due to the power of the internet his reputation was already besmirched.
Gorenstein described Bansal’s motivation as “selfish” and said that was one of the disturbing aspects of the case. However, overall, the documents he was able to acquire were “innocuous”.
Bansal worked within Goldman Sachs from July-October 2014 and provided advice on regulatory issues. This included advising clients of the New York Fed. The information he was able to obtain from Gross were in reference to a New York bank that was a client of Goldman and were described as “confidential”.
His crimes were deemed more serious than those from Gross because he directed the theft.
Bansal received two years’ probation, a $5,000 fine and 300hrs of community service; while Gross was given a year’s probation.
Goldman Sachs fired Bansal when they discovered he had obtained confidential information. According to Bloomberg, the company agreed to pay a $50 million fine and accepted a three-year ban on some advisory work in New York as part of a settlement with the state regulator. The bank admitted it failed to properly supervise the employee.
