Rebel Traders – Analysis Without The Hype

Remember Angelo Mozilo? He was the CEO of one of the worst run corporations in the United States; CountryWide Mortgage.

CountryWide Mortgage was one of the companies at the front of the line handing out mortgages to anyone with a heartbeat. Additionally it was reported last year that Angelo Mozilo personally oversaw ’special’ mortgages for his buddies in Government in a CountryWide operation called “friends of Mozilo”.

See the following video from July 2008…

Now Angelo Mozilo has a new problem on his hands, perhaps one that could put him in an orange jump suit for a long time.

Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission have decided to recommend filing civil fraud charges against Angelo Mozilo, the co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp., according to people familiar with the investigation.

The SEC sent a so-called Wells notice to Mr. Mozilo several weeks ago alerting him of the planned charges, the people said. The potential charges include alleged violations of insider-trading laws as well as failing to disclose material information to shareholders, according to one person familiar with the matter.

A Wells notice is a precursor to a civil lawsuit in an SEC investigation. It outlines to an individual or company under investigation what charges might be filed against them and gives a target a chance to respond to the allegations.

Mr. Mozilo’s attorneys could still persuade the SEC’s commissioners not to bring a case.

Countrywide was once the nation’s biggest home-mortgage lender. Amid the housing downturn, it was acquired last year by Bank of America Corp.

Mr. Mozilo has previously maintained that he hasn’t done anything wrong. If the SEC’s commissioners approve the filing of a civil suit against Mr. Mozilo, it could be announced within the next few weeks, say people familiar with the matter.

David Siegel, an attorney for Mr. Mozilo couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. SEC officials also didn’t respond to calls for comment.

Source: WSJ

I hope the SEC is not just ‘all talk’ and will actually enforce the laws they have on their books already. To Mr. Angelo Mozilo, I hope they let you have a tanning lamp where you might end up.

This story just goes to show how messed up the entire mortgage industry is. Even after being bailed out by the tax payers (through Bank of America), this slimy and very irresponsible mortgage company just does not know when to just stop their crap.

From MSNBC News:

Defending lawsuit, mortgage company mocks loan modification assurances…

In marketing, advertising and testimony before Congress, Countrywide Home Loans has said repeatedly that it is working hard to modify the mortgages of financially strapped borrowers caught up in the subprime meltdown. But in a New Hampshire court, attorneys for the lending giant are singing a different tune, describing such assurances as “mere commercial puffery.”

Saying the modification offers are “only Countrywide’s vague advertisements,” attorneys for the lender are asking the court to throw out a lawsuit alleging breach of good faith, fraud, negligence and misrepresentation, which was filed on behalf of a family that was refused a loan modification by the California-based company.

(read more…)