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Ex-Goldman Sachs programmer found guilty of code theft … again

Sergey Aleynikov nailed for fleeing vampire squid with crucial trading tools

An ex-Goldman Sachs programmer has for the second time been found guilty of stealing code from the vampiric financial giant.

A New York jury found Sergey Aleynikov guilty on one count of data theft. He faces as much as four years behind bars.

Aleynikov was arrested in 2009 after leaving Goldman for another company with a copy of the source code for software he wrote to conduct lucrative high-frequency trading. His story was later immortalized by Michael Lewis in the book Flash Boys.

According to Reuters, Aleynikov was convicted by a jury of 10 people on Friday after two jurors were discharged for arguing over an avocado sandwich. It is not known whether the sandwich involved was, in fact, tasty.

"By allowing individuals, corporations, and government entities to safeguard valuable information, we are encouraging and supporting the research, innovation, and entrepreneurship that is so important to our City in an increasingly competitive digital and global market," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement following the conviction.

"As today's verdict demonstrates, the misappropriation of proprietary information is a crime, and my office will continue to pursue these cases to ensure the integrity and fairness of our marketplaces."

This is the second time 45-year-old Aleynikov has faced criminal charges for nicking code from Goldman Sachs. Charged in 2009 and convicted in 2011 with an eight-year sentence, Aleynikov appealed and has his conviction thrown out – only for new charges to be filed in 2012.

In the process, Aleynikov has filed lawsuits against both Goldman Sachs and the FBI agents who arrested him. ®

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