FBI Investigating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Bros. and AIG

[smile]

This Bailout Is Like You Bailing Out The Burglar That Robbed Your House

WASHINGTON - The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration.

Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and insurer American International Group Inc.

The inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them, a senior law enforcement official said.

Officials said the new inquiries brings the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the last year to 26.

Spokesmen for AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday evening. A Lehman spokesman did not have an immediate comment.

The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing and are in the very early stages.

Just last week, FBI Director Robert Mueller put the number of large financial firms under investigation at 24. He did not name any of the companies under investigation but said the FBI also is looking at whether any of them have misrepresented their assets.

Link:
FBI looking at heart of financial meltdown - U.S. business - MSNBC.com

[philly387]

So...I might be overlooking something but...what does this mean? lol

[smile]

Originally Posted by philly387

So...I might be overlooking something but...what does this mean? lol

This is a good thing if it is done honestly.

It may put some of the people responsible in jail and hopefully it will detour others from trying to do this again and screwing the U.S. economy ever again.

Our grandkids may be safe from this happening if the FBI does an honest investigation and really goes after people.

[philly387]

But what actually happened? What did they do that was illegal?

[smile]

If I was to tell you the heart of what really happened it would piss off and probably offend half the people on this board and I like coming here

[Slavaja]

boy you guys don;t know much. the people that you want to put in jail are the people who run the federal reverse. you guys better do some research on the 'Federal reverse' to have a better understanding about the crisis the US, why the great depression happened and why is inflation to high. the government figures are something like 4-6% for inflation in the US. But many economist say the real inflation is about 11-13%.

[philly387]

haha, there isn't a whole lot that pisses me off to tell you the truth...please share

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by smile

If I was to tell you the heart of what really happened it would piss off and probably offend half the people on this board and I like coming here

So what is the point of the post? Waste of time really.

[Quasi_Mojo]

In this day and age, it is best to educate yourself. Gotta love the Internet!

I found this:

Just last week, FBI Director Robert Mueller put the number of large financial firms under investigation at 24. He did not name any of the companies under investigation but said the FBI also was looking at whether any of them have misrepresented their assets.

Over the past year as the housing market cratered, the FBI has opened a wide-ranging probe of companies across the financial services industry, from mortgage lenders to investment banks that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors. Mueller has previously said the FBI's hunt for culprits in the nation's subprime mortgage crisis focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments.

The investigations revealed Tuesday come as lawmakers began considering whether to approve emergency legislation that would give the government broad power to buy up devalued assets from troubled financial firms.

The bailout proposed by the Bush administration is aimed at helping unlock credit and stabilize badly shaken markets in the United States and around the globe.

In the past two weeks, the government has taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country's two biggest mortgage companies, with a bailout plan that could require the Treasury Department to put up as much as $100 billion for each of them over time if needed to keep them afloat as mortgage losses mount.

Last week, the Federal Reserve provided an emergency $85 billion loan to AIG, which teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Lehman Brothers was forced to file for bankruptcy after attempts to engineer a private rescue fell apart. All the companies were laid low from bad bets on complex mortgage-related securities.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the joint decision last week that the only way to stop the carnage was to deal with the root cause of all the troubles, billions of dollars of bad mortgage debt sitting on the books of major financial companies. This debt has triggered the worst credit crisis in decades, causing credit markets to essentially freeze up despite the fact that the Fed joined with major central banks around the world to pump billions of dollars of reserves into the financial system.

Additionally, the FBI is investigating failed bank IndyMac Bancorp Inc. for possible fraud. Countrywide Financial Corp., formerly the nation's largest mortgage lender and now owned by Bank of America Corp., is also under scrutiny.

FBI investigating companies at heart of financial meltdown - 9/23/08 - San Francisco News - abc7news.com

Fannie May:

On December 18, 2006, U.S. regulators filed 101 civil charges against chief executive Franklin Raines; chief financial officer J. Timothy Howard; and the former controller Leanne G. Spencer. The three are accused of manipulating Fannie Mae earnings to maximize their bonuses. The lawsuit sought to recoup more than $115 million in bonus payments, collectively accrued by the trio from 1998–2004, and about $100 million in penalties for their involvement in the accounting scandal.

Fannie Mae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Freddie Mac:

On April 18, 2006 home loan giant Freddie Mac was fined $3.8 million, by far the largest amount ever assessed by the Federal Election Commission, as a result of illegal campaign contributions. Much of the illegal fund raising benefited members of the House Financial Services Committee, a panel whose decisions can affect Freddie Mac. Notably, Freddie Mac held more than 40 fundraisers for House Financial Services Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio.

Freddie Mac - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lehman Brothers:

In 2003, the company was one of ten firms which simultaneously entered into a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of the New York State Attorney General and various other securities regulators, regarding undue influence over each firm's research analysts by their investment-banking divisions. Specifically, regulators alleged that the firms had improperly associated analyst compensation with the firms' investment-banking revenues, and promised favorable, market-moving research coverage, in exchange for underwriting opportunities. The settlement, known as the “global settlement”, provided for total financial penalties of $1.4 billion, including $80 million against Lehman, and structural reforms, including a complete separation of investment banking departments from research departments, no analyst compensation, directly or indirectly, from investment-banking revenues, and the provision of free, independent, third-party, research to the firms' clients.

Lehman Brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AIG:

On October 14, 2004 the New York State Office of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced that it had commenced a civil action against Marsh & McLennan Companies for steering clients to preferred insurers with whom the company maintained lucrative payoff agreements, and for soliciting rigged bids for insurance contracts from the insurers. The Attorney General announced in a release that two AIG executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with this illegal course of conduct. In early May 2005, AIG restated its financial position and issued a reduction in book value of USD $2.7 billion, a 3.3 percent reduction in net worth.

On February 9, 2006, AIG and the New York State Attorney General's office agreed to a settlement in which AIG would pay a fine of $1.6 billion.

American International Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More information: Subprime mortgage crisis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[smile]

Originally Posted by GreenBean

So what is the point of the post? Waste of time really.

To let you know that someone may be doing something about what is happening.

Whether your selling on ebay or working, whatever. This effects your money. That’s the point of the post.

[GreenBean]

oh dear, since money has been used to trade there has been fraud. Nothing new about this. Corruption is rife. Nothing surprises me any more except ignorance ..... that is people
who have their heads in the sand.
Others may benefit from your information which is reasonable. Cheers

[philly387]

I'm sure its all information some people may want to know...me for one I just didn't ever hear the beginning of the story until Quasi's latest post...makes sense now.

[Quasi_Mojo]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
- Lord Acton

[sam111]

Hello Friends,

I have been through this forum and read all the threads posted. what do all say what is going to be the result of the investigation will it be positive or negative.