Goldman Sachs likely to avoid criminal charges in DOJ probe, insiders say

Goldman Sachs is ready to turn over a new gold-plated leaf.

Nearly nine months after the Justice Department launched a probe into whether the Wall Street firm misled clients and lied to lawmakers, executives are increasingly optimistic that the bank will avoid criminal charges and focus on what it does best: minting money.

The DOJ investigation into Goldman was spurred by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who, in a scathing report in April, accused Goldman executives of unloading subprime loans on unsuspecting clients and misleading Congress during testimony in 2010.

Goldman confirmed in August that CEO Lloyd Blankfein and other executives had hired defense lawyers to advise them after the Senate referred the report to the Justice Department.

The probe has added to Goldman’s legal headaches and weighed on the shares, which have shed nearly a third of their value over the past year.

While the DOJ has yet to announce a resolution to the probe, sources close to Goldman said bank officials increasingly believe that the investigation won’t result in criminal charges against the firm or individual executives.

Sources within Goldman had expected the Justice Department to offer a statement of its findings in the more recent quarter after probing the banking giant for months. Goldman declined to comment and the DOJ didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Avoiding criminal charges, as insiders are hoping will be the case, would do much to bolster Blankfein’s determination to remain at the top.

In fact, there’s a growing view within the firm that Blankfein, 57, will stick around for another two or three years after leading Goldman through one of Wall Street’s darkest times.

Goldman and the big Wall Street banks got much of the blame for the financial crisis, prompting scrutiny of their hardball tactics and big payouts.

The banks are still struggling through a Wall Street slump and stricter financial regulations that are making it harder to turn a profit.

As it stands now, the firm’s board of directors, which met earlier this week, continues to back Blankfein’s leadership and is warming to the idea that the firm’s chief operating officer, Gary Cohn, may be the most logical successor to his boss.

Whispers of Blankfein potentially exiting Goldman have been floating around for the past year. Those rumors picked up steam as nearly 40 of the firm’s tight-knit managing partners — an elite group that collects the biggest paychecks and wields the most influence — chose to quit the firm.

Even Goldman’s most outspoken defender, longtime communications director Lucas Van Praag, who also holds the title of partner, is leaving, according to one source familiar with the firm.

Van Praag, a 12-year veteran of the firm, is expected to be replaced by Richard Siewert Jr., a former consultant to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

The move could be an attempt to help Blankfein build inroads within President Obama’s administration and burnish the bank’s image.

mark.decambre@nypost.com