Woman claims N.Y. Fed fired her over Goldman Sachs investigation results

NEW YORK – A former employee has sued the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, saying she was wrongfully terminated because she refused to change the results of her investigation into the banking firm Goldman Sachs.

Carmen Segarra filed her federal lawsuit against the New York Fed on Thursday in Manhattan.

Segarra’s lawsuit says the New York Fed interfered with her examination of Goldman Sach’s legal and compliance divisions and directed her to change her findings. She says she refused and was fired three days later, in May 2012.

The firing caused her career in banking to be “irreparably damaged,” says her lawsuit, which seeks her reinstatement to her position as senior bank examiner, back pay, compensation for lost benefits, compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and other expenses.

Segarra’s finding led to the New York Fed’s Legal and Compliance risk team to approve downgrading Goldman’s annual rating pertaining to policies and procedures, the lawsuit said.

A spokesman for the New York Fed declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit but said its personnel decisions “are based exclusively on individual job performance and are subject to thorough review.”