By Pete Brush

Law360, New York (June 9, 2020, 2:32 PM EDT) -- A Manhattan federal judge hit former Goldman Sachs banker Bryan Cohen with a year of home detention Tuesday for insider trading, saying the French national acted out of "greed and hubris" but citing an asthma diagnosis and the coronavirus outbreak in sparing him prison for a "brazen" offense.

During a sentencing conducted via a glitchy video feed, U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III also hit the "privileged" 34-year-old with a $25,000 fine, ordered him to forfeit the $260,000 he admitted getting from passing tips and directed him to perform 1,500 hours of community service.

"Your crime was motivated by greed, nothing else. There is, in my view, a compelling need for deterrence," Judge Pauley said. "It was not a momentary lapse in judgment. Moreover, [Cohen] didn't really need the money. Perhaps he was just doing it for the thrill. I don't know."

Cohen, who was arrested in October, copped to a count of securities fraud conspiracy in January. He admitted tipping Swiss trader Marc Demane to a 2017 possible merger involving U.S. restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings, a Goldman client. He has since been fired by the megabank and barred from the securities industry.

Cohen is one of three defendants who have been convicted in a massive insider trading ring. Demane, who is cooperating with prosecutors, told a jury that he earned $70 million via a network of stock informers. That same jury convicted another tipper, entrepreneur Telemaque Lavidas.

Judge Pauley's sentence came in between a request by prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office for 37 months of incarceration — the top end of official guidelines — and Cohen's request for a sentence of community service to be performed in France.

Judge Pauley called the defense request for an immediate departure from the U.S. "absurd," but spared Cohen prison not only because of the dangers of COVID-19 but also to spare him from immigration custody, where he likely would have landed upon leaving prison.

Defense counsel Ben Brafman told the judge that Cohen and his family were "begging" for a sentence that would keep the defendant out of the prison system and out of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

"We believe that he will be deported as soon as the sentencing conditions here are satisfied," Brafman said.

Judge Pauley ordered Cohen to "buy a one-way ticket to France" and depart for his home country not later than June 30, 2021, after he completes his home detention and community service assisting the less-fortunate.

Cohen apologized to the court and his family, saying there was "no excuse" for his conduct.

"I've destroyed my life," he said. "There is no other way to put it. I've lost my name. I've destroyed my dream. I've caused so much pain and I will never forgive myself."

Prosecutor Richard Cooper argued for a prison sentence in the range of three years. He rejected Cohen's assertion that he barely knew Demane and asserted that they used the tools of the "drug trade" — burner phones, coded language and intermediaries — to conduct business.

After the sentencing, Brafman said he was "relieved and delighted" that Cohen would avoid prison.

At least four others face criminal charges in connection with the ring.

Cohen is represented by Benjamin Brafman and Joshua D. Kirshner of Brafman & Associates PC.

The government is represented by Richard Cooper, Daniel Tracer and Drew Skinner of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The case is USA v. Cohen, case number 1:19-cr-00741, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

--Editing by Kelly Duncan.

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