Personal assistant accused of stealing wine from Goldman Sachs CEO jumps to death
The former personal assistant accused of stealing more than £1.1m (£911,000) worth of wine from Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon was found dead in New York today after jumping from a high-rise building.
Nicolas De-Meyer, who worked as Solomon's personal assistant for eight years, was due to appear in court to answer the charges. He was facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed it had discovered De Meyer, who has jumped from the 33rd floor of the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said: "Upon arrival, officers observed a 41 year-old male lying unconscious and unresponsive at the location. EMS responded and pronounced the victim deceased at the scene. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing."
Investigators believed De-Meyer used the alias of Mark Miller to deliver the wine to a dealer, in order to fund his own globe-trotting adventure.
The collection of wines was traced by a different art dealer who was familiar with the rare selection and traced it back to Solomon.
Solomon said in a statement that he and his wife were "deeply saddened to hear that Nicolas took his own life… He was close to our family for several years, and we are all heartbroken to hear of his tragic end".
Solomon was appointed to succeed former boss Lloyd Blankfein as Goldman’s chief executive in July, having seen off a challenge from his co-chief operating officer Harvey Schwartz, who abruptly resigned from the bank in March.
Solomon took up the top job last week. He faces challenges such as trying to generate another $5bn in annual revenue, grow Goldman's nascent consumer bank and change the way it approaches trading.
Read more: Goldman Sachs shakes up top team as Solomon prepares to take the helm