Lee Farkas Convicted In $3 Billion Mortgage Fraud Case

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A jury has convicted the majority owner of what had been one of the nation's largest mortgage companies on all 14 counts in a $3 billion fraud trial that officials have said is one of the most significant prosecutions to arise from the nation's financial crisis.

The jury returned its verdict late Tuesday after more than a full day of deliberations.

Prosecutors said Lee Farkas led a fraud scheme of staggering proportions as chairman of Florida-based Taylor Bean & Whitaker. The fraud not only caused the company's 2009 collapse and the loss of jobs for its 2,000 workers, but also contributed to the collapse of Alabama-based Colonial Bank, the sixth-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Farkas testified in his own defense at the trial and claimed he did nothing wrong.

Comments

[altohone]

08:44 PM on 04/20/2011

The journalism in this piece amazes!
Mortgage fraud? That's the extent of the info they provide?

[CPAwADD]

07:11 PM on 04/20/2011

Elaine, let me take you to see The English Patient!

[Watchdogsniffer]

05:42 PM on 04/20/2011

That makes two: Madoff and now this slug; Now let's go after the too-big-too-fail BUT not too proud to take American tax payer bailout money banksters!!!

[wst]

04:51 PM on 04/20/2011

please fine him hundreds of dollars and place him for weeks in a white collar jail so he can work on his tennis game.

p.s. please dont forget to raise my taxes so i can pay for the bank's , states, companies, and lives that have collapsed due to this man actions..

that'll teach him.

[hobo62]

04:10 PM on 04/20/2011

More, More!

[noseriouslynow]

03:28 PM on 04/20/2011

Ok. The conviction of this small fish serves as a good blue print. Now lets apply this blue print to the real thieves uh, I mean Bankers and insurers on Wall Street and lets finally see at least a little justice.

[Jamf]

03:00 PM on 04/20/2011

This conviction proves that squeezing mid-level types can be very effective in taking down senior management types. So why isn't the technique being used on Wall Street when it's obvious that fraud was rampant throughout the industry? (Hear that, Mr. Fake Attorney General?)

[logicanada]

02:47 PM on 04/20/2011

Nothing about sentencing ( a token fine) is ever mentioned of course.

[sbrannon]

02:07 PM on 04/20/2011

To citycountryboy, below...my reply button did not work...good comparison, both stories cost the US taxpayers tons of money. Now can bush pay us back too? I wish.

[sbrannon]

02:05 PM on 04/20/2011

Good news, now he needs to pay us all back!

[kareemachan]

01:44 PM on 04/20/2011

Good. Let's see more of this.

[MarkVA71]

12:42 PM on 04/20/2011

Let justice be done!

[citycountryboy]

12:38 PM on 04/20/2011

That's what they ALL say: "I didn't do anything wrong". Sounds like George Bush when asked shy he didn't listen to the weapons inspector when there were NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION; as if lying us into war was not wrong. There are still LOTS of others with bigger sins and crimes at the top, yet to go. We need to get them all out of power. We also need to remove the Repbulicans who are keeping them there.

[Marionette]

12:34 PM on 04/20/2011

sweet! next...

[jrplowerlevel]

12:29 PM on 04/20/2011

so how long does the editing process take on a small piece of allegory