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One of America’s top mortgage tycoons, Angelo Mozilo, has been charged with fraud and insider dealing for allegedly lying to investors about a toxic build-up of billions of dollars in reckless loans at his Countrywide Financial homeloans empire.
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched a civil prosecution against Mozilo for making $140m in profit by selling Countrywide stock in 2006 and 2007 while concealing a looming deterioration in the business’s prospects from shareholders.
At the peak of America’s property boom, Countrywide was the nation’s biggest mortgage provider, servicing one in seven US homeloans. But the firm suffered catastrophic losses in the credit crunch and was rescued from possible bankruptcy by Bank of America last year…
“Countrywide portrayed itself as underwriting mainly prime quality mortgages using high underwriting standards,” said Robert Khuzami. “But concealed from shareholders was the true Countrywide, an increasingly reckless lender assuming greater and greater risk…”
The charges are the most prominent government prosecution to date arising from America’s meltdown in sub-prime mortgages. Mozilo has been widely vilified as the “sub-prime king”, accused by unions and politicians of exploiting customers with predatory mortgages. Charles Schumer, a prominent Democratic senator for New York, recently suggested that Mozilo should be “boiled in oil – figuratively”.
I wouldn’t suggest anything as mean as boiling in oil. Now, the guillotine – that’s a different story.
It will take months to find the criminals of the regulatory free-for-all of the Bush years.
I bet he hopes to end up at Gitmo rather than a stateside rat hole prison. Ha!
Wow, is it ironic that he looks like the Grinch that stole Christmas?
I just hope Bubba makes him air tight in prison.
The Chinese model is to execute these kind of guys (if they get caught, of course).
#3, Alphie,
What kickbacks? If you have a specific allegation to make, maybe you should contact the US Attorney.
Oh wait! We are still waiting for you to back up that allegation you made that Obama was a drug dealer.
Let’s hope he is only the first. Many banks perpetrated fraud on the American people thinking they could get away with it. We need to prove to them they cant
#5 – Please don’t waste a bullet, a guillotine can be reused over and over – how green – even better once the blade gets dull.
Hang Him! No first we will have a fair trail then we hang him.Next up Dick Cheney.
$140 million, this guy’s small potatoes. Now Bernie Madoff, he’s the man, $65 billion in personal gain. He get’s sentencing at the end of this month. I still think they should execute him as a traitor, like Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. He’ll probrably get 15 years. This dork’ll do less than 10 at one of those country club minimum security prisons for the privileged.
#12 Being in Spain you should probably be more concerned with Zapatero, who has been steadily ruining your econ since he took office…
Like how corporate cheats should suffer all sorts of punishments, but Al Qaeda, well no waterboarding allowed.
#13 Actually my economy is just fine, so far. While spanish politics is crap, like politics everywhere, the spanish society seems to absorb the crisis through social cohesion. Zapatero, is pretty harmless compared to some of the prezys I’ve seen since ’85. I think it’s indoctrinated foolishness to think that the economic crisis was caused by liberal or conservative agendas. This crisis was caused by people who are responsible for billions of dollars. Politicians are just clowns made for TV to keep the kiddies drooling.
To be a thug requires physical violence. I think there are better adjectives to describe usury.
How about calling him an immoral capitalist?
Why hasn’t there been any investigation into the Kings of Sub Prime – Ameriquest? These guys built an empire on shady deals and eager borrowers. Sure the empire is gone, but not after all the executives ran away with hundreds of millions. Some of the cash has been used to fund political careers like LA’s Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. That dude is as dirty as they come.
# 18 amodedoma said, “#13 Actually my economy is just fine, so far.”
LOL Look at your UM figures…
Here ya go amodedoma;
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6164629.ece
Let’s hope that Chris Dodd and Barney Frank are the next ones to be sent up the river.
(Barney will probably enjoy some time in the Big House)
Alfred1,
I am all for justice, but your two links in #9 say the exact same thing without any support. They appear to be trying to get the villagers to get the pitchforks and torches, but nothing to support the statements. There should be hearings into what exactly transpired, skip the theatrics though.
That’s why MY alternative browser is Opera:
http://opera.com/
No lawbreaking there.
#22
Thanks for the links Patrick. I was refering to my personal economy. Unemployment has been a problem since I’ve been here. Bust most of the jobs lost since the crisis began have been construction jobs, and most of those jobs low paying garbage contract jobs. Lot’s of immigrants are returning home. I got lots of friends working in the IT industry and thank god none of them have seen their job security threatend by the crisis. A great deal of employment in Spain is tied to the tourist industry, last summer they expected disaster, but domestic tourism saved the day. Last month was the first month that our unemployment numbers improved in some time thanks to new jobs in this sector.
#27 I’m happy to hear that you are doing well.
http://www1.mma.es/playas/img/g/vi/BI-159.jpg
One of my fav little beaches.
You know this is how the economy was over cooked. Too many loans to people who really could not afford these loans. This guy is just one of many who gave out money like candy in a Fourth of July parade. They expected big returns but all they got were people who ended up not being able to pay them back. Not much bettr then Bernie Madolph. But you know in the end it was all about greed. People wanting more house then they could afford and companies like Countrywide trying to give it to them. Bet you one thing! It will happen again!
# 29 jescott418 said, “You know this is how the economy was over cooked. Too many loans to people who really could not afford these loans.”
In a way. The real problem was that the money didn’t really exist for these loans. It was “printed” out of thin air…
This guy is one of many to be held accountable for this mess. It’s a good start!
I hope his prison “dance card” is full every day…
#28
Plencia / Gorliz – I often take the kids there, a half hour ride on the Metro. Nice, but terribly crowded. My favorite beach in Spain is Monsul in Almeria
http://greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/espana/photosvideos/photos/playa-del-monsul-en-almer-a-e.jpg
Never crowded, and the mediterranean is much warmer than the atlantic.
If only we could get all the “friends of Angelo” who accepted below market rate loans out of Congress as part of this trial.
Maybe ALL politicians who accept financial favors from banks. Surely if you accept special treatment, you can’t be trusted.
Oh… can’t do that, we would loose Obama.
#33 I love Almeria. Yeah, I’d take the metro from the Bilbao station during the week when less people.
Some things in life just go against common sense. You can just LOOK at this guy and know he’s a CROOK!
Common sense should tell you to never trust a thin chef, never hire a straight interior decorator, and never trust a TAN CEO! He’s obviously embezzling money for his “extra-circular” activities. Either that or he’s an IDIOT! (And crooks usually don’t get caught for being SMART!)
In either case, I’m sure Bernie Madoff will now have a great “partner” to have board meetings with.