Vampire Squid in the Briar Patch

"Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [GSG]--one of the few Wall Street titans to to thrive during the financial crisis--was charged with deceiving clients by selling them mortgage securities secretly designed by a hedge-fund firm run by John Paulson, who made a killing betting on the housing market's collapse. ... 'The SEC's charges are completely unfounded in law and fact,' said Goldman in a statement, promising to 'contest them and defend the firm and its reputation.' ... Goldman's shares fell 13%, one of the steepest slides since the firm went public in 1999, erasing some $12 billion of market capitalization. ... Regulators say Goldman allowed Mr. Paulson's firm, Paulson & Co., to help design a financial investment known as a CDO, or collateralized debt obligation, built out of a specific set of risky mortgage assets--essentially setting up the CDO for failure. ... 'The product was new and complex, but the deception and conflicts are old and simple,' said Robert Khuzami, the SEC's enforcement chief. ... The SEC said Mr. Tourre was 'principally responsible' for piecing together the bonds and touting them to investors. ... But he was hardly alone, the SEC alleges: The deals, were signed off by senior Goldman executives, though the SEC didn't specify how high up it believes the knowledge extended. ... Goldman has vehemently denied putting its own interests ahead of its clients.'," Gregory Zuckerman, Susanne Craig and Serena NG at the WSJ, 17 April 2010, link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303491304575187920845670844.html.

I put no stock in this suit, concluding the SEC and Vampire Squid (VS) needed some headlines to make it appear "the cop is back on the beat" and help pass Dodd's toothless "reform" bill. So the SEC brought this suit with VS playing Brer Rabbit not wanting to be thrown in the briar patch.

Frightening! On 30 April 2010, while editing I came across a post by Junior at Junior Deputy Accountant:

http://www.jrdeputyaccountant.com/2010/04/goldman-sachs-gets-thrown-in-briar.html. Go Junior! Your father is proud.