Fabrice Tourre Goldman Sachs Mortgage Fraud Case

Fabrice Tourre's involvement in the Goldman Sachs mortgage fraud case is a significant part of his story. He was a vice president at Goldman Sachs at the time.

The case centered on a mortgage-backed security called Abacus 2007-AC1, which was designed to fail. Tourre's role in creating and marketing this security led to a lawsuit against him and Goldman Sachs.

A key issue with Abacus 2007-AC1 was that it was heavily loaded with subprime mortgages, which were more likely to default. This made the security a bad investment for many of its buyers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Tourre with making false statements to investors about Abacus 2007-AC1. He was accused of claiming that the security was designed to perform well, when in fact it was designed to fail.

Fabrice Tourre, a former Goldman Sachs trader, was found liable for fraud in a civil lawsuit. He was accused of misleading investors about the quality of mortgage-backed securities.

The SEC alleged that Tourre failed to disclose that the securities were based on toxic assets. This lack of transparency led to significant losses for investors.

Tourre's defense team argued that he was simply a middleman and not responsible for the securities' quality. However, the court disagreed, finding him liable for the losses incurred by investors.

The lawsuit was brought by the SEC in 2010, and the verdict was handed down in 2013.

Fabrice Tourre's emails were a major factor in his downfall. He became infamous as "Fabulous Fab" after Goldman Sachs released some of his emails in connection with a US Senate investigation into the financial crisis.

The emails, sent in 2007, showed Tourre's dismissive attitude towards the financial products he worked on. He referred to them as "pure intellectual masturbation" in one email.

Tourre joined Goldman in New York in 2001 and worked his way up to vice-president on the structured product trading desk. He helped create the Abacus 2007-AC1 CDO, packed with toxic sub-prime mortgages.

The emails were a major part of the Senate investigation, and Tourre was called to appear before the Senate in April 2010. He rebutted "unfounded attacks" on his character, but admitted errors of judgment in the emails.

Goldman Sachs' Response was swift, with the bank issuing a statement saying that Fabrice Tourre was "not the only person" involved in the deal.

The bank maintained that Tourre's role was limited to "structuring the transaction" and that he did not have "primary responsibility" for the deal.

Tourre's supervisors and colleagues at Goldman Sachs were also implicated, with the bank admitting that they had "overseen and approved" the deal.

In a surprising move, Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein defended Tourre, saying that he was "a talented young professional" who had made a "mistake."

The bank's defense of Tourre was seen as a sign of the bank's commitment to its employees, but it also raised questions about the bank's accountability for its actions.

Fabrice Tourre was a key player in the 2008 financial crisis, working as a Goldman Sachs vice president in their mortgage department.

He was a French national, born in 1978 in Paris, France.

Tourre had a strong educational background, earning a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

He also earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

Tourre's role at Goldman Sachs involved creating and marketing mortgage-backed securities, which were later found to be heavily flawed.

These securities played a significant part in the 2008 financial crisis.

Tourre's work on the mortgage-backed securities was heavily influenced by his supervisor, Dan Sparks.

Sparks had previously worked at Merrill Lynch, where he had experience in creating and marketing mortgage-backed securities.

Tourre's actions were later scrutinized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which charged him with securities fraud.

The SEC alleged that Tourre had misled investors about the quality of the mortgage-backed securities he was selling.