Schneiderman gives Goldman Sachs sweetheart deal

Yesterday, state and federal officials announced a $5.1 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs, resolving accusations that the bank behaved irresponsibly in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. But, the New York Times reports, the deal’s fine print reveals that number may ultimately be much lower.

“They appear to have grossly inflated the settlement amount for P.R. purposes to mislead the public, while in the fine print, enabling Goldman Sachs to pay 50 to 75 percent less,” Better Markets founder Dennis Kelleher told the Times.

Source: Creative Accounting Could Shave As Much As $1 Billion Off Goldman’s $5 Billion Settlement for Creative Accounting