A federal judge in New York City has approved the deal calling for Goldman Sachs & Co. to pay $550 million to settle civil fraud charges that the Wall Street giant misled buyers of mortgage-related investments.
Federal Judge Barbara Jones approved the settlement in Manhattan with a written order.
The settlement was announced last Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It calls for Goldman to pay a $535 million fine and $15 million in restitution of fees it collected.
The agreement calls for $300 million to go to the government and $250 million to compensate two European banks that lost money on their investments.
The penalty was the largest against a Wall Street firm in SEC history.
