New Justice Dept. Task Force Issues Subpoenas to 11 Financial Institutions in Expanded Probe

[bigtree]

WASHINGTON (NEWS.GNOM.ES) – The Justice Department issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions as part of a new effort to investigate misconduct in the packaging and sale of home loans to investors, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday.

“We are wasting no time in aggressively pursuing any and all leads,” Holder said at a news conference announcing details of a new working group to investigate misconduct in the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market, “you can expect more to follow.”

President Barack Obama said he directed Holder to create the new unit in his State of the Union speech late Tuesday, saying it was needed to “help turn the page on an era of recklessness.”

On Friday a slew of federal and state officials appeared at the news conference to provide details about the new group.

read more: http://news.gnom.es/business/subpoenas-issued-to-financial-firms-in-expanded-probe-news-gnom-es


Attorney General Eric Holder said the new unit would consist of 55 Justice Department lawyers and analysts and 10 FBI agents to work with state attorney general’s offices to investigate how mortgage backed securities were created, sold and valued by financial institutions.

“The Working Group will streamline and strengthen current and future efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute instances of wrongdoing in the packaging, selling, and valuing of residential mortgage-backed securities.” Holder said at a press conference on Friday.

Making the announcement the attorney general disclosed that the Justice Department has sent civil subponeas to 11 financial institutions as part of the investigation. They did not identify the targets of the subpoenas.

“You can expect more to follow,” Holder said in reference to the subpoenas being sent out. “Of course, I can’t go into detail about our existing investigations. But I can tell you that significant efforts are moving forward, by both federal and state authorities.”

read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/new-fed-task-force-subpoenas-11-in-mortgage-fraud-probe/

[Tx4obama]

1. Bravo !!! n/t

[bigtree]

2. Indeed

I'm an idiot for thinking there would be even a modicum of discussion here of the new efforts to investigate and prosecute this fraud, give all of the breathless posts endured here (on unrelated threads even) about the sell-outs and bought-and-sold administration unwilling to go after these criminals. I know enough to realize that it takes years to mount effective prosecutions in this realm. I just wish there could be a consistent stream of support for these prosecutions, beyond the petty politics from folks who assume they know more than this Democratic administration, or assume they're more concerned about these issues than our Democratic administration.

Where are all the posts about these subpoenas? I completely missed them, I suppose. Who the hell has the time to represent these issues here for these hit-and-run critics of this administration with such a dilettante attitude coming from folks purporting to be so concerned when it comes to bashing the President but silent when action is being taken?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

3. It's a start. Lets up it goes forward with wind in it's sails, and a nasty bite too. n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. “We are wasting no time in aggressively pursuing any and all leads.”

It's been three years. Does he think that nobody will notice?

[bigtree]

5. what an ignorant response

. . . many federal prosecutions/investigations take years. 3 to 5 years would seem to be the average, judging by many of the high profile ones that I've followed.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. Holder issued CIVIL SUBPOENAS.

Your statement "many federal prosecutions/investigations take years" makes it sound like you know what you are talking about. It makes it sound like you have some special knowledge that others do not.

But your statement is irrelevant to the OP because the plain language of Holder's statement is that he issued civil subpoenas.

You say that you've followed many high-profile federal prosecutions/investigations.

Are you really an expert on the law?

The fact that you ignored the words "civil subpoenas" in the first sentence indicates to me that you lack the expertise that you imply that you have. I'm not impressed.

The next time that you consider posting "what an ignorant response", look in the mirror.

[bigtree]

7. he clearly stated why civil prosecutions were being sought

I'll give you a clue: civil cases are easier to prosecute.

another clue: what will Justice do with the testimony, admissions, and plea bargains out of these cases?


"The notion that there has been inactivity is belied by a troubling thing called fact," Holder said, referring to a recent string of successful prosecutions and civil lawsuits targeting various figures in the financial services industry.

In the past six months, Holder said federal prosecutors have won prison sentences in four cases involving securities fraud, bank fraud and investment fraud, totaling 155 years.

"It is not as if we haven't been doing anything,'' Holder said. "We have been doing a great deal. … We are bound and determined to hold people accountable."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-01-27/mortgage-crime-unit-FBI/52820212/1

[AnotherMcIntosh]

8. You have the belief that the results of Fed civil cases can be used for Fed criminal prosecutions.

Holder did not say that in the story for which you provided a link, nor can you otherwise provide a link to a statute, regulation, or case law which supports that conclusion.

You cannot provide a link to any statute, regulation, or case law which would support your conclusion there are plea bargains in civil cases. Plea bargains are made in criminal cases, not civil ones. Holder will not obtain "plea bargains out of these [civil] cases" because no one will be prosecuted in the civil cases.

You mentioned, without providing details, that "Holder said federal prosecutors have won prison sentences in four cases involving securities fraud, bank fraud and investment fraud." These are criminal cases, not civil ones. He did not provide any details either. He implied but did not expressly state that these four criminal prosecutions in the past six months were related to the economic meltdown in any signifigant way.

The Department of Justice regularly issues press releases on its web site when it obtains convictions. http://www.justice.gov/opa/ If Holder would have obtained convictions in signifigant cases related to the economic meltdown during the last six months, he would have called special attention to that. This is of course, an election year. It doesn't appear that he's done so. USA Today certainly didn't identify any with specificity.

One of the best things that Skinner did for DU3 was to provide the ignore feature. You've shown that instead of engaging in a civil discourse which would show good breeding and class, you prefer to throw out insults. Meaningless insults thrown out for no good reason. You've established a pattern of repeatedly doing so. I'm now selecting the ignore feature. Good luck to you.

[bigtree]

9. all this jabbering with me

. . . and you haven't even cracked the surface on what the Justice dept. is actually doing.

It's funny that you came onto this thread with a handful of nothing, save the snark about Holder. It would be something else if you had something substantive to rebut the man. But, you want me to be some font of factoids about it all for you to muck-up with your handful of bluster and indignation.

Look at your self-serving logic that convictions must not have taken place because you haven't seen them in 'USA Today'. Yet, you want me to produce "a link to statute, regulation, or case law" to rebut your circular inventions.

You don't have a problem with 'civil discourse which would show good breeding and class,' so much as you have a problem with being called on your own bull.