Goldman ex-programmer Aleynikov conviction upheld

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programer Sergey Aleynikov has lost his bid to reverse his December conviction for stealing the Wall Street bank's source code.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote refused to set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment against Aleynikov, or alternatively to grant him a new trial, court records dated Wednesday show.

The decision clears the way for Aleynikov to be sentenced on March 18. Federal prosecutors have requested a 97- to 121-month prison sentence. Aleynikov is seeking probation.

Kevin Marino, a lawyer for Aleynikov, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Cote last month jailed Aleynikov pending his sentencing, after prosecutors contended he could be a flight risk.

Aleynikov holds dual citizenship in the United States and Russia, and the court had heard that his wife was seeking a divorce and that he had become estranged from his in-laws.

A Manhattan federal jury last December 10 convicted Aleynikov on charges he copied and removed high-frequency trading code from Goldman in 2009, prior to taking a new job at a Chicago start-up firm.

The case is U.S. v. Aleynikov, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-00096.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by Dave Zimmerman)