FBI Investigates Sub-Prime Crisis
January 30th, 2008Things started to get interesting when They sent a memo to all employees on what to say to anyone who presented themselves as auditors or investigators. We were to refer them to some flunkie.
I thought, “Oh goodie, we’re going to get raided by a three-letter agency and guys wearing guns and blue wind-breakers are going to wheel the servers out on dollies! PHBs are going to be handcuffed and frog marched into a waiting paddy wagon!”
—Life Inside a Wall Street Chop Shop
I’ve set up a news alert for “FBI subprime [Name of Wall Street Megafirm that I used to work for]”. That company was one of the ringleaders of the securitization racket. That’s why They were in the subprime game in the first place. They weren’t interested in actually making the loans. The BIG money was made in selling the toxic waste to some sucker (bank, pension fund, insurance company, clueless country) at the end of the month. Every month. It will be very interesting to see how They get out of this one—which They will, I have no doubt.
My guess is that They have devised plans to frame the executive management staffs of the subprime firms They acquired. Oh man. It all makes sense now. I used to think, “Why are They keeping these coked-out slobs around?”
Patsies.
The Porsche driving A-holes—that came with the acquisitions—are probably going to be the patsies.
Via: BBC:
The FBI is investigating 14 companies embroiled in the sub-prime mortgage crisis as part of a crackdown on improper lending.
It did not identify the companies but said the investigation encompassed developers, sub-prime lenders and investment banks.
FBI officials said the agency was looking at instances of accounting fraud and insider trading.
The cases could lead to potential civil or criminal charges, the FBI said.
The FBI said it viewed mortgage fraud as an increasing threat to the national economy.
It said that there had been 1,200 cases of mortgage fraud for the 2007 financial year compared with just 400 in 2006.
The crisis in the sub-prime lending market has hit financial markets worldwide.
Joint investigation
The FBI said it was investigating the cases with the US market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC has opened about three dozen investigations into the collapse of the sub-prime market.
Targets of the SEC probe include Swiss bank UBS and US banks Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns, Reuters news agency reported.
It was not clear whether any of these firms were involved in the FBI investigation.
The sub-prime market is focused on providing home loans to those with poor or limited credit histories.
Many of these borrowers have been unable to keep up with payments and face losing their homes.
The wider crisis emerged as many of these mortgages were converted into financial instruments and sold on to investors including the big investment banks.
Defaults on these loans caused a steep drop in the value of related investments and has led to more than $100bn of losses at banks worldwide.
Remembering your Chop Shop posting, I grinned when I heard this news, imagining Mr Magoo going about his investigation
Mr. Magoo is perfect symbolism for the FBI Zoltan. As if the FBI has any power left to serve due process for criminal actions under the law. NOT!
The FBI is under the Attorney General, now Mcnultley (sp) formerly Gonzales and Ashcroft – all “fine and upstanding citizens.” Snark. All belong in jail. Behind bars. Not on some island somewhere sipping pina coladas and laughing every time they look at their investment balance online. Probably smoking a bowl while they are at it.
Yeah, believe the FBI has any teeth left to put into this investigation of subprimes, let alone any charges and criminal indictments, well, I’d have to say dream on. The FBI is a toothless Shark. A clawless, toothless cat. A lion without a mane. And its a pity. Good agents, good people, rendered into no nothings by the BushCo.
Mafia administration.
Sending the FBI out now to investigate the greatest con bubble ever perpetrated in this world is a dead ender – it will go without blame. Just like they did with 9/11, the JFK assassination etc. And the FBI? That once great organization will be blamed, obliterated, sent even further into the background.
Pity for the FBI. I’ll bet they have the dirt on all of the criminals involved – prime suspect in the latest – Alan Greenspan. But can the FBI arrest that *&^%$$#@@ ? Of course not.
The Illumanati, the bankers, the CFR club, they sail off into some safe haven in their submarines.
The FBI? They’ll be left holding the bag on “investigative failures” with the likes of gag orders on Sibel Edmonds; the “death” certificate for Ken Lay; the single bullet theory for John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
I for one think that there is no crime investigative branch of the U.S. government that will not be plowed down, cut off at the knees, balls in a vice, etc.
Thank the current Prez. Law and order and justice? Hah. In the financial world, its the wild west and the pillagers that ever do come to face justice and if charged with crimes, well, don’t be surprised if Bush pardons Abramoff, Verizon, ATT, General Motors, Bank of America, Alan Greenspan, and countless other criminal individuals and corporate citizens who have bribed and screwed and &ucked the world up the ass behind the “corporate veil.” (That’s a concept taught in accounting 101).
I think its time we stripped corporations of the rights afforded US citizens.
If my name were Countrywide Financial I’d be so in jail for fraud and financial crimes. Giving loans to persons who they didn’t even bother to check for ability to pay. Similarly, I’d be in jail for usury if my name were Bank of America, for extending credit cards to persons they know cannot ever pay. If you’re going to do the crime, you ought to do the time!