Bailout Revenge: Florida AG Suing Angelo Mozilo For Fraud (Video)

Florida attorney general, Bill McCollum has brought civil charges against former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo for deceptive and unfair trade practices.  McCollum charges that Countrywide and Mozilo put thousands of borrowers into fraudulent mortgages. Countrywide had a massive footprint in Florida mortgage origination at the height of the insanity and former Congressman McCollum is essentially suing Mozilo personally for the fraud of the entire company. Nice.

The news is that the federal court judge has remanded the case back to the state courts of Florida which is exactly what McCollum's office requested. He's looking for a large cash settlement and a ton of publicity, he probably wants to be Governor.

The clip is David Faber with Florida AG Bill McCollum (7:03).

Comments

[DailyBail]

Outstanding investigative report on Madoff done by Fortune.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/news/newsmakers/madoff.fortune/index.htm

[Sell Short]

Bill McCollum is my new hero. As you all know I have been very critical of tan man Mozilo and have wanted this criminal to be in jail. When I saw this piece on CNBS I was thrilled. i hate Mozilo and blame him the most for this entie mess. He should be spending a lot of time in jail and not be allowed to catch his sleezy tans in public society. Go down you criminal Mozilo!!

[Ain't Bullshittin']

Balls to the wall...NAIL HIS ORANGE ASS!!!!!!

[Bridge Loan to Nowhere]

I agree that there are likely a number of individuals that may be successfully prosecuted (individual borrowers, mortgage brokers, investment bankers, alternative asset structurers, rating agency analysts, etc.). It will be interesting to see if there is political will to investigate the crimes. I doubt it.

Ain't BSn',

This past weekend were you at Taco Mac in the Virginia Highlands watching the Hawks play in Game 7?

[Ain't Bullshittin']

Nope, too broke to pay for the draft beers or wings. Stayed home and watched those Hawks sharpen their talons! I sincerely hope others are paying attention to the real economic fundamentals that the markets seem to be oblivious to. I really see his thing taking a HUGE nosedive in the next 6 months. Jobs equal consumption. Consumption is what our ENTIRE economy is based on. What am I missing?...I am ALL EARS because I want to know what the traders see that I don't. If I am right, which I strongly think I am, this whole thing is just a F'ing CASINO where traders are placing bets on the future. It's either gonna go well or badly. There is NOTHING being put in place to ensure or even suggest a positive outcome. How can a 1 TRILLION dollar deficit for the next DECADE bode well for the US?........

[Sell Short]

SEC proposes suit vs Countrywide founder Mozilo
On Wednesday May 13, 2009, 5:28 pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have recommended filing a civil fraud suit against Countrywide Financial co-founder Angelo Mozilo for insider trading, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.


Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corporation founder Angelo Mozilo is sworn in to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and ...



Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission had decided to recommend filing the suit against Mozilo, who co-founded the No. 1 U.S. home-mortgage lender taken over by Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC - News), the Journal cited people familiar with the investigation as saying.

According to the Journal, the SEC sent a "Wells" notice to Mozilo weeks ago alerting him of the planned charges, which included alleged violations of insider-trading laws, as well as failing to disclose material information to shareholders.

Bank of America last month dropped the Countrywide name from its mortgage operations, shedding a 40-year-old brand that became synonymous with risky lending practices that helped fuel a U.S. housing boom and bust.

A Wells notice is a precursor to a civil lawsuit in an SEC investigation. It outlines to an individual or company under investigation what allegations might be filed against them and gives a target a chance to respond to the allegations.

A civil suit against Mozilo, if his lawyers fail to deflect it and SEC commissioners approve a filing, may be announced in coming weeks, the Journal cited unidentified sources as saying.

Lawyers for Mozilo -- the target of much criticism in the past over his generous compensation packages -- and the Commission were not immediately available for comment.

Founded in 1969, Countrywide -- blasted for offering loans to would-be homeowners who could scarcely afford them -- already faces a string of lawsuits over past business practices, as well as an FBI investigation.

The SEC had been investigating Mozilo's systematic sales of the lender's stock, which began shortly before the housing crisis began. He had received several hundred million dollars of compensation for running Countrywide this decade.

In 2007, Mozilo told a conference call he had engaged in no trading decisions based on any material non-public information and said he welcomed the SEC's informal inquiry into his activities.

Bank of America acquired Countrywide last July for $2.5 billion.