Goldman should not be able to "pass off" its "repeated assertions" as "mere puffery." Moreover, Goldman's "allegedly manipulative, deceitful and fraudulent conduct" in hiding its conflicts of interests in the four CDO transactions "takes the Plaintiffs' claim beyond mere mismanagement." On the issue of scienter, Judge Crotty specifically relied on Goldman's concessions in the SEC settlement, among other things, including internal emails. He noted that Goldman clearly played an active role in the Abacus asset selection process: "How else could Goldman admit that it was a 'mistake' not to have disclosed such information." Crotty found that "given Goldman's practice of making material misrepresentations to third-party investors, Goldman knew or should have known" that its statements about its conflicts of interest practices and business ethics "were inaccurate and incomplete."