Surprised anyone?
Countrywide’s Former Chief in Settlement of Fraud Case
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
Published: October 15, 2010
Angelo R. Mozilo, the founder and former chief executive of Countrywide Financial, once the nation’s largest mortgage lender, agreed to pay $67.5 million Friday to settle a civil fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year.
The settlement came just days before the case against Mr. Mozilo and two former colleagues was scheduled to go to trial before a jury in Los Angeles.
The two colleagues settled their cases Friday as well. David Sambol, the former president of Countrywide, agreed to pay $5.52 million, and Eric Sieracki, the former chief financial officer, consented to $130,000.
Under the agreement, the three men did not admit wrongdoing.
Mr. Mozilo’s agreement with the government represents a humbling moment for one of most audacious and flamboyant chief executives in the financial industry. The son of a Bronx butcher, Mr. Mozilo started Countrywide in 1969 with David Loeb, a business partner; together the men built the company into a behemoth with $11.4 billion in revenues at its peak in 2006.
But Countrywide’s foray into subprime lending and other risky loans led to its downfall, and in early 2008, hobbled by mounting losses on loans, the company was purchased by Bank of America in a fire sale. Mr. Mozilo left the company shortly thereafter.
In its complaint filed in June 2009, the S.E.C. had accused Mr. Mozilo, Mr. Sambol and Mr. Sieracki of hiding from investors the growing risks in Countrywide’s operations. The complaint also contended that Mr. Mozilo and Mr. Sambol improperly generated profits on insider stock sales even as they were alerted to the company’s widening woes.
Mr. Mozilo was not present for the court hearing.
Robert Khuzami, director of enforcement at the S.E.C., said in a statement: “Mozilo’s record penalty is the fitting outcome for a corporate executive who deliberately disregarded his duties to investors by concealing what he saw from inside the executive suite – a looming disaster in which Countrywide was buckling under the weight of increasing risky mortgage underwriting, mounting defaults and delinquencies, and a deteriorating business model.”
Catch the rest here…
Pretty cool huh?
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No restitution for the victims!!! Another example of corrupt prosecuters not protecting the public and not holding criminals accountable for their crimes!
Interesting…the SEC can sue and get all thatmoney….what about the disfranchised homeowner…whom does he sue and why is his mortgage fully paid also…so they continue to make money of the ones that are suffering…
SUBJECT: GOLDMAN SACHS LOAN EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME
In May 2005 we deposited and invested $200,000 in Real Property, where we recently found out that $118,800 was embezzled out of our property from Mortgage Lenders and Trust Brokerage Companies, namely Goldman Sachs through an escrow Transaction. The $118,800 in funds was paid to these embezzlers from the Investors unbeknownst that the securitization happened by encumbering our property and making up a fraudulent fake Promissory Note and Deed of Trust.
See the link for further information: https://fdaaccount.box.net/shared/a1pjz9sz5c
Is it nuts, no. Surprise, no. NOTHING IS CHANGING IN THIS MESS – $$$$$ is talking, but JAIL time is needed. This is saying, who cares about the law and your responsibility, you can just pay us and we will ignore your violations. IT MUST STOP NOW!!!!
These criminals have done more damage to America and are a far greater threat to our national security than any terrorist organization. We should use the Patriot Act to send them all to Guantanamo Bay!
Which just goes to show you, if you have enough money, you are above the law. Good thing he didn’t work for a living, or prison-bound he would be, RIGHT AMERICA?
I was so hoping to see Mr. Mozillo in his orange jumpsuit looking like a giant Cheetoh in court.
Dang it – the SEC are totally useless – these guys are criminals.
JAIL OUT TIME.
Goldman Sachs buys its way out; Mozillo buys his way out, no one goes to jail, but everything’s different under the “new and improved” SEC. Yuh, right! I don’t know why anyone thought it would be different, given that the queen of that fiction known as “self-regulation,” when she was the head of the NASD (now FINRA) was elevated to the position of the chair of the SEC. Fox, meet hen house. The fix is STILL in, folks.
Incredible… walk into any bank with a piece of paper saying you’re robbing the place… no weapon… they hand you the $3,500 (maybe), you get caught you do 5 to 7 years? This guy makes BILLIONS of dollars off of screwing the populace and they hit him for what.. 1/10,000 of his net worth? Yea, yea…. oh that’s fair. Only goes to show, nowadays you get as much justice and you can afford.
make him a defendant in everyfiling against BOA country theft. he will paya pretty penny
This is unbelieveable. Goldman bout it’s way out then married into the white house. This is why the Clintons and ALL of them, need to be OUT of the White House NOW.
You think if I steal a loaf of bread I can buy my way out of prosecution? BTW I am BLACK, so ya think I can do it???
I heard he makes $400 million a year.
Is the SEC nuts
Stan Racine WI
ABSOLUTELY — USELESS!!!
Michael Milkin paid I believe $500 million dollars in the 1980’s, still went to jail and he didn’t even break the law.
Record breaking restitution, are they f- ing kidding me.
We are going to have to do it ourselves because we won’t get any help from the government, that’s obvious.