Citigroup settles SEC fraud charges for $285 million

[JURIST] Citigroup Inc. [corporate website] on Wednesday announced a $285 million settlement to resolve charges [complaint, PDF; press release] brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] that a subsidiary of the global financial services firm defrauded investors who bought toxic housing-related debt during the housing crisis. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI), Citigroup’s principal US broker-dealer, marketed and sold in 2007 a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation (CDO) that defaulted fewer than nine months after it closed. CGMI…