We know the banks have been ripping us off. Now we have someone brave enough to confront them. Thanks to the New York Attorney Generals office we may be seeing some change in how this thievery is handled.
“This merger is a classic example of how the actions of our nation’s largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Bank of America, through its top management, engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large. This was an arrogant scheme hatched by the bank’s top executives who believed they could play by their own set of rules. In the end, they committed an enormous fraud and American taxpayers ended up paying billions for Bank of America’s misdeeds.”
More after the break:
Of course we need to keep in mind that this is a multibillion corporation being challenged by a State in severe financial distress. But unless the SEC and Congress make real change to the banking laws we are going to have to fight them on a state by state basis. Italy has already started the ball rolling by charging them with fraud. You can read about that in Badabing’s diary.
I just received this email from the SEIU.
Ken Lewis may need to clear a spot on his retirement schedule for a court date.
The New York Attorney General's office announced today that they're charging Bank of America and its former CEO Ken Lewis with fraud. The charges stem from BofA's disastrous merger with Merrill Lynch and their alleged failure to disclose important information about the deal to shareholders or the federal government.
This investigation drives right to the heart of the financial crisis and taxpayers deserve to have all the facts. Tell Bank of America to come clean with all the information surrounding the Merrill Lynch deal: http://action.seiu.org/...
If proven true, these fraud charges could expose the shady nature of the deals made behind closed doors that helped fuel our economic collapse. And they'll send a powerful message to Wall Street's CEOs: You can't expect to crash our economy, take our money, and walk away scot-free.
Stand up for transparency in the big banks - call on Bank of America to come clean with all the information surrounding these charges: http://action.seiu.org/...
Actions have consequences. The truth matters. Let Bank of America know that taxpayers will continue to seek the truth, and we will hold them accountable for their actions.
Thanks,
John VanDeventer
SEIU.org/bigbanks
The New York Attorney General has this press release:
Suit Alleges Bank of America’s Top Management Hid Skyrocketing Losses at Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Management Manipulated Federal Government into Granting Massive Taxpayer Bailout
NEW YORK, NY (February 4, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky, today announced a lawsuit against Bank of America, its former CEO Kenneth D. Lewis, and its former CFO Joseph L. Price for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete a merger with Merrill Lynch. According to the lawsuit, Bank of America’s management intentionally failed to disclose massive losses at Merrill so that shareholders would vote to approve the merger. Once the deal was approved, Bank of America’s management manipulated the federal government into saving the deal with billions in taxpayer funds by falsely claiming that they would back out of the deal without bailout funds.
You can read the rest on the New York Attorney General web page. I strongly suggest reading it if you enjoy justice.