Weird But True

Goldman fraudster Fab Tourre to teach honors class

Who says there’s no honor among thieves?

Former Goldman Sachs banker and securities scammer Fabrice Tourre has landed a new gig: teaching an honors economics class at the prestigious University of Chicago.

“Fabulous Fab,” as the 34-year-old famously called himself in e-mails to his girlfriend, was found liable by a federal-court jury last August on civil securities charges that were brought by the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

While Goldman settled with the SEC for $550 million, Tourre decide to leave his fate to a jury.

The jury found Tourre liable on six charges of fraud for perpetrating the $1 billion deceptive sales of a complex array of mortgage securities to institutional investors in 2007.

The case is on appeal.

Tourre’s notoriety hasn’t hurt his academic career.

With a math degree from the École Centrale in Paris and a master’s from Stanford University, Tourre is pursuing a doctorate from the University of Chicago.

His Thursday afternoon class is called “Elements of Economic Analysis,” with a Monday-evening discussion.

Tourre is causing a bit of a fuss.

“Yes! Embrace the darkness! When has the UChicago economics department ever worried about the rule of law?” commented a person calling himself “The Ghost of Milton Friedman” on the university newspaper’s website announcing Tourre’s new class.