Goldman to pay $12 million to settle pay-to-play probe

That work disqualified the firm from bidding for municipal underwriting business with certain issuers in the state. But Goldman went on to participate in 30 prohibited underwritings, earning it more than $7.5 million in fees, the SEC said.

"The pay-to-play rules are clear: Municipal finance professionals that use their firm's resources to campaign on behalf of political candidates compromise themselves and the firms that employ them," Robert Khuzami, who heads the SEC's enforcement division, said in announcing the case.''