Nov 16, 2023
Convicted Goldman VP Asks Judge to Slash Legal Bill Owed to Bank
Bloomberg News
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(Bloomberg) -- A former Goldman Sachs vice president convicted of insider-trading asked a judge to reduce the restitution he owes the bank for legal expenses to $123,924 from $393,149.
Brijesh Goel, who passed confidential deal information to a close friend and squash partner, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month. US District Judge Kevin Castel also fined Goel $75,000 and ordered him to forfeit $85,000, which was Goel’s cut of some $280,000 in profits from the trades.
Goldman Sachs, which produced supporting documents for prosecutors and for a parallel investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, submitted the $393,149 bill to the government as part of a request for restitution from Goel. The sum represents the costs that Goldman incurred through Milbank LLP, its law firm.
In a court filing Wednesday, Goel’s lawyers argued their client shouldn’t be responsible for legal costs incurred by Goldman for cooperating with both the SEC and the Justice Department. Further, Goel’s lawyers argued, he shouldn’t have to pay Goldman’s legal fees to prepare its witnesses for meetings with the prosecution.
“While of course a corporation must respond to a lawfully issued subpoena, and of course any witness who receives a subpoena must appear to testify, passing on voluntary legal fees expended in assisting the government’s case-in-chief and preparing witnesses to testify goes far beyond what is necessary” under the Mandatory Restitution Victims Act, they wrote.
The case is US v. Goel, 22-cr-00396, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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