Planet Money’s 16 April 2010 piece, The SEC’s Case Against Goldman Sachs, Explained, briefly summarizes the SEC’s contention that a hedge fund (Paulson & Co) “wanted to bet against the housing market. It talked to Goldman about putting together a CDO full of mortgage-related assets that Paulson thought were likely to lose value. Paulson’s plan was to bet against the CDO, so it would profit if the CDO lost value.” “Goldman didn’t tell people who invested in the CDO about the hedge fund’s role” and intentions.
CDO stands for Collateralized Debt Obligation.
On 17 April 2010, Louise Story and Gretchen Morgenson (NYT) lay out some more detail in U.S. Accuses Goldman Sachs of Fraud in Mortgage Deal.
-RichardH
This is the kind of story I think about when I read or hear people complaining about the cruel way that our government treats wealthy people. After all, didn’t they get to be wealthy by working hard for every penny they earned?
The non-wealthy just do not work as hard. They deserve their lot in life. If they wanted to be rich, they should just work harder.
I guess robbing banks without violence should be treated as an honorable profession? Oh sorry, that should be