Legal News

To Catch a Goldman Sachs Compliance Officer?

By Ashby Jones

It was nearly impossible not to think of the “To Catch a Predator” show from a few years back, starring that fellow to your left, Chris Hansen, when we read this latest story: New York state prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Goldman Sachs compliance officer after he allegedly solicited an undercover investigator posing as a teenage girl in online conversations. Click here for the Dow Jones Newswires article; here for the NY Daily News piece.

In a statement, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said Todd Genger, 33 years old, of Manhattan, was arraigned Tuesday on one count of attempted disseminating of indecent material to a minor.

The felony charge carries a sentence of up to one and one third year to four years in prison. Genger, a vice president in Goldman’s compliance division who holds a law degree, was released on his own recognizance after being arraigned in White Plains, N.Y. on Tuesday.

DiFiore said Genger allegedly engaged in online “chat” conversations, using his AOL account, with an investigator from the district attorney’s office posing as a 15-year-old girl between April and July. As part of the conversations, Genger allegedly discussed specific explicit sexual acts in which he hoped to engage with the undercover agent whom he believed to be an underaged girl, the district attorney said.

A lawyer for Genger didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday. Goldman Sachs declined comment Wednesday.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 29, 2009 (boomark / email).