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Fatcats Charged with Fraud

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Anonymous

Guest
Countrywide Execs Charged with Fraud

Thursday, June 4, 2009 4:04 PM



Countrywide Financial Corp co-founder Angelo Mozilo and two other former executives at the once-largest U.S. mortgage lender were sued by U.S. stock regulators on Thursday, a Securities and Exchange Commission official said.


The civil lawsuit also names former Countrywide President David Sambol and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki, the official said.


The SEC was expected to disclose details of the case at a news conference on Thursday.


The case is expected to include insider trading claims against Mozilo and accusations that Sambol and Sieracki failed to disclose risks to investors in securities filings, a second person familiar with the case said.


The case against Mozilo, long one of the most prominent officials in the U.S. mortgage lending industry, constitutes the highest-profile civil case stemming from the U.S. housing collapse.


Mozilo co-founded Countrywide in 1969 and publicly expressed strong confidence in its prospects and survival even as problems began to mount. Bank of America Corp bought the company for $2.5 billion last July 1.
 

alice

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
Alice, are you saying the Government has known about this for awhile and did not do anything about it?

You must've missed me, hypocrite.

Yeah, I'm saying the Cheney govt. knew about it...and took advantage of it, and will do what they can, even tho they are no longer in "office," to make it go away.

Alice
 

Steve

Well-known member
"are you saying the Government has known about this for awhile and did not do anything about it?

Yea,.. but he is good friends with Dodd,.... :roll: :roll: :wink:

Senators Dodd and Conrad are among the government officials who scored V.I.P. loans from C.E.O. Angelo Mozilo.

Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents

Countrywide has also contributed a total of $21,000 to Dodd’s campaigns since 1997

seemed he had alot of "friends" ,..
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Because the Fed conducts much of its work in secret, details about Geithner’s role in the Citigroup debacle remain hidden. But a review of publicly available records shows that the New York Fed, in a key period, relaxed oversight as Citigroup went on a risky spree…

Al-Waleed bin Talal * , net worth $20B, the man who helped Barack Obama get into Harvard Law School, it is alleged. He is the second largest shareholder in Citigroup, right behind the U.S. Government.

For now, though, Sen. Clinton of New York is leading the way, bringing in at least $6.29 million from the securities and investment industry, compared with $6.03 million for Sen. Obama of Illinois and $2.59 million for McCain, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Those figures include donations from the investment companies' employees and political action committees.

Meet Obama’s Corporate Backers

Donor: Goldman Sachs & Co.

How Much: $627,730

Donor: JP Morgan

How Much: $398,021

Donor: Citigroup

How Much: $393,899

Donor: UBS AG

How Much: $378,400

Donor: Google

How Much: $373,212

Donor: Lehman Brothers

How Much: $353,922
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I hope they don't get sidetracked when investigating countrywide, and go the distance.

The Journal reports that James Johnson -- a high-ranking advisor to Obama -- was part of an elite group -- "friends of Angelo" -- who got more than $7 million in special loans from Countrywide

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/06/obamas-countryw.html

"James Johnson, one of three people tapped by Mr. Obama recently to oversee the search for his running mate, took at least five real estate loans totaling more than $7 million from Countrywide Financial Corp. through an informal program for friends of the company's CEO, Angelo Mozilo, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday."

About James Johnson: He's part of the permanent government of this country, a long-time Democratic fixer (Mondale and Kerry campaigns), former CEO of Fannie Mae, and as such a big buyer of Countrywide loans. He's a guy who sits on a bunch of corporate boards, etc.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
Alice, are you saying the Government has known about this for awhile and did not do anything about it?

Nope- because as all the evidence coming out now is that GW told all his regulators- SEC- CFTC- FTC- etal to take an 8 year vacation- and do no enforcement- or regulation-- and cut the size of their regulation/enforcement ability...

In hearing after hearing I hear Dem and Repub Congressmen bring up over and over again how these agencies/new Administrators need to bring some credibility and trust back to their agencies- and their sworn duties to protect the US public...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
And the Dems at the SEC didn't say anything, at the time?

Yep- they did...I've posted many of their comments previously- but they were overruled- and the Chairman was a Bush Boy.....
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
And the rules and regulations, who makes those?

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this, it will be interesting to see who gets taken down.

Good thing the new Chariman/Chair woman is an independent, eh?

OT, any word on when this investigation that lead to the fraud charges was initiated?
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
alice said:
hypocritexposer said:
Alice, are you saying the Government has known about this for awhile and did not do anything about it?

You must've missed me, hypocrite.

Yeah, I'm saying the Cheney govt. knew about it...and took advantage of it, and will do what they can, even tho they are no longer in "office," to make it go away.

Alice

Cheney didn't get a "Friend of Angelo discount". That went to the Democrat in charge of the Senate Banking Committee. I don't recall you speaking out against that.
 

jigs

Well-known member
funny how you sell your vote on the judges stand, yet are pissed about corruption in Washington....

guess you are pissed that you are not getting any of the palm grease.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
And the rules and regulations, who makes those?

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this, it will be interesting to see who gets taken down.

Good thing the new Chariman/Chair woman is an independent, eh?

OT, any word on when this investigation that lead to the fraud charges was initiated?

Angelo Mozilo fell on the sword to protect Dodd, Frank, and Obama...this investagation will end with him.
 

Tex

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
hypocritexposer said:
And the rules and regulations, who makes those?

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this, it will be interesting to see who gets taken down.

Good thing the new Chariman/Chair woman is an independent, eh?

OT, any word on when this investigation that lead to the fraud charges was initiated?

Angelo Mozilo fell on the sword to protect Dodd, Frank, and Obama...this investagation will end with him.

This should not be hard to figure out. Get the loan documents and then determine if lawmakers, based on underwriting, were given a better deal than regular people with the same criteria.

If this can't be done with ease, we have people working on this issue who are plain old incompetent.

Why are taxpayers paying for incompetence?
 

Mike

Well-known member
This case seems not to be about regulation, but to be about Countrywide LYING about their health status..........Hope Dodd goes to prison with him.

The founder and former CEO of subprime giant Countrywide Financial was charged with insider trading in a lawsuit filed Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Angelo Mozilo, 70, is accused of illegally making $140 million by selling off company stock at a time when investors were misled about the overall health of the company.

According to the SEC, Countrywide told investors that it dealt mostly in stable mortgages when it actually dealt mainly in risky subprime mortgages. SEC said the Countrywide executives knew its reliance on the subprime market was a business model likely to fail.

The bottom line is that we are flying blind on how these loans will perform in a stressed environment of higher unemployment, reduced values and slowing home sales, Mr. Mozilo wrote in an email to another executive, according to the SEC.

Mr. Mozilo is the highest-ranking corporate official involved in the nation's housing crisis to face legal action from U.S. authorities.

Chief operating officer and president David Sambol and former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki were also named in the SEC suit.

The panel does not bring criminal charges and has no power to jail. Instead, the SEC can impose financial penalties and bar individuals from working in the field it oversees — publicly-traded companies.

The Justice Department is investigating Countrywide on possible criminal violations but has not acted.

Countrywide Financial, which has ties to prominent lawmakers including Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, was the nation's largest mortgage lender before the housing crash.

Bank of America bought the company last year.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Tex said:
RobertMac said:
hypocritexposer said:
And the rules and regulations, who makes those?

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this, it will be interesting to see who gets taken down.

Good thing the new Chariman/Chair woman is an independent, eh?

OT, any word on when this investigation that lead to the fraud charges was initiated?

Angelo Mozilo fell on the sword to protect Dodd, Frank, and Obama...this investagation will end with him.

This should not be hard to figure out. Get the loan documents and then determine if lawmakers, based on underwriting, were given a better deal than regular people with the same criteria.

If this can't be done with ease, we have people working on this issue who are plain old incompetent.

Why are taxpayers paying for incompetence?
Tex, it's already been figured out...Dodd got a sweetheart deal...his defense...ignorance! Do you think you or I could get off by pleading ignorance? Holder won't prosecute two black panther tugs when the case was already won...do you think he will pursue Dodd??
 

Mike

Well-known member
The Senate Ethics Committee has been looking into possible conflicts of interest in Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's 2003 mortgages. Now questions about another Dodd real-estate adventure, this one in Ireland, should keep the Ethicists even busier. All the more because Mr. Dodd's "cottage" purchase involves a crooked stock trader for whom the Senator once did a very big political favor.

Mr. Dodd is already under a cloud for receiving what a former loan officer claims was preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial on two mortgage refinancings -- in Connecticut and Washington -- in 2003. Countrywide was an aggressive lender to shaky borrowers and relied heavily on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy those mortgages in bulk. As a senior Member of the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Dodd was one of Fannie's greatest promoters. Mr. Dodd promised last year to disclose mortgage documents to prove he got no special treatment, but so far all he's done is let a few hand-picked journalists take a quick peek before he put the papers back in storage.



Christopher Dodd
Now enterprising Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie has uncovered another suspicious real-estate investment. The story starts in 1994, when the Senator became one-third owner of a 10-acre estate, then valued at $160,000, on the island of Inishnee on Galway Bay. The property is near the fashionable village of Roundstone, a well-known celebrity haunt. William Kessinger bought the other two-thirds share in the estate. Edward Downe, Jr., who has been a business partner of Mr. Kessinger, signed the deed as a witness. Senator Dodd and Mr. Downe are long-time friends, and in 1986 they had purchased a condominium together in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Downe is also quite the character. The year before the Galway deal, in 1993, he pleaded guilty to insider trading and securities fraud and in 1994 agreed to pay the SEC $11 million in a civil settlement. The crimes were felonies and in 2001, as President Clinton was getting ready to leave office, Mr. Dodd successfully lobbied the White House for a full pardon for Mr. Downe.

The next year -- according to a transfer document at the Irish land registry viewed by Mr. Rennie -- Mr. Kessinger sold his two-thirds share to Mr. Dodd for $122,351. The Senator says he actually paid Mr. Kessinger $127,000, which he claims was based on an appraisal at the time. That means, at best, poor Mr. Kessinger earned less than 19% over eight years on the sale of his two-thirds share to Mr. Dodd. But according to Ireland's Central Bank, prices of existing homes in Ireland quadrupled from 1994 to 2004.

Perhaps Mr. Kessinger is a lousy businessman. Or maybe he merely relied on Mr. Dodd to tell him how much the property was worth. In his Senate financial disclosure documents from 2002-2007, Mr. Dodd reported that the Galway home was worth between $100,001 and $250,000. However, Mr. Rennie reports that in 2006 and 2007 the Senator added a footnote that reads: "value based on appraisal at time of purchase."

Mr. Dodd had good reason to add the qualifier. Senate rules call for valuations to be current and anyone who looked into the estimate would immediately spot Mr. Dodd's lowballing. A June 17, 2007 feature in Britain's Sunday Times did just that. "Diary" observed that in Roundstone "a two-bed recently made E680,000 ($918,000) and a cottage is currently on offer for E800,000." Noting Mr. Dodd's estimate of his property -- between E75,000 and E185,000 -- the diarist quipped, "to hell with the stamp duty, and form an orderly queue."

Mr. Dodd is busy these days blaming everyone else for the real-estate bubble and financial meltdown. But he owes his constituents and the Senate an honest accounting of his Galway property over the past 15 years. If its value grew with the rest of the area, he needs to explain why Mr. Kessinger handed it over for a song, why that isn't an unreported gift under Senate rules, and what role Mr. Downe might have played as a middleman.

More broadly, Connecticut voters might want to know why their senior Senator has hung around for years with Mr. Downe, the kind of financial scoundrel Mr. Dodd spends so much time denouncing.
 
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