Former hedge fund researcher pleads guilty to helping colleague hide trade-secret thefts

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-former-hedge-fund-researcher-pleads-guilty-to-helping-steal-trade-secrets-20140812-story.html

By Jason Meisner
Chicago Tribune
August 12, 2014

A former researcher with Chicago-based Citadel LLC pleaded guilty today to 
helping a colleague try to hide personal computers that had been used to 
steal trade secrets from the giant hedge fund’s high-speed automated 
trading system.

Sahil “Sonny” Uppal, 26, of New Jersey, had been scheduled to go to trial 
next month in federal court in Chicago, but he pleaded guilty to one count 
of obstruction of justice just days after co-defendant Yihao “Ben” Pu 
entered a guilty plea to charges he stole trade secrets. Under federal 
sentencing guidelines, Uppal faces up to 16 months in prison at his 
sentencing in November.

Prosecutors said Uppal and Pu were co-workers at an undisclosed New 
Jersey-based trading firm and later at Citadel, where Uppal’s primary job 
responsibilities included researching and developing a high-frequency 
trading strategy for equity investments.

In July 2011, Uppal helped copy onto Pu’s personal hard drives three files 
containing research he had used to develop the trading strategy, according 
to his plea agreement with prosecutors.

[...]

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