Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Countrywide's Mozilo charged with fraud, insider trading by SEC
Daily Finance ^ | Tim Catts

Posted on 06/04/2009 3:19:55 PM PDT by Lorianne

Former Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo has become the highest-profile executive to be accused of wrongdoing in the subprime mortgage meltdown. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged him with allegedly lying to investors and reaping $140 million in profits from illegal insider trading this afternoon.

A civil lawsuit filed by the SEC alleges that Mozilo knew that increasingly lax mortgage underwriting standards at Countrywide, once a heavyweight in the subprime home loan industry, would endanger the company but failed to disclose the risk to investors.

"Countrywide portrayed itself as underwriting mainly prime quality mortgages using high underwriting standards," said SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami in a statement. "But concealed from shareholders was the true Countrywide, an increasingly reckless lender assuming greater and greater risk."

Two other Countrywide executives were also charged with securities fraud, according to the SEC.

The insider trading charges stem from pre-arranged stock sales Mozilo executed in 2007, the Associated Press reported. The SEC accused him of illegally using information not known to the public or investors to profit from the trades.

Mozilo's lawyer, David Siegel of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles, last month dismissed allegations of insider trading as "scandalous and inconsistent with even a cursory examination of the facts," according to Bloomberg News.

Once the biggest mortgage lender in the country, Countrywide was hit hard as more and more of the borrowers to whom it had given subprime loans fell behind on payments and defaulted in 2007. Badly damaged by losses, it sold itself to Bank of America (BAC) in early 2008.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption
KEYWORDS: corruptdems; countrywide; mortgage; mozilo; vip

1 posted on 06/04/2009 3:19:56 PM PDT by Lorianne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Lorianne

No mention of Dodd?


2 posted on 06/04/2009 3:21:41 PM PDT by gidget7 (Duncan Hunter-Valley Forge Republican!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gidget7
No mention of Dodd?

I suspect he's sweating bullets.

3 posted on 06/04/2009 3:22:53 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne

“the SEC alleges that Mozilo knew that increasingly lax mortgage underwriting standards at Countrywide,”

Which resulted from increasingly lax FNMA guidelines regarding their purchase of crap loans made to risky borrowers.


4 posted on 06/04/2009 3:24:35 PM PDT by Rebelbase
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne
A civil lawsuit filed by the SEC alleges that Mozilo knew that increasingly lax mortgage underwriting standards at Countrywide, once a heavyweight in the subprime home loan industry, would endanger the company but failed to disclose the risk to investors. "Countrywide portrayed itself as underwriting mainly prime quality mortgages using high underwriting standards," said SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami in a statement. "But concealed from shareholders was the true Countrywide, an increasingly reckless lender assuming greater and greater risk."

The whole housing boom from the politicians down to the appraisers was nothing but a fraudalant musical chair ponzi scheme.

5 posted on 06/04/2009 3:24:58 PM PDT by tc45a
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gidget7

No mention of Dodd?

screw Dodd, what about FRANK, Barney?


6 posted on 06/04/2009 3:25:02 PM PDT by This_far
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne
should be fun for Angelo, start signing dude, put dodd and frank in the lyrics
7 posted on 06/04/2009 3:25:10 PM PDT by peace with honor
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne

Judge Napalitano(the guy) was on Fox 3-4 weeks back and said the gov’t was investigating 20 people in the mortgage industry that were blatantly doing fraudalant acts regarding the housing industry. Mainly packaging credit swaps they knew were bad as good loans to unsuspecting buyers.


8 posted on 06/04/2009 3:29:27 PM PDT by tc45a
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: This_far

If he is connected to Countrywide then yes. This case is about friends of Angelo deals.


9 posted on 06/04/2009 3:30:30 PM PDT by gidget7 (Duncan Hunter-Valley Forge Republican!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne; ex-Texan

Ex-Texan, who were the FR posters that said their was no fraud in the housing loan industry?


10 posted on 06/04/2009 3:31:01 PM PDT by tc45a
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne

Great... Now, let’s get Dodd, Frank, and Raines.


11 posted on 06/04/2009 3:31:38 PM PDT by snowrip (Liberal? YOU ARE A GUTLESS SOCIALIST LOSER WITH NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lorianne
/

How does Countrywide's Angie Mozilo get into his
$170,000 Lamborghini with Sen Dodd in his back pocket?

12 posted on 06/04/2009 3:32:23 PM PDT by Liz (When people fear govt, we have tyranny; when govt fears the people, we have freedom.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gidget7

“If he is connected to Countrywide then yes. This case is about friends of Angelo deals.”

Which all were worthy of investment due to ‘relaxed’ rules thanks to Frank, Barney (or at least in part).


13 posted on 06/04/2009 3:38:08 PM PDT by This_far
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: This_far

Ah yes, now that you mention it. So what about Frank AND Dodd, not to mention the rest of them.


14 posted on 06/04/2009 4:51:08 PM PDT by gidget7 (Duncan Hunter-Valley Forge Republican!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: gidget7

“So what about Frank AND Dodd, not to mention the rest of them.”

Since they can’t comport themselves to be the gentlemen that the Founding Fathers (for the most part) were, term limits should be imposed.


15 posted on 06/04/2009 5:00:14 PM PDT by This_far
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson