SocGen 'Rogue Trader' Gets 3 Years in Prison

A Paris appeals court today sent Societe Generale "rogue trader" Jerome Kerviel to prison for three years today and ordered him to repay his employers roughly $7 billion. The ruling upholds a lower court's sentence that according to the AP shocked many in France, where many bought into Kerviel's argument that he was a scapegoat for the bank. Kerviel's lawyer called the ruling "absolutely lamentable" and said they would consider appealing to France's high court, but for now Kerviel is headed to prison.

Societe Generale's lawyer said there was "a satisfaction" in the verdict. "It would have been indecent that Kerviel could have preserved revenues" from his fraud, he said, though he added that the bank would likely not force Kerviel to repay the full sum. (More Jerome Kerviel stories.)