Late yesterday, Neil Barofsky announced he's opening 20 criminal and civil investigations into whether TARP money is being used fraudulently. And if an interview with The Hill is any indication, this won't be a whitewash.
"We really need to press forward on these things because, unlike the traditional prosecutorial law enforcement investigation, where the end is the indictment and bringing justice, which is important, here we have such an important role in deterrence that it’s very important for us to get these charges out quickly," said Barofsky, who is set to release a quarterly report on the TARP on Tuesday, and will testify before Congress on Thursday.
Barofsky only has 37 people on staff (with plans to increase to 150), but he wants them to zero in on potential fraud.
Additionally, Barofsky has opened six audits. Among the targets--Bank of America and AIG.
He also wants the banks to disclose their overall use of TARP money, not just their lending practices. Some people at Treasury have been resistant to Barofsky's ideas, but not Congress--it recently voted to give him immediate access to the $50 million he needs to run his office.
Not entirely surprising, considering Barofsky's pedigree.
"I come to this job as a former prosecutor," said Barofsky, 38, who investigated fraud, white-collar crime and drug trafficking by the Colombian FARC rebel group as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
Update: Litho mentioned a must-hear interview between Barofsky and NPR's Renee Montagne that aired on Morning Edition today. Listen here.