NEW YORK (Reuters) – The former chief financial officer of Archegos Capital Management was sentenced on Monday to eight years in prison over his role in the firm’s 2021 collapse, which cost Wall Street banks more than $10 billion.
Patrick Halligan was convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud and racketeering conspiracy by a Manhattan federal jury last July. His former boss, Archegos founder Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang, was also convicted at the same trial.
Halligan is expected to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction and sentence. He and prosecutors agreed on the eight-year term for sentencing purposes.
Mary Mulligan, a lawyer for Halligan, declined to comment. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hwang was sentenced in November to 18 years in prison. He is also appealing his conviction and free on bail. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan imposed both sentences.
Archegos, a family office that once managed $36 billion, collapsed in March 2021 when Hwang could not meet margin calls on tens of billions of dollars in loans he obtained from banks to make large, concentrated bets in media and technology stocks.
Several banks lost money in the collapse, including Credit Suisse, which lost $5.5 billion, and Nomura Holdings. Credit Suisse is now part of UBS.
In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors said Halligan played a leadership role in helping Hwang obtain loans and amass trading capacity that distorted markets, and concealing the risks from counterparties and others.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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