Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy
The defendant admitted to accepting cash payments in exchange for passing confidential details about corporate acquisitions and other deals involving Goldman client Buffalo Wild Wings to a Swiss trader and then covering his tracks using prepaid "burner" phones.
January 07, 2020 at 03:58 PM
2 minute read
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. logo. Photo: Nicky Loh/Bloomberg
A former Goldman Sachs banker accused of leaking confidential information to another trader in Switzerland pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Bryan Cohen, who worked as a vice president in Goldman's investment banking division, was arrested Oct. 18 in connection with an insider trading ring and charged in a four-count, revised indictment with securities fraud, wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy.
As a part of his guilty plea, Cohen, 33, admitted to accepting cash payments in exchange for passing confidential details about corporate acquisitions and other deals involving Goldman client Buffalo Wild Wings to a Swiss trader and then covering his tracks using prepaid "burner" phones.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III and set to go to trial Feb. 4.
"To his credit, Mr. Cohen has accepted responsibility for his conduct and will thereby avoid a trial," his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said in a statement. "We are hopeful that at sentencing we will be able to persuade Judge Pauley that, despite his criminal conduct, Mr. Cohen is a fundamentally decent young man who should be sentenced in a relatively lenient fashion."
The U.S. Attorney's Office, which announced the plea late Tuesday morning, declined to provide further comment.
Cohen faces a maximum of five years in prison, though it will be up to Pauley to make the final sentencing decision. According to court papers, he also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release following any prison sentence.
The case was handled by the securities and commodities fraud task force of the U.S. Attorney's Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Cooper, Daniel Tracer and Drew Skinner handling the prosecution.
The case was captioned United States v. Cohen.
Read More:
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First Department Rules Out Double Jeopardy in Goldman Sachs Code-Stealing Conviction
Goldman Investors Demand Probe Into Involvement in $4.5B Bribery, Money-Laundering Scandal
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