The Homeowners Behind the Goldman Deal

By Carrick Mollenkamp, Mark Whitehouse, Anton Troianovski

Aberdeen Township, N.J. — The government’s civil-fraud allegation against Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS, News) Group Inc. centers on a deal the firm crafted so that hedge-fund king John Paulson could bet on a collapse in U.S. housing prices.

It was a dizzyingly complex transaction, involving 90 bonds and a 65-page deal sheet. But it all boiled down to whether people like Stella Onyeukwu, Gheorghe Bledea and Jack Booket could pay their mortgages.

They couldn’t, and Mr. Paulson made $1 billion as a result.


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Associated Press (24 April 10)