Eric Holder: Justice Department Issued Subpoenas To 11 Financial Firms

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday that civil subpoenas have been recently issued to 11 different financial institutions, as he announced new efforts to investigate the residential mortgage-backed securities market.

Holder said at a Justice Department news conference that he could not go into the details. (Reporting By Jim Vicini; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Comments

[Anita Carr]

12:35 PM on 01/31/2012

DO NOT LET WASHINGTON DC TAKE YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AWAY- USE THIS WORD TEMPLATE TO PRESERVE YOUR RIGHTS TO FIGHT ROBO-SIGNING AND DEFEND YOUR PROPERTY IN FORECLOSURE ACTIONS

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79983969/FORECLOSURE-VICTIMS-CALL-TO-ACTI...

FEEL FREE TO MODIFY THE TEMPLATE. IT ALSO LISTS KEY FAX NUMBERS FOR WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

YOU MAY NEED TO REVISE AND ADD YOUR US CONGRESSMAN AND REPS

YOU CAN USE RINGCENTRAL FOR FAX SERVICES $9.99 PER MONTH, NO CONTRACT. YOU SET UP FAX NUMBERS ONCE AND THEN USE OVER AND OVER AGAIN

[marijam]

10:42 AM on 01/30/2012

It's about time!

[cilantro518]

01:16 PM on 01/29/2012

PART I: Why is the Obama Administration so reluctant to help defrauded securities investors? According to the SEC website, that agency has collected $1.97 billion from enforcement actions "addressing misconduct that led to or arose from the financial crisis". Of that $1.97 billion, only $355 million goes toward monetary relief for harmed investors. That's slightly over 18%. http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/enf-actions-fc.shtml

http://www.ncua.gov/News/Press/NW20111128WachoviaComplaint.pdf is a link to the government's suit against Wachovia/Wells Fargo over Residential Mortgage Backed Securities which contributed to the toppling of U.S. Central and WesCorp which were the two largest corporate credit unions in the United States. As stated in the suit: "The securitization process shifted the originators’ focus from ensuring the ability of borrowers to repay their mortgages, to ensuring that the originator could process (and obtain fees from) an ever-larger loan volume for distribution as RMBS." The suit demonstrates how the RMB securities purchased by the corporate credit unions received AAA credit rating (the same rating as U.S. Treasury bonds) by Standard & Poors and Moody's. However “ 56. The Offering Documents reported zero or near zero delinquencies and defaults at the time of the offerings. 57. The pools of mortgages collateralizing the RMBS experienced delinquency and default rates up to 6.95% within the first three months, up to 15.75% at six months, and up to 29.64% at one year

[marijam]

10:43 AM on 01/30/2012

It didn't happen over night in the time of FDR either!

[cilantro518]

01:15 PM on 01/29/2012

PART II: 58. As of October 2011, approximately half (41.92% on average) of the mortgage collateral across all of the RMBS that U.S. Central and WesCorp purchased was in delinquency, bankruptcy, foreclosure, or was real estate owned (“REO”), which means that a bank or lending institution owns the property after a failed sale at a foreclosure auction.”

Despite pointing out the numerous misrepresentations and omissions of material fact, 4 of the complaint states: THE NCUA BOARD EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS AND DISAVOWS ANY ALLEGATION IN THIS COMPLAINT THAT COULD BE CONSTRUED AS ALLEGING FRAUD. When Judge Rakoff refused to approve the SEC settlement with Citigroup as not being in the public interest, he said that although the allegations in the SEC complaint against Citigroup were "tantamount to an allegation of knowing and fraudulent intent, the SEC, for reasons of its own, chose to charge Citigroup only with negligence". Is there a pattern here?

Title 18 United States Code Section 1344. BANK FRAUD, provides:
Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—
(1) to defraud a FINANCIAL INSTITUTION; or
(2) to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of FALSE or fraudulent pretenses, REPRESENTATIONS, or promises;
shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

The Financial Crimes Taskforce is starting to smell worse than a dead cat.

[rosiebag]

09:59 AM on 01/29/2012

Where will this busy man find time, we need more hard workers like him?

[Jeff Cull]

08:36 AM on 01/29/2012

Besides violations of Sarbane-Ox¬ley, you have fraudulent , forged mortgage notes presented in court foreclosur¬e proceeding¬s. This shows fraud and obstructio¬n of justice. Countless settlement¬s between SEC and banksters dealing with securities fraud. Does routinely manufactur¬ing of fraudulent¬, forged mortgage (promissor¬y) notes demonstrat¬e counterfei¬ting. Under RICO ACT, you have 3, maybe 4, federal law violations¬. You only need to show 2 violations repeated in a 10 year period and prove a pattern of criminal intent. Also under RICO you can seize all assets of the indicted. This would be justice. After all CEO's, CFO's, boards of directors and some of their traders(these miscreants invent these toxic soups) of the banksters and rating agencies are indicted, guess what-no more TO BIG TO Fail. Who would keep money in a crooked bank? These are Corrupt Organizations. I don't tweet or facebook, so please feel free to share and spread the word. Turn on those search engines, then demand JUSTICE. So please help.

[Realist2011]

07:30 AM on 01/29/2012

Hilarious. They're going to "investigate" what has already been made public in the news for years. As the government grants immunity for fraud (robo-signing), the main problem in virtually every part of the mortgage problem today, AG Holder is promising to start doing what he's avoided doing for years, investigate. Only now, he's not going to be able to criminally charge anyone because of the immunity he just gave them.

ROFLMFAO. Smoke and mirrors, yet again. Holder doesn't want to solve problems. He wants to promote the appearance of solving the problem, gain publicity, and hope it will all just go away.

Naive and corrupt. Really bad combination.

[rockyroad]

05:18 AM on 01/29/2012

I think the DoJ should subpoena Holder.

[rockyroad]

05:04 AM on 01/29/2012

Geithner says that he's no part of Obama II. Well, if he isn't . . . go now.

Americans are not so stupid. Obama has basically forced Warren out, forced with a huge piece of cake Schneiderman out, kicked Main Street's hopes of any reform out the WC, and is offering the false hope that Geithner is off to Goldman, while he's making a mint tainting policy on his pre-mature announcement of his departure (remember, he was supposed to go before, but with all of the scrutiny of Goldman . . .it would have looked sooo bad . . . after the election, it will look soooo much better).

Damn. Obama -

Warren, Schneiderman, Geithner . . . . It's becoming more and more hard to like you all of the time.

[rockyroad]

05:04 AM on 01/29/2012

Sorry if I was obtuse. The two biggest power hitters that bat for Americans on Main Street have been marginalized by Obama.

Elizabeth Warren, who envisioned and created an agency to protect Americans from mortgage fraud was sidelined from becoming the head of the agency that she basically created out of thin cloth - - - Obama told her to run for Congress instead . . . not her choice, it was dictated to her . .

and

Schneiderman, NY AG, who backed NY out of a 50-state settlement agreement with the half-dozen largest banks in America (the World) that would let them skate on flagrant criminality with no possibility of prosecution and a miniscule file ($35 billion) where there has been no determination of the actual harm that those banks have done (could run into the hundreds of billions, under the settlement, a few thousand homeowners would receive up to $1,300 apiece, if that)

Obama supported (forced) Warren to run for Congress rather than head up the agency she created and, this week, as negotiations for the 50-state settlement have become heated in light of Obama's State-of-the-Union needs and re-election need for progress on the mortgage crisis . . in a Hail Mary effort to get the settlement done, has offered Schneiderman his own special agency . . . back off your obstruction of the settlement . . . you get a cushy position with lots of prestige and perks. . . .back off.....

[rockyroad]

04:44 AM on 01/29/2012

Great, want to pass through a jack crap solution to the mortgage litigation . . . states with the most at stake are unwilling to get on board with a jack ass solution. . . .

Obama wants the state settlement . . .biggest obstacle to that is NY's Eric Schneiderman . . .get him to jump ship by offering him a big position with an empty promise that he can make a difference.

Want to get a driven force in favor of consumer rights in the mortgage crisis off your back . . . take the power that she created and empowered away from her . . . yes, Elizabeth Warren, this was your vision and this consumer advocacy agency would be a dynamo . . . but, no, you cannot head it up . . . we want for you to run for Congress.

I like Obama . . . but, he is making a practice of dismanteling the things that matter most to me here on Main Street. I find a malignancy in his treatment of Warren and Schneiderman.

I find it to be a blatent disregard and dismanteling of the promises that he made and of the structure of reform. I am angry. I am really disillusioned and very angry.

Obama should not be running unopposed. He needs opposition. Opposition sharpens the sword.

His actions in response to OWS and the mortgage crisis are more dictatorial than democratic and I am one angry supporter.

[rockyroad]

04:33 AM on 01/29/2012

Please, anyone paying attention.

This only addresses mortgages ORIGINATED AFTER 1/1/08 . . . these are mortgages originated AFTER the slam of 2008 . . . the loans that set fire to the 2008 meltdown originated well before 2008.

This is nonsense.

[rockyroad]

04:26 AM on 01/29/2012

Mr. AG, explain this.

The greatly touted 50-state agreement to the mortgage rescue. . ..

It is worthless in my humble opinion, but even at that . . . the coverage is that of

Mortgages originated after 1/1/08 . . . ?

You've got to be kidding. The mortgage melt down occurred in 2008. None of the mortgages covered by the multi-state settlement would cover mortgages originated prior to 2008.

2008 was when the foreclosure crisis smacked America in the gob. Every mortgage facing foreclosure in 2008 originated well before 2008.

The settlement only covers mortgages originated in and after 2008.

WTF?

The proposed settlement does nothing to address the mortgages originated prior to the meltdown. Those were the mortgages involved in the meltdown.

???

What? This makes zero sense.

Seriously,

It is as insane a solution as the problem itself.

[sfsoma]

12:15 AM on 01/29/2012

I am sick and tired of this do nothing man as AG.

[aFtersootdamP]

12:56 PM on 01/28/2012

holder is a criminal who should be in jail for "Fast and Furious".