Since the 2008 financial collapse, many have called for imposing liability on those whose fraud fueled the crisis.
In this early phase of what we predict will be a wave of financial fraud cases, the Justice Department announced today the largest False Claims Act settlement to date over mortgage fraud. Bank of America has agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations that the Bank, through Countrywide Financial Corporation and some of its subsidiaries and affiliates, engaged in underwriting and origination mortgage fraud.
DOJ alleged that Countrywide knowingly made loans to unqualified home buyers and used inflated appraisals, thus causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA insured the loans in question.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York handled the case, as part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The DOJ announcement is linked here.
We congratulate those who brought about this recovery of taxpayer funds.