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Judge Dismisses Charges Against Sergey Aleynikov

Tyler Durden's picture




 

In a victory for open source software and more importantly, for common sense, a judge has thrown out the charges against Sergey Aleynikov, the ex-Goldmanite of Flash Boys fame who was tragically thrown in front of a kangaroo court after 'stealing' some open source code on his way out the door at 200 Wall. 

  • FLASH BOYS’ PROGRAMMER IN GOLDMAN THEFT HAS CHARGES TOSSED OUT

As a reminder, the 'theft' was essentially inconsequential and amounted to what Michael Lewis likened to the programmer equivalent of someone taking their notebook with them after their last day on the job.

Nevertheless, Aleynikov was arrested and tried by a court that hadn't the faintest conception of HFT or of programming in general. 

 

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Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:22 | 6276201 This is it
This is it's picture

What?? Just because he isn't Indian?

Alright, get an Indian then...

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:22 | 6276204 BeaverCream
BeaverCream's picture

Preferrably one that still lives in his Mother's basement.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:25 | 6276212 redpill
redpill's picture

Stay away from nail guns and helicopters bro

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:39 | 6276258 AlaricBalth
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In a 71-page opinion, Justice Ronald A. Zweibel of State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled that the F.B.I. “did not have probable cause to arrest defendant, let alone search him or his home.” The arrest was “illegal,” Justice Zweibel wrote, and Mr. Aleynikov’s “Fourth Amendment rights were violated as a result of a mistake of law.”

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:43 | 6276267 XqWretch
XqWretch's picture

What he didnt write was "No one at the FBI will be charged for illegally arresting the defendant, gross misconduct, or negligence at this time. Rules are for thee, not for me."

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:50 | 6276288 AlaricBalth
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In Aleynikov's Motion to Dismiss Indictment his attorneys argued that Aleynikov moves to inspect Goldman Sachs’s Trading System and to make such tests and inspections as necessary to aid Aleynikov’s expert witness who will be called in his defense at trial. Evidence may be made available to a criminal defendant in the discretion of the court prior to trial provided that it is “relevant, competent and outside any exclusionary rule.”

So after Goldman Sachs had Sergey illegally arrested and detained, they were in jeopardy having to reveal the code to their trading system. Therefore it was in Goldman's best interest to have the indictment thrown out rather than be compelled to reveal the contents of its "black box" trading algorithms. 

Something smells very fishy here...

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/713324/aleynikov-motion-to-dismiss...

 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:18 | 6276457 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

He has a solid civil suit case that should net him a healthy amount of Lollars. Hopefully he's wise enough to convert it to physical and dissappear off the radar.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:18 | 6276723 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

The FBI was doing "God's work;"  how can they be liable?

 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 13:16 | 6277016 Son of Loki
Son of Loki's picture

<< Therefore it was in Goldman's best interest to have the indictment thrown out rather than be compelled to reveal the contents of its "black box" trading algorithms.  >>

 

Very common in divorce law where the wifey knows where all Hubby's skeletons are hidden so he settles for much more then it's really worth.

 

Kinda like spousal extortion. Very common. That's why "Rent-a-Coed" is much cheaper in the long run says my neighbor who is a divorce lawyer.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:31 | 6276779 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

Discovery against the company is the only way to defend against this kind of abusive suit - but it's a very good defense, I'm surprised it took nearly this long, but maybe both sides knew it was just a stupid game all along.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:47 | 6276878 Chartsky
Chartsky's picture

This is just hard-ball litigation.

NEVER give the guys suing you (or prosecuting you) a free shot.

ALWAYS make them put some serious skin in the game too -- and they usually run the other way!

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 13:26 | 6277057 mtl4
mtl4's picture

Goldman controls the NY courts so when you have charges thrown out on someone they wanted to scapegoat, it was because they deemed it in their best interest to do so.......now why that was is anyone's guess but being required to hand over their source code would certainly be a likely candidate.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:31 | 6276514 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

The FBI is now open to a big civil suit and I guarantee the land sharks are lining up a big payday.....

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:26 | 6276214 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

free lord blankfirer

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:32 | 6276235 TruthInSunshine
TruthInSunshine's picture

Free "The Honorable" Jon S. Corzine!

Wait...

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:26 | 6276216 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Replace Lloyd Blankfein with open source software.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:44 | 6276275 Urban Roman
Urban Roman's picture

Probably be easy to do. Just have it phone Yellen once a week for the regular welfare check.

They could build a Disney style robot to make public appearances. How many words in its vocabulary? A hundred or so? Piece of cake.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:27 | 6276223 pashley1411
pashley1411's picture

This is very good news.   In a sea of toxic bshit.  

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:31 | 6276230 A Nanny Moose
A Nanny Moose's picture

Damn...no more rants of "Free Sergey!"

Now he is just flat broke from the legal fees. Winners = Lawyers.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:31 | 6276232 Keynesians say ...
Keynesians say the darndest things's picture

Over / under 2 weeks until he gets suicided?

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:31 | 6276233 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

Reason: The code would have to become part of the public record.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:36 | 6276248 booboo
booboo's picture

Wrong, Obomba would have labeled it National Security Double Jootang Secret

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:37 | 6276250 Divine Wind
Divine Wind's picture

 

 

+1000

ZP, your comment highlights the precise reason I love ZeroHedge.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:52 | 6276313 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

If it was open source, it is already part of the public record, in a sense.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:11 | 6276395 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

Wrong.   Don't be naive: The judge wasn't going to convict a fellow tribesman.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:36 | 6276246 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

They decided they f(&*(*ed with him enough...

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:37 | 6276249 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Most likely, the software details would be exposed to public. Can't have competition running amuck within the Central Planning robbery.

 

Don't worry, software will be exposed. Banking coders are working to offset any collateral damage. Once that is leaked, they are going to repeat cycle.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:31 | 6276510 Barrack Chavez
Barrack Chavez's picture

Software was already in the public domain -- that is where Goldman got it from in the first place

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:39 | 6276255 Amish Hacker
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Michael Lewis's Vanity Fair article lays out a familiar tale:  http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/09/michael-lewis-goldman-sachs-progr...

Federal agents, completely clueless about HFT and computer code in general, obediently follow Goldman's orders, trampling the Bill of Rights in the process. What else is new?

 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:05 | 6276378 Offthebeach
Offthebeach's picture

Lucky he didn't code out of a commune compound or a shack in the mountains. Could of been burned to death or shot in the head holding a Baby Ruth.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:27 | 6276754 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

The FBI acted under the orders of Eric Holder, that dedicated public servant and highly principled pillar of American justice . . . after a call from Lord Bankfiend.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 15:32 | 6277504 Amish Hacker
Amish Hacker's picture

Quite so, the same Eric Holder, the highest law enforcement officer in the nation, who announced that a certain class of felons (Holder's banker friends, their friends, and anyone who might offer Holder a job after dot gov) would not be prosecuted for financial crimes, no matter what.

Future historians will see this as a key moment, when impunity for insiders became the officially stated policy of a corrupt, collapsing empire.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:41 | 6276260 RealityCheque
RealityCheque's picture

And what now? Will Goldman give him back the time he spent in jail??

Fucking cunting, disgraceful system in action right there. Fuck the guy first, ask questions later, maybe say sorry sometime.

Why isn't someone from the actual mainstream media doorstepping Blankfein or the cunt judge who convicted him? Oh that's right, because GS owns them too.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:49 | 6276293 ImGumbydmmt
ImGumbydmmt's picture

+1000

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:44 | 6276274 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

Gee, why are those lawyers grinning so much? Oh yeah, the fat civil suit they are about to make a bundle on.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:47 | 6276286 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

Goldman own or are majority shareholders of the Bill of Rights as they control the money flow via the Central Banks.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:49 | 6276291 razorthin
razorthin's picture

Seton Hall?  Catholic boy?  Guilty!

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:51 | 6276302 besnook
besnook's picture

the nazis lose another one.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:52 | 6276310 roadhazard
roadhazard's picture

Somebody forgot to buy the Judge.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:48 | 6276890 silverer
silverer's picture

Maybe they ran out of other people's money.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:54 | 6276319 wissen dass scheiBe
wissen dass scheiBe's picture

Point being,

If Victor meldrew can be replaced by a black box,

So can you(blankfein)

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:55 | 6276328 ImGumbydmmt
ImGumbydmmt's picture

best news all weekend.

But I bet it doesn't climb the MSN headlines above the Royal Christening event, which seemed to be played  all weekend to overshadow the Greek referendum vote/protests, etc.

"here Sheeple look at the shiny ball over here, no, no don't look over there, pretty things over here to see...."

 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:34 | 6276803 STP
STP's picture

Amazing how they cover the 'Royals' over here in the US.  Who gives a flying fuck, about the Royal Baby?  I could care-friggin-less.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:47 | 6276883 silverer
Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:15 | 6276443 Tarshatha
Tarshatha's picture

I'm shocked, justice, and in particular for a Russian in Amerika!

Smells fisy to me, and don't think this is the last chapter.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:18 | 6276456 Barrack Chavez
Barrack Chavez's picture

Goldman never had a case in the first place, and they knew HFT would only remain profitable for another year or two -- they just needed to tie the programmer (and his new employer) up in pointless legal maneuverings.

Now that HFT trading has been cut in half (and is far less profitable), there is no need to handcuff the competition. Goldman extracted what profits they could.

Never had a case, and they knew it from the beginning.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:25 | 6276475 ThisIsBob
ThisIsBob's picture

OK, everybody who thinks Sergey is the only player outside of Goldman who has seen that code, raise your hands.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:29 | 6276505 Barrack Chavez
Barrack Chavez's picture

Everyone has it, it was and still is open source.

Goldman just wanted to tie competitors up in silly litigation, knowing the inefficient courts would take years to resolve anything. By that time (ie today), the simple HFT algorythms would be useless, HFT trading volume would have collapsed in half, and Goldman would have exploited the code as much as possible.

Goldman used the courts to stifle competition. That is all

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:44 | 6276865 silverer
silverer's picture

Certainly could have been part of the calculation.  With these guys, everything they do has a plan, stategy, and end goal.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:34 | 6276523 Troy Ounce
Troy Ounce's picture

 

 

Let's have a conference on this - Piketty

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:54 | 6276611 Blopper
Blopper's picture

Goldman Sach 0 vs Sheep 1

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:47 | 6276821 Jorgen
Jorgen's picture

"Goldman Sach 0 vs Sheep 1"

Not yet, if at all. It will be GS 0 vs Sheep 1 when (if?) Aleynikov wins millions for the wrongful imprisonment.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:07 | 6276668 Urban Roman
Urban Roman's picture

Had to look him up on Wikipedia, as it has been a while.

Apparently the MMOTU have been jerking him around for five years now. Arrested in 2010, Federal case was overturned in 2012. And then,

Later, on December 18, 2012, the law was changed by Congress, in order to punish acts like the ones Aleynikov committed in future rulings, in a law referred to as the "Theft of trade secrets clarification act of 2012".[15]

So another thought crime is now illegal.

then,

On August 9, 2012, Aleynikov was re-arrested and charged by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.[16] on behalf of New York state, ...

so this was the end of that case.

Looks like some fat juicy civil cases are lined up for years to come.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:34 | 6276802 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

Good thing he's young, he may live to see them settled.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 12:42 | 6276856 silverer
silverer's picture

Justice, for once.  The judge will be replaced when Hillary gets in.

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 13:41 | 6277116 Chippewa Partners
Chippewa Partners's picture

TIME should make him "PERSON OF THE YEAR" or some such bull shit which really should be, in his case, MAN OF THE YEAR!

The crap this cat has been through is hard to fathom but then again, Greg Smith was correct.   

Let Turney Duff take him out partying!

 

 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 14:09 | 6277204 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Breaking news, Goldman Sachs requires TARP II bailout. 

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 14:47 | 6277351 DavosSherman
DavosSherman's picture

Yay!

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 15:53 | 6277589 messystateofaffairs
messystateofaffairs's picture

Did jewboy sucks go after this guy because he is Russian and a whole passel of thieving jews got booted out of Russia by Putin? Sorry for the base comment, I'm feeling a little antisemenetic today after watching nuttyjoohoo murdering Palestinian children on RT.

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