Goldman Sachs added as defendant in suits over Fannie Mae accounting

Marketwatch reports:

Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS) said Wednesday that it has been added as a defendant in amended complaints related to allegations over mortgage financier Fannie Mae's (FNM) accounting practices.
In its quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street powerhouse said the complaints allege the company violated laws, including U.S. securities laws, in connection with some Fannie Mae-sponsored bond deals that were allegedly arranged by Goldman Sachs. The deals relate to real estate mortgage investment conduits, which are bonds collateralized with mortgage-backed securities.
The other defendants include Fannie Mae and some of its past and present officers and directors, accountants, and other financial-services firms.
Wednesday's SEC filing said the amended complaints were filed in August and September in a purported class action and a separate shareholder derivative action pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Separately, Goldman Sachs said that an amended complaint filed last month in a suit related to Refco Inc.'s (RFXCQ) initial public offering of August 2005 dropped as defendants Goldman Sachs and other underwriters of the IPO.
The action was originally brought on behalf of customers that held securities in custody of some Refco affiliates.
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs disclosed that it, along with other underwriters, was named as a defendant in a putative shareholder class-action lawsuit over Refco's IPO.
The complaint alleged that the defendants violated federal securities laws by publishing financial statements of Refco, including in the IPO prospectus, that were false and misleading.
Refco, once one of the largest commodity brokerages in the U.S., and several of its affiliates filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2005 after the discovery of $430 million of hidden debt owed to Refco, a few months after the company went public.
Goldman Sachs also said Wednesday that in a case involving Iridium World Communications Ltd., a federal district court granted summary judgment dismissing claims against the company based on a section of U.S. securities laws.
Goldman Sachs was a defendant in two purported class-action lawsuits in May 1999 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brought on behalf of purchasers of Class A common stock of Iridium World Communications in a January 1999 secondary offering. Goldman Sachs was one of the lead underwriters for the offering.
Those complaints alleged violations of the disclosure requirements of securities laws.

No word yet from Hank Paulson on what he knew when he was the head of Goldman.