SEC Sanctions Former Goldman Sachs Employee

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought sanctions against a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employee who obtained Federal Reserve secrets. Rohit Bansal had been barred from the industry for seven months when the sanctions were brought against him. The SEC stated that he is also barred from participating in any offerings of penny stocks, including acting as a promoter, consultant or agent. The SEC accused him of obtaining confidential supervisory documents from a contact inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and using them to get ahead in his career. He pleaded guilty to one count of a misdemeanor offense of misappropriating government property in Manhattan federal district court. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 300 hours of community service in March and was fined $5,000. The New York State Department of Financial Services fined Goldman Sachs $50 million last year for failing to supervise Mr. Bansal and others. Goldman also accepted a three-year ban on new regulatory consulting work involving the department and admitted to a lapse in oversight of its employees.