Congressional investigators are reported to have interviewed Fabrice Tourre, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader, facing a fraud accusation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the company geared up for a showdown with lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday.

The reports revealed that five men and one woman present on the fifth floor of the headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission, provoked by Sbarro pizza and Subway sandwiches, worked hardly over three months in a bid to solve a case alleging that Goldman Sachs had deceived clients.

The investigation, spearheaded by a former federal prosecutor along with a pair of veteran SEC investigators, was preparing to launch a legal action against America's most storied financial firm.

The team is reported to involve three old hands and three more junior lawyers. Together, former colleagues post that they bring a combination of backgrounds appropriate for the many dimensions of the Goldman case.

Goldman Sachs, which has disapproved all the fraud allegations, is in a bid to launch a strong defense team reported to be led by Richard Klapper, who has spent 30 years at Sullivan & Cromwell.

Following a year and a half of preparation, the SEC reportedly filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Goldman earlier this month.