The trick Goldman Sachs employed to helpGreece massage its debt figures hinged on using historical, rather than prevailing, currency rates in a series ofswap transactions.
Acquirers are paying more, but they are doing so painlessly, since their own shares, which serve as their currency in stock-swap transactions, are as inflated as those of their prey.
The documents also indicate that Winnick knew about fiber-optic capacity swaptransactions that helped the company appear to be gaining revenue, deals that in fact had no economic value, investigators say.
To make a legal case against Winnick, prosecutors will have to show that he knew that the swaptransactions lacked an economic basis and were used to paint a false picture of the company's financial situation.