Who is the 'fabulous' Fabrice Tourre?

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/1.0/sections/mag/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/goldman_sachs_bldg.jc.jpg caption="Goldman Sachs Group" width=300 height=169]

Aaron Smith
CNNMoney.com Staff Writer

The SEC's fraud charges against Goldman Sachs focus on a Frenchman known as the "fabulous Fab."

At least, that's how Fabrice Tourre described himself, according to a 22-page complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Tourre, a vice president at the investment firm Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), of defrauding investors in a securities sale tied to subprime mortgages. The SEC's court document, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, includes various comments allegedly made by Tourre in which he misled representatives from ACA Management about collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs.

But the SEC's most damning allegations refer to one of Tourre's e-mails, written in French and English, to an unnamed friend, where he confidently presented himself as the lone, "fabulous" survivor amid the apocalyptic fallout of his finance firm.

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