Ex-SocGen trader found guilty of copying HFT code

Andy Nguyen

Andy Nguyen

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Samarth Agrawal, a citizen of India, and a Columbia MFE '07 graduate is accused in U.S. District Court in New York of stealing code for SocGen's lucrative high-frequency trading system last year so he could replicate it at his new job with Tower Research Capital LLC hedge fund.

"It was one of my responsibilities to know the code ... I printed it out so I could study it at home," Agrawal, 27, said during hours of questioning by his lawyer on the eighth day of his criminal trial.

His LinkedIn profile Samarth Agrawal - LinkedIn
The article http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/trading-technology/228300134
 
I am not quite familiar with the criminal law but is that ok if Samarth printed the code before he accepted his new offer at Tower Research Capital LLC hedge fund? Or as a practitioner, we should never work/study code at home?
 
Well, his career in the USA is in big trouble. If they find him guilty, he will have to serve time and then be deported, since he was presumably working on H1-B visa. If he is found innocent, he will find it tough to get a job in the USA and he will probably have to leave because of visa issues. My guess is that he will soon land up in Hongkong or Singapore.
 
> Another manager, Marc Buchdahl, then noted his increased presence at the office after normal business hours and, Agrawal, testified "because of previous events, this was a
> red flag for security people so it was better that I should work at home."

I thought it's normal to stay after hours, not at SocGen? I'll try to remember not to work for them.
 
His excuse was to study the code at home by printing it?

The guy deserves what's coming to him.
 
You mean to say it is illegal to carry one's work at home?
If the intention had been stealing the code it could have been done by understanding the code rather than printing ....
 
darth said:
You mean to say it is illegal to carry one's work at home?
If the intention had been stealing the code it could have been done by understanding the code rather than printing ....
Click to expand...
this guy printed thousands of pages. the security camera recorded the whole thing.
 
darth said:
You mean to say it is illegal to carry one's work at home?
If the intention had been stealing the code it could have been done by understanding the code rather than printing ....
Click to expand...

do you routinely print out thousands of lines of code and read it at home? does anyone?

he was too lazy to just grasp the general logic and reproduce it independently. instead he decided to go the easy route and print everything.

also the whole bit about staying late at work smells of bullshit. One of my undergrad classmates works at SocGen and routinely works very late hours.
 
It appears I didn't post the latest on this case. And I have some news for you.

Former Societe Generale trader Samarth Agrawal, who surprisingly admitted at trial that it was wrong for him to have copied the French bank's speed-trading computer code, was found guilty of trade secrets theft by a jury on Friday.

The panel took two hours to return the verdict against Agrawal, a 27-year-old citizen of India, after a two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Agrawal faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years and deportation from the United States. He was arrested on April 19 -- the day he was to start a new job to help build a high-frequency trading system at Tower Research Capital LLC hedge fund.

His trial took a turn on Wednesday when he said under questioning from his own lawyer that he knew copying and printing SocGen's proprietary code was wrong.

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53037420101119
 
Since he is found guilty, his career in finance with big firms probably is over. He may find employment back in India with local firms.

Agrawal, who looked solemn when the verdict was announced in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on February 24. He is also expected to be deported from the United States.

During Agrawal's trial, his lawyer, Ivan Fisher, tried to appeal to juror sympathies by describing him as a highly educated, ambitious young man from India who felt isolated at the French bank. Employees from the Tower unit he wanted to join were from India.

Agrawal had pleaded not guilty, but his trial took a turn on Wednesday when he said under questioning from his own lawyer that he knew copying and printing SocGen's proprietary code was wrong. Judge Jed Rakoff described the lawyer's strategy as a "sympathy defense.

Fisher declined to comment on the verdict.

FBI agent William Slattery testified that he found printouts of algorithmic code and handwritten notes in the bedroom of Agrawal's apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey, in April. Agrawal worked at SocGen's New York office from March 2007 to November 2009. He was arrested on April 19 -- the day he was to start his new job at Tower.

A SocGen spokesman, Jim Galvin, said in a statement: "We are very satisfied with today's guilty verdict. We brought this matter to the attention of the criminal authorities because Societe Generale is determined to protect its valuable intellectual property to the fullest extent of the law."

Tower said at the time of Agrawal's arrest that it cooperated with authorities.
Click to expand...
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINTRE6AI3VJ20101120
 
Well this guy will get 3 years. Then he will do 12-18 months and be deported. He is just 27, so he should be okay once he returns to India. The background checks in India will not check criminal records in USA. He may have to change his name though to get a job in Finance.
The Russian dude's trial is starting today. It looks like the precedent has been set and he will meet the same fate as this dude. Pity though. He has three beautiful daughters and to go from a $400 K per year salary to jail and probable unemployment is just terrible for them. Probably if he is convicted he will have to leave the USA and return to Russia to find a job. I doubt the banks are going to take the risk of hiring these guys.
 
@ Andy

Hey Andy, How did you find out that he was a Columbia MFE grad, because the article doesn't mention it anywhere and secondly what do you think are the chances that this was an unfortunate accident!
 
VarunSharma said:
Hey Andy, How did you find out that he was a Columbia MFE grad, because the article doesn't mention it anywhere and secondly what do you think are the chances that this was an unfortunate accident!
Click to expand...

Look at his linkedin page
 
The first thing I did was to search LinkedIn and there is exactly one person with that name in the NYC area working for SocGen in High Frequency index arb. And his education shows that he studied in the Columbia MSFE program from 2006-2007.
Here is his LinkedIn profile
Sign In | LinkedIn

The reason I mentioned that he is an MFE grad is because it can be any one of us. He is just like so many members here who come from China, India, getting an MFE and go on to work on Wall Street. We have to be aware of what is legal and illegal when it comes to things like this.

I hope it was an accident but the jury decided otherwise. Here is what said in the article "Agrawal had pleaded not guilty, but his trial took a turn on Wednesday when he said under questioning from his own lawyer that he knew copying and printing SocGen's proprietary code was wrong".

It's sad and I wish the young man best of luck.
 
Eugene Krel said:
do you routinely print out thousands of lines of code and read it at home? does anyone?

he was too lazy to just grasp the general logic and reproduce it independently. instead he decided to go the easy route and print everything.

also the whole bit about staying late at work smells of bullshit. One of my undergrad classmates works at SocGen and routinely works very late hours.
Click to expand...


I know.. right??? what happened to usb drives?:)

I'll ask for the code... take that with us to Toronto!
 
Andy Nguyen said:
He is just like so many members here who come from China, India, getting an MFE and go on to work on Wall Street. We have to be aware of what is legal and illegal when it comes to things like this.

I hope it was an accident but the jury decided otherwise. Here is what said in the article "Agrawal had pleaded not guilty, but his trial took a turn on Wednesday when he said under questioning from his own lawyer that he knew copying and printing SocGen's proprietary code was wrong".

It's sad and I wish the young man best of luck.
Click to expand...
India and China have highest level of corruption at all levels. People are exposed to corruptions/scams when they are young. This guy wanted to make fast $$$$. Printing of 1000 pages of prop. code is not an accident. http://www.businessinsider.com/sama...ed-me-aside-typed-it-into-my-computer-2010-11
 
Isn't it unethical on part of tower research too? they hired Soc Gen HFT traders in the past too.Doesn't it look plausible that someone at tower was also in collusion since the code was being brought to them.
 

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