Fabrice Tourre Trial About ‘Wall Street Greed,’ SEC Says
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) – The trial of former Goldman Sachs bond trader Fabrice Tourre was about “Wall Street greed,” a lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said as the trial began on Monday.
The SEC accuses Tourre of misleading investors in a mortgage investment called Abacus 2007-AC1 by not telling them that a hedge fund was involved in selecting the underlying assets and betting against it.
Matthew Martens, a lawyer for the SEC, told the jury the deal Tourre put together was “secretly designed to maximize the potential it would fail” to the benefit of the hedge fund, which made about $1 billion.
“In the end, Wall Street greed drove Mr. Tourre to lie and deceive,” Martens said.
But Pamela Chepiga, a lawyer for Tourre, countered that the SEC was trying to turn her client into a “scapegoat.”
“This is not a case about whether you approve or disapprove of Wall Street,” she said.
The trial, scheduled to last three weeks, stems from a lawsuit the SEC filed against Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Tourre in 2010.
Tourre, who is no longer with Goldman and is earning a doctorate in economics at the University of Chicago, is on trial alone after Goldman agreed to pay a $550 million settlement in July 2010.
Tourre, wearing a black suit and orange tie, sat with his counsel as the lawyers made their opening arguments. He did not speak during Monday’s proceedings, although he is expected to testify later in the trial.
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…and so, which MSM, or cable tv station can I watch this on? Who’s televising the trial so citizens at large finally know who f_ _ ked up the global economy & continues to hold it hostage? So the world can determine in its own mind what POTUS means when HE slimes the 47%ers, re/irre-sponsible homeowners, who re-elected him in HOPE(s) that HE would be the Power for those of us who have none. Instead he’s thrown the People in the shredder and run off to “Socialize” (screw up) every institution/program he can get his hands on that made Us Who We Are/Were, and made this Country great! Instead he wants immigration reform so he can to deliver fresh kill into the hands of the Tourres of Wall Street.
Calling him a Scapegoat bothers me. Just because many participated in the scheme is no excuse. Goldman made a Billion of the deal and pays $ 550 in a settlement. Sweet deal. I am going to start to Ponzi scheme and pay half of it back if I get caught. And then I am going to start another one.