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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
"Theft (including swindling/fraud, deception and grand larceny)" |
Sentence: |
"8 years & 1 month imprisonment, plus $12,500 fine" |
Years Imprisoned: |
1.17 |
Year Crime: |
2009 |
Year Convicted: |
2010 |
Year Cleared: |
2012 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York - Federal Case |
County or Region of Crime: |
New York |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Sergey Aleynikov was wrongly convicted in 2011 of espionage under the federal Espionage Act and theft-of-trade-secrets under the National Stolen Property Act, stemming from allegations that he stole propriety source code from Goldman Sachs before leaving the firm to take a new job. Aleynikov was sentenced to 8 yrs & 1 month in prison plus payment of a $12,500 fine, On April 11, 2012 the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Aleynikov's convictions. The Court ruled the code he helped develop for the high-speed trading firm was not physical property and therefore he could not be charged under the federal theft statute prosecutors used. The Court also ruled Aleynikov had been wrongly charged and convicted of espionage. The charges were dismissed. Aleynikov was then charged in New York State with “unlawful use of secret scientific material” and “unlawful duplication of computer related material”. On May 1, 2015 a state court jury in Manhattan convicted Aleynikov of “unlawful use of secret scientific material," but acquitted him of the second charge. In July 2015 the trial judge reversed Aleynikov's conviction. The State appealed the judge's ruling. On January 24, 2017 the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan affirmed Aleynikov's 2015 state conviction as based on legally sufficient evidence." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 11, 2012 the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Aleynikov's convictions. The Court ruled the code he helped develop for the high-speed trading firm was not physical property and therefore he could not be charged under the federal theft statute prosecutors used. The Court also ruled Aleynikov had been wrongly charged and convicted of espionage. The charges were dismissed." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
41 |
Age When Released: |
42 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"US v. Aleynikov, 676 F. 3d 71 (2nd Cir. 2012)" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9924995296317038461&q=Sergey+Aleynikov&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Ex-Goldman programmer's conviction overturned, By Jonathan Stempel and Joseph Ax (staff writers), Reuters, February 17, 2012" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/us-goldman-aleynikov-idUSTRE81G0WH20120217 |
Information Source 3: |
"Programmer Convicted in Bizarre Goldman Sachs Case—Again, By Kim Zetter, Wired.com (Wired magazine), May 1, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/programmer-convicted-bizarre-goldman-sachs-caseagain/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Ex-Goldman programmer's code theft conviction reinstated by New York court, By Staff, Reuters, January 24, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-aleynikov-idUSKBN1582L0?il=0 |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org