Opposing lawyers said former Goldman Sachs executive Fabrice Tourre was either a liar who cost investors $1 billion or a "scapegoat" whom securities regulators intend to blame for risks taken by sophisticated buyers and sellers ahead of the financial crisis.

In opening remarks by lawyers for Tourre-nicknamed "the fabulous Fab" by a co-worker-and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed civil charges against him in 2010, each side portrayed the former Goldman employee in starkly different lights. Even Tourre's fabulousness was a matter of debate.