New York prosecutors are widening their investigation into the manner in which Goldman Sachs marketed certain mortgage-linked securities before the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Manhattan district attorney's office began its probe into Goldman following the release in April of a U.S. Senate subcommittee report into the causes of the financial crisis, the paper said.

The district attorney's office has issued subpoenas to Morgan Stanley and other investors in the deals. The prosecutor's requests to investors, including some hedge funds, concern how Goldman sold the deals, the Journal said.

Subpoenas do not indicate wrongdoing. They are formal requests for information and do not necessarily mean charges are forthcoming or likely.

A spokeswoman for Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment on the Journal report to Reuters. A Goldman spokesman declined to comment to the Journal. The bank could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Morgan Stanley Goldman sachs