Securities Trader Takes Criminal Plea Deal

MANHATTAN (CN) - Former Goldman Sachs vice president Matthew Taylor pleaded guilty to a criminal charge that he concealed an $8.3 billion trading position to protect the $1.6 million bonus he expected.

Under the plea agreement attached to the federal information for wire fraud, Taylor, 34, acknowledges he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice his gross gain from the offense. Prosecutors, though, suggest a sentence of 33 to 41 months and a fine of $7,500 to $75,000 in the plea deal, which must be accepted by a judge.

Taylor will be sentenced on July 26 by U.S. District Judge William Pauley III.

It's the first criminal plea against a Goldman trader caught in the recent Wall Street scandals.

Taylor, who traded equity derivatives, got a $150,000 salary the year of his offense, 2007, and expected a $1.6 million bonus, according to the information.

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