When certain groups of people look around and wonder what in the world the Occupy Wall Street movement is actually protesting, it’s situations like this. As Jared Sulzdorf keenly summarized in our LXBN Roundtable last week, “Citigroup is essentially suspected of stuffing portfolios with risky mortgage-related investments, selling said portfolios to investors, and then ‘betting’ against them.” When Citigroup reached a $285 million settlement with the SEC, one in which Citigroup did not have to acknowledge any wrongdoing, Southern District of New York Judge Jed Rakoff wondered how that made any sense.
To further break down this story, we bring in Washington, DC trial lawyer Steven Berk, author of The Corporate Observer.
In our interview, we discuss:
- What exactly Citigroup did and why they’re in such hot water now.
- The proposed $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup.
- Why Judge Rakoff is critical of the settlement.
- What Berk believes should be done in this case.
