"It's called leverage inside Goldman, " says Nomi Prins, a managing director who left the firm in 2002.

FORBES: Sachs Appeal

Nomi Prins, who worked on Wall Street and wrote Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America, tells NPR's Melissa Block that some people on Wall Street can go through a self-justification process based on ego.

NPR: Author: Bravado Drives Ponzi Schemes