U.S. Charges Goldman Sachs With Civil Fraud (1 Viewer)

[coldseat]

This is just hitting the wire, so not much information yet but...

WASHINGTON - The government is accusing Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors in its disclosures about securities it sold tied to subprime mortgage securities as the housing market was faltering.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and one of its vice presidents. The agency alleges that the company marketed complex subprime mortgage securities and failed to disclose to investors that a major hedge fund had bet against the securities.

link

I must confess my ignorance to with the "fall of the economy" discussion, that's why I've never really entered into it. But I'm surprised by this because I had always heard that the government was full of former Goldman Sachs execs, especially in the banking and regulations sectors, and they were protecting their own. This is a good think, I think.

 

[gboudx]

Here's the same story from CNBC with more info.

 

[superchuck500]

Yeah, it is nice to see the SEC actually do something in the name of its policing power. Hopefully there is a changing culture there. Probably only temporary and the result of the reaming it took after Madoff. But nonetheless, a good sign.