The question of when Wall Street executives will be charged for their crimes has been asked too many times but rarely answered.
Wall Street is now being called to answer for what they did. These actions are some of the first but likely not the last.
The SEC has filed civil charges against 6 former top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their role in the nation’s subprime mortgage financial crisis. This is a civil action by the SEC, I do not know of any Federal criminal actions taken on this matter. Fannie and Freddie are the current mortgage giants in the US and were quasi Federal government entities, as they were GSEs, before they were effectively fully taken over by the Federal Government. Already over $100 Billion of taxpayer money has gone into Freddie and Fannie with no end in sight or prospects for this money ever to be paid back.
From an article today in the Boston Globe titled, "Ex-Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae chiefs, including Richard Syron, sued by SEC over loans"
These are civil suits not criminal prosecutions, as the SEC only has the power to file a civil action. This does not prevent Federal prosecutions to follow.
In a lawsuit filed in New York federal court, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the six men “knew and approved of misleading statements” that downplayed the number of risky mortgage loans held by the lenders.
Those sued by the SEC include:
- Richard Syron, former Freddie Mac’s chief executive and former head Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
- Patricia L. Cook, former Freddie Mac, executive vice president and chief business officer
- Donald J. Bisenius, former Freddie Mac executive vice president for the single family guarantee business
- Daniel H. Mudd, former Fannie Mae chief executive
- Enrico Dallavecchia, former Fannie Mae chief risk officer>/li>
- Thomas A. Lund, former executive vice president of Fannie Mae’s single family mortgage business
I doubt this suit has been filed now due to the actions of Occupy Wall Street as these suits are complex and the SEC would likely make sure they have strong case before filing suit. But then again, Occupy would have made it more difficult for Wall Street and other forces to block this suit from being filed.
This story is a big deal for all who care about the issues raised by the Occupy Movement. Please Recommend and Hotlist.