AG’s have no idea what they are allowing to proceed in the courts, I urge them to Halt, Seize, Stop these illegal foreclosures. Bank of America is in a mad rush to get these through the court systems. Pages are missing from the filed documents to further hide the endorsed pages.
Whistle-blowers best you blow the “whistle” now!
AP-
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) should face fraud proceedings after its Countrywide unit submitted faulty data to back up claims for reimbursement on federally insured mortgages, according to an audit by a U.S. watchdog.
Half of 14 loans reviewed had “material underwriting deficiencies” concerning borrowers that resulted in more than $720,000 in losses, according to a Sept. 30 report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general. Kelly Anderson, a HUD regional inspector general, recommended the agency pursue legal remedies against Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender.
“Countrywide did not properly verify, analyze, or support borrowers’ employment and income, source of funds to close, liabilities and credit information,” Kelly wrote in the audit. “This noncompliance occurred because Countrywide’s underwriters did not exercise due diligence in underwriting the loans.”
The Federal Housing Administration, run by HUD, insures mortgages on loans to borrowers who can’t find traditional financing, such as those with low incomes. Lenders can ask the FHA to cover losses if borrowers default. The agency has stepped up scrutiny of those claims, and denials could be the next wave of expenses tied to faulty mortgages for lenders including Bank of America, FBR Capital Markets Corp. said on Oct. 3
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and David S. Hilzenrath, Friday, March 18, 1:08 AM
The Securities and Exchange Commission is moving toward charging former and current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives with violations related to the financial crisis, setting up a clash with the housing regulator that oversees the companies, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The SEC, responsible for enforcing securities laws, is alleging that at least four senior executives failed to provide necessary information to investors about the companies’ mortgage holdings as the U.S. housing market collapsed.
(Reuters) – A top Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) executive received notice the government may file charges against him for allegedly violating securities laws in the years leading up to the housing bust, according to a regulatory filing released on Thursday.
Executive Vice President Don Bisenius received a “wells notice” from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the agency is considering filing an enforcement action against him for possibly violating federal securities laws and related rules in 2007 and 2008.
The revelation comes just days after a former Freddie Mac chief financial officer Anthony Piszel also received a similar warning from the SEC. Piszel, who was the mortgage giant’s CFO between 2006 and 2008, was forced to resign earlier this month from CoreLogic Inc (CLGX.N), where he was working as the company’s chief financial officer.
Freddie Mac and sister entity Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) have both been under investigation since September 2008 for their role in the mortgage crisis.
The complaint seeks to recover nearly $1 billion in fees and profits and an additional $5.4 billion in
damages for JPMC’s decades-long role as BLMIS’s primary banker, aiding and abetting Madoff’s
fraud. All recovered monies will be placed into the Customer Fund and distributed, pro rata, to
Madoff customers with valid claims, the rightful owners of those monies.
“JP Morgan was willfully blind to the fraud, even after learning about numerous red flags surrounding Madoff,” said David J. Sheehan, counsel for the Trustee and a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP, the court-appointed counsel for the Trustee. “While many financial institutions enabled Madoff’s fraud, JPMC was at the very center of that fraud, and thoroughly complicit in it. JPMC was BLMIS’s primary banker for more than 20 years, and was responsible for knowing the business of its customers – in this case, a very large customer. Madoff would not have been able to commit this massive Ponzi scheme without this bank. JPMC should pay the price for its central role in enabling Madoff’s fraud.”
Continue below…to read TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL COMPLAINT
INQUIRY CONCERNING A JUDGE NO. 09-01 and 09-578
RE: JUDGE N. JAMES TURNER SC09-1182
Illegal Practice of Law
As a sitting judge, Turner was prohibited from engaging in the practice of law. However, he knowingly acted as his mother’s lawyer in a foreclosure proceeding in Dade County.
THE FLORIDA JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS COMMISSION’S SECOND
INTERROGATORIES TO JUDGE N. JAMES TURNER states:
INTERROGATORY NO. 1: Please specifically itemize and describe the source of funds (in excess of $42,000) that you reported as loans from you to your campaign.
ANSWER:
INTERROGATORY NO. 2: Please specifically itemize and describe all funds, however characterized, you received from your mother (Mignon Gordon) which were used for the campaign for the office you now hold, including, the date(s) any such funds were received, the specific amounts of such funds, and the total of such funds.
ANSWER:
INTERROGATORY NO. 3:Please specifically describe the agreement, arrangement or understanding you had with your mother regarding the funds you received from her which were used in the campaign for the office you now hold.
ANSWER:
INTERROGATORY NO. 4: Please describe all communications (written or parole) you had with David J. Stern, Esquire regarding your mother or the foreclosure litigation brought against her by Citimortgage, Inc. in Dade County, Florida, including the nature, substance and approximate dates of all such communications.
ANSWER:
INTERROGATORY NO. 5:Please describe all communications (written or parole) you had with any person other than David J. Stern, Esquireregarding your mother or the foreclosure litigation brought against her by Citimortgage, Inc. in Dade County, Florida, including the nature, substance and approximate dates of all such communications.
ANSWER:
NOTICE OF THIRD AMENDED CONSOLIDATED
FORMAL CHARGES states:
7. During the campaign for the office you now hold, you knowingly accepted and received a very substantial campaign contribution made for the purpose of influencing the results of the election, whether characterized as a gift or loan, far in excess of the $500 limit established by Ch. 106, Florida Statutes, from your mother (Mignon Gordon) which you used to pay for your campaign, in violation of Chapter 106, Florida Statutes, and Canons 1, 2A and 7C(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct.
8. As a sitting circuit court judge, on or about November 20, 2009, you knowingly filed a notice of appearance in pending litigation in Dade County, Florida (CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Gordon, Case No. 2009-74992-CA- 01) where you purported to appear to represent your mother in foreclosure proceedings brought against her therein, in violation of Canons 1, 2A and 5G of the Code of Judicial Conduct.
9. As a sitting circuit court judge, you knowingly represented and acted as litigation counsel for your mother in the foreclosure proceeding in Dade County, Florida described above by,inter alia, communicating with counsel for the mortgagee on her behalf, in Osceola County, Florida, in violation of Canons 1, 2A and 5G of the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Firm Acknowledges CDO Marketing Materials Were Incomplete and Should Have Revealed Paulson’s Role
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-123
“This settlement is a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex, and no investor too sophisticated, to avoid a heavy price if a firm violates the fundamental principles of honest treatment and fair dealing.”
Robert Khuzami
Director
SEC Enforcement
Washington, D.C., July 15, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Goldman, Sachs & Co. will pay $550 million and reform its business practices to settle SEC charges that Goldman misled investors in a subprime mortgage product just as the U.S. housing market was starting to collapse.
In agreeing to the SEC’s largest-ever penalty paid by a Wall Street firm, Goldman also acknowledged that its marketing materials for the subprime product contained incomplete information.
In its April 16 complaint, the SEC alleged that Goldman misstated and omitted key facts regarding a synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) it marketed that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities. Goldman failed to disclose to investors vital information about the CDO, known as ABACUS 2007-AC1, particularly the role that hedge fund Paulson & Co. Inc. played in the portfolio selection process and the fact that Paulson had taken a short position against the CDO.
In settlement papers submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Goldman made the following acknowledgement:
Goldman acknowledges that the marketing materials for the ABACUS 2007-AC1 transaction contained incomplete information. In particular, it was a mistake for the Goldman marketing materials to state that the reference portfolio was “selected by” ACA Management LLC without disclosing the role of Paulson & Co. Inc. in the portfolio selection process and that Paulson’s economic interests were adverse to CDO investors. Goldman regrets that the marketing materials did not contain that disclosure.
“Half a billion dollars is the largest penalty ever assessed against a financial services firm in the history of the SEC,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This settlement is a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex, and no investor too sophisticated, to avoid a heavy price if a firm violates the fundamental principles of honest treatment and fair dealing.”
Lorin L. Reisner, Deputy Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, added, “The unmistakable message of this lawsuit and today’s settlement is that half-truths and deception cannot be tolerated and that the integrity of the securities markets depends on all market participants acting with uncompromising adherence to the requirements of truthfulness and honesty.”
Goldman agreed to settle the SEC’s charges without admitting or denying the allegations by consenting to the entry of a final judgment that provides for a permanent injunction from violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. Of the $550 million to be paid by Goldman in the settlement, $250 million would be returned to harmed investors through a Fair Fund distribution and $300 million would be paid to the U.S. Treasury.
The landmark settlement also requires remedial action by Goldman in its review and approval of offerings of certain mortgage securities. This includes the role and responsibilities of internal legal counsel, compliance personnel, and outside counsel in the review of written marketing materials for such offerings. The settlement also requires additional education and training of Goldman employees in this area of the firm’s business. In the settlement, Goldman acknowledged that it is presently conducting a comprehensive, firm-wide review of its business standards, which the SEC has taken into account in connection with the settlement of this matter.
The settlement is subject to approval by the Honorable Barbara S. Jones, United Sates District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
Today’s settlement, if approved by Judge Jones, resolves the SEC’s enforcement action against Goldman related to the ABACUS 2007-AC1 CDO. It does not settle any other past, current or future SEC investigations against the firm. Meanwhile, the SEC’s litigation continues against Fabrice Tourre, a vice president at Goldman.
The SEC investigation that led to the filing and settlement of this enforcement action was conducted by the Enforcement Division’s Structured and New Products Unit, led by Kenneth Lench and Reid Muoio, and including Jason Anthony, N. Creola Kelly, Melissa Lamb, and Jeffrey Leasure. Additionally, together with Deputy Director Reisner, Richard Simpson, David Gottesman, and Jeffrey Tao have been handling the litigation.
# # #
For more information about this enforcement action, contact:
Robert S. Khuzami
Director, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4500
Lorin L. Reisner
Deputy Director, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4787
Kenneth R. Lench
Chief of Structured and New Products Unit, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4938
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