Another bankster gets off easy

[marmar]

By John Letzing, MarketWatch


SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Countrywide Financial co-founder Angelo Mozilo and two other former executives at the mortgage giant at the center of the subprime meltdown reached a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, agreeing to pay millions of dollars to settle insider-trading and fraud charges.

Mozilo agreed to repay $45 million in profits, and $22.5 million in civil penalties, stemming from charges filed against him by the SEC last year.

In addition, Mozilo is permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

It was not immediately clear how much of the repayment of profits will be shouldered by Bank of America Corp., which acquired Countrywide in 2008, and how much will be paid personally by Mozilo.

SEC Director of Enforcement Robert Khuzami declined during a conference call with reporters to disclose exactly what portion Mozilo would be paying. “That’s a matter between Bank of America and Mr. Mozilo,” Khuzami said. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/countrywides-mozilo-settles-sec-charges-2010-10-15

[Autumn]

1. So if one makes enough money off their crime,

and last I heard insider-trading and fraud are crimes? Unless that's changed, you can buy your way out of doing time. Okay

[indepat]

8. Crime, what crime, where are the criminal charges? Wait, Holder's DOJ will come

likely down on him like a ton of bricks, like ugly on an ape, eh? ;)

[Autumn]

9. Too bad he didn't get caught with a little pot too,

Holder would be on him like flies on shit.

[indepat]

10. His ass would be grass and Holder the humongous lawn-mower

;)

[Upton]

2. No time at all?

Hell, if I get busted in Washington state with more than 40 grams of pot, I face up to 5 years.

[ThomCat]

3. That's it? $67.5 million for all Countrywide did to create and

inflate the mortgage bubble? :wtf:

Shouldn't that penalty be in BILLIONS, instead of Millions? Shouldn't a penalty be high enough to make the crime unprofitable?

Otherwise, the crimes paid off for them and there is no reason at all for anyone else who sees this example to ever think they should avoid committing financial crimes! Future criminals know from this that all they'll ever get from the SEC is a slap on the wrist that amounts to a small percentage of their profits.

:grr:

[indepat]

11. What a fucked-up society of greed and criminality we have bred through governmental

permissiveness and actual encouragement. :wtf:

[Celebration]

4. say, don't you know that

Martha Stewart was the cause of the mortagage meltdown???

[malaise]

5. No prison for these fuckers?

:puke:

[onethatcares]

7. no, no prison

just a round of champagne, the good stuff and a few crackers with caviar while they trade high fives with the regulators.

And we teach our kids what?

[Hannah Bell]

6. mozilo is a big fish. i hope he gets something more. if not, it's a crime.

and this ticks me off:

“That’s a matter between Bank of America and Mr. Mozilo,” Khuzami said.

fuck you both, you snotty thieves.