The Securities and Exchange Commission Friday charged Goldman Sachs & Co. and one of its executives with fraud today in a risky offshore deal backed by subprime mortgages that cost investors more than a $1 billion.Note that the SEC also charged some Goldman veep named Fabrice Tourre.
This is a civil action; I don't know which evidence standard the SEC is required to meet. All this means is that the defendants wold have to cough up a small fraction of their ill-gotten gains, but it's better than nothing. I'd rather see some of these banksters behind bars, but that's probably never going to happen.
What will probably happen is that those bastards will reach a settlement with the SEC and pay a shitload of fines, the record will be sealed so that their actions are not aired in open court.
By the time a bankster got to jail, he'd own it.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they'll go after them as hard as they should; remember this from last year?
ReplyDeletehttp://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/03/10/top_stories/doc49b61e46e935b133022700.txt
Bob, I agree, but my idea of "going after them as hard as they should" would involve setting up and heavily using guillotines at Battery Park.
ReplyDeleteWith the past and current Secretaries of the Treasury and the previous Chairman of the Federal Reserve being among the first few "guests of honor"...
Oh, YEAH. I'll pick up some knitting needles...
ReplyDelete"About. Frakking. Time."
ReplyDeleteYeah. But I think the results will not register on my "pay back" meter . . .