The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan sued Bank of America (BAC) for more than $1 billion on Wednesday for mortgage fraud against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during theyears around the financial crisis.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Countrywide Financial, which was later bought by Bank of America, churned out mortgage loans from 2007 to 2009 without making sure that borrowers could afford them.
"The fraudulent conduct alleged in today's complaint was spectacularly brazen in scope," Bharara said in a statement. He said the suit was partly to recover money that Fannie and Freddie lost from defaulted loans.
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Bank of America had no immediate comment.
Countrywide sold the loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were left to pay for the loans when they defaulted, according to the lawsuit. Fannie and Freddie were effectively nationalized in 2008.
Fannie and Freddie buy mortgage loans from banks, package them into securities and sell them to investors. The idea is to free up banks to make more loans. If a loandefaults, Fannie and Freddieguarantee payments to the investors.
According to the lawsuit, Fannie and Freddie don't review the loans before they purchase them. Instead, theyrely on banks' statements that the loans meet certain qualifications.
Bharara said the lawsuit was the first civil fraud suit brought by the Justice Department concerning loans that were later sold to Fannie and Freddie.
The suit also underscored how Bank of America's purchase of Countrywide in July 2008, just before the financial crisis, backfired severely.
Risky loans
Countrywide was a giant in mortgage lending, but was also known for approving exotic, even risky, loans. By 2007, as the market for subprime mortgages collapsed, Countrywide was anxious for revenue.
