Posted on 09/24/2008 2:06:44 AM PDT by markomalley
Federal investigators have opened preliminary probes into the financial troubles of four high-profile companies that are at the center of the current financial turmoil that the Bush administration says requires an unprecedented proposed taxpayer-funded bailout to clean up.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's preliminary inquiries are focusing on whether fraud helped cause some of the troubles at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc., according to senior law-enforcement officials.
Lehman and AIG declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie and has both companies in conservatorship, also declined to comment.
The probes come as the huge potential tab for taxpayers in the crisis raises the stakes for the Justice Department. The FBI says it now has 26 companies under investigation, in addition to pursuing more than 1,400 mortgage-fraud cases nationwide.
Pressure is building for the FBI and regulators to hold top executives accountable for the crisis that has crippled the nation's finance sector. In meetings on Capitol Hill, some lawmakers raised concerns with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that by taking large stakes in some financial firms, the government may be limiting its ability to exact penalties for wrongdoing, according to people familiar with the matter.
The FBI says that the corporate probes are part of an effort to pursue allegations of higher-level fraud more sweeping than the retail-level infractions that have been at the center of most cases brought so far.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Oh great. After the FBI investigates for the next 3 or 4 years, then they will decide that there is enough blame to go around for all parties involved and nothing will happen.
The DEMOCRAT CONGRESS HAS BANKRUPTED US IN TWO YEARS!!!!
I think I will buy some stock in paper shredders companies, there are going to be a lot of them burning up in Washington and Wall Street.
1) Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)= Government mandated loan hand-Out legislation.
2) FNMA & Freddie Mac= Biggest loan originators AND sources of political kick-back.
“Oh great. After the FBI investigates for the next 3 or 4 years, then they will decide that there is enough blame to go around for all parties involved and nothing “
>>>>>>>>>>>.............
we all know in our heart of hearts this is the outcome.
one must laugh at the GOP party hacks who desperately point fingers at the DEMORATS as the evil doers in this mess, when we all know it was the washington culture of big gov handouts and corruption in both parties that got us here.
While those unsatisfactory answers may not result in criminal prosecution, they will result in a feeding frenzy for lawyers in civil suits. I'd gladly give a lawyer 30% to take these greedy, conscience deficient scum-buckets to the poor-house.
you forgot Klinton & Karter.....now maybe if these guys had a vowel at the end of their names.
(F)orever (B)othering (I)talians.
please, the FBI is CLUELESS they will be investigating the high profile suits while letting the low level weasels off scott free. The weasels who pressured re re re re financint on seniors or even second and third homes to people who would never qualify without massaging the values and numbers. (then bundled the risk off to the markets)
Michelle Malklin:
Last updated: 7:03 am
September 24, 2008
Posted: 3:51 am
September 24, 2008
AS panicked politicians prepare to fork over $1 trillion in taxpayer funding to rescue Wall Street, they’ve fingered regulation, deregulation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, both Bushes, greedy banks, greedy borrowers, greedy short-sellers and minority-home-ownership promoters for blame.
that’s it, i want to have Michelle’s baby!
As publicly traded companies, they also have gone through SOX audits. It would seem the buttering on a $1-3M in expense for companies to comply with SOX did nothing to prevent corruption.
I have been through SOX audits for as long as they've been done. The simple truth is you hire a consultants to come in and audit you. They know if they flag you, they won't be hired to come and audit you again. Conflict of interest. Meaningless bull cookies. Waste of shareholder value.
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