SEC Charges Ex-Fannie, Freddie CEOs With Fraud

FOXNEWS ^ | 12/16/11 | AP

[Doogle]

WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying they misled the government and taxpayers about risky subprime mortgages the mortgage giants held during the housing bust.

Those charged include the agencies' two former CEOs, Fannie's Daniel Mudd and Freddie's Richard Syron. They are the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.

Mudd, 53, and Syron, 68, led the mortgage giants when the housing bubble burst in late 2006 and 2007. The four other top executives also worked for the companies during that time.

The case was filed in federal court in New York City.

In a statement released through his attorney, Mudd said the lawsuit "should never have been brought" and said the government reviewed and approved all of the company's financial disclosures.

[Gaffer]

what about Franklin Raines and Jaime Gorelick? I guess they get off Scott Free.....

[Jimmy Valentine]

"bout time....."

Way past time.

How about Franklin Raines, Jaimie Gorelick, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Deval Patrick for additional indictments?

Plus any other thieves from the Clinton Administration.

[jersey117]

And Franklin Raines.

[L,TOWM]

Spot on, Auntie. D1 it has been a while since I’ve seen you, my FRiend.

Another book I would recommend to both of you is “All the Devils Are Here”. Neither Fannie or Freddie were ever “forced” to do subprime — they lobbied for the ability to include that crap in stuff they bought and lied to their oversight people about how much of it they actually owned, which is one of the things th SEC is going after them for; that and misrepresentations on an offering of securities, which is a big time violation of the ‘33 Act.

I am not certain how they “evil Fair Housing Act made Fanny & Freddie fund garbage loans” meme entered conservative thought, but it is simply not so. Primary lenders and the GSE’s, in addition to Wall Street; all of the greedy POS’s pushed Congress for the ability to fund crap mortgages, package them up, and sell them to others looking for bonds yielding 10% that were secured by mortgages... There were NO, ZERO, NULL, EMPTY SET of heroes in the run up to 2008, D1. The cast of villians filled a 300 page book.

Add in the willingness of the raters to give AAA ratings on anything if the price was right and a bunch of really smart guys that became experts at packaging garbage inside ever more esoteric CMO’s, mezzanines, synthetic securities, repurchases, and other instruments to get a AAA rating, and there you have it.

[L,TOWM]

None of the CEO’s or executives in any Dow 30, S&P 500, or Russell 2000 believe in it anymore, either. And have not in a long time.

[Doogle]

..for all who asked about Raines,Gorelick,Frank,and others? Do what I have done email the following and ask them...

hannity@foxnews.com

kelly@foxnews.com

ontherecord@foxnews.com

oreilly@foxnews.com

....if enough people ask the question, maybe we’ll get an answer. If enough news organizations get asked the question...????. I know a lot of people don’t like FOX, BUT since they have the biggest audience,if enough people hear and remember those names...maybe we get answers.

[usconservative]

Ping me when Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Obama's good friend Harold Raines, Clinton's friends Jamie Gorelik, and Rahm Emmanuel get indicted as well.

While we're at it, add Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke to that list too. Greenspan had a major role in creating the housing bubble by keeping rates artificially low for far too long, demonstrating to me that he was doing the Clinton Administration's bidding. Bernanke's stupidity in keeping rates low and dragging out the pain that needs to occur to straighten out the markets is also economic terrorism, IMO.

Until all these criminals are indited too, these two asshats are nothing but meaningless scapegoats.

[Inwoodian]

And Jack Quinn.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Great idea! Thanks for the links

[Future Useless Eater]

.

I wouldn't bother arguing with Gingrich-haters. They are useful-idiots for Obama.

EVERY SINGLE time this subject gets repeated in the news, on blogs, or here at FR, and whether or not Gingrich is mentioned in the article, the REAL REASON for the story is to link Newt to Freddie/Fannie, and destroy him as a candidate in the "court of public opinion".

The MSM has decided the GOP nominee may ONLY be Romney.

Even Michele Bachmann should be a bit ashamed of herself for her recent bad-mouthed Newt over Fannie/Freddie. She KNEW better.

She knew that Gingrich slammed Fannie/Freddie for mismanagement in 2008, weeks before the financial meltdown that Fannie/Freddie largely caused. She knew this because she stood on the same stage, and she introduced him!

---

The MSM's slime machine is currently targeting Newt Gingrich, because Obama is afraid of him,
(and they want Romney to win the GOP nomination).

And Obama's method of attack is to now, finally, to use the S.E.C. to 'destroy' the leaders of Freddie/Fannie (in the press)
but primarily use THAT to destroy Gingrich in the 'court of public opinion' for his connection to them.

It has been YEARS that Freddie/Fannie have been known to be corrupt.
And Gingrich was pointing out HOW CORRUPT they were, even in 2008.

Here is a transcript of Newt saying on CSPAN, how horrible Freddie and Fannie were managed
and they should be dismantled...

"Governing & Political Change" held in St. Paul Minnesota, September 3, 2008

Bachmann: The question is on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the outrage and will it go private?
or where are Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac going to go?


Gingrich: Well, I think this is one of the great tests of reform- 
of a populist reform conservatism. 

There is ZERO reasons to bail out these two institutions.

They have violated the fundamental principle of why they were created.

And I did a fair amount of-...  Let me be right up front... 
I did a fair amount of work with Freddie Mac, looking at it, consulting it,
but not at a fiduciary level, but at a general public policy level.

I am appalled at the degree of management irresponsibility 
that both places have had, and I think they should be treated 
precisely like a private sector institution, 

And the stockholders, and the senior management should fundamentally 
have to bear the brunt...
I don't think you want to let them go broke, because they're enormous, 
and that has a BIG second and third order consequence on the system. 

But I think what you want to say, is as a consequence of their survival, 
they should be broken up, they should go thru the equivalent of a receivership, 
and everybody who was profiting from them should pay the cost of having failed. 


And the general taxpayer should NOT bear that burden. 
and I think that could be handled totally different.

But there is ZERO reason, now that they've failed... 
I was perfectly happy to to not PUSH the issue, as long as they weren't failing, 
but NOW that they've clearly failed their fiduciary responsibility, 
there is zero reason for the average taxpayer to bail out these institutions.

And their senior managements have been DISGRACEFUL in the mismanagement, 
particularly I think,  of Fannie Mae which had huge, huge, internal problems 
in terms of accounting, in a way you can't quite understand,,, 

How could people run an institution THAT badly? 

---

To: Michele Bachmann

I like you. I like you a lot.

But you have been a U.S. Representative in Congress, representing a small portion of Minnesota, for less than five years, since January 2007.

That's still a little light on experience for running for President. But you're still young and you could be a stronger candidate in the future. Please keep up your good work!!

In 2008, you were apparently friends with Newt Gingrich, and you apparently invited him onto that same stage with you in Saint Paul. And you appeared to beam, and smile in approval as Newt blasted Fannie and Freddie.

So PLEASE tone down your current rhetoric against Newt, and please do not forget Romney is an abortionist, and an ObamneyCare and Gay Marriage advocate.

"We" who support Tea Party principles MIGHT want you on Newt's ticket for VP. And then, after eight years in Newt's administration, you could be ready to take over the reins, and continue after Newt demolishes and reverses this incredible Obama nightmare.

( Gingrich-haters, please do not address or reply to me.)

[Graewoulf]

” - - - the government reviewed and approved all of the company’s financial disclosures.”

What are the names of people in “the government” who reviewed and approved?

BTW, was one of them nicknamed “Sub-Prime” Barney?