April 11, 2016

Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $5.06 billion to settle charges relating to alleged misconduct in the sale of its residential mortgage-backed securities or what the government described as "serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail."  Whistleblower Insider

April 8, 2016

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1.2 billion in connection with the bank's improper mortgage lending practices.  As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo admitted that it certified loans ineligible for Federal Housing Administration Mortgage Insurance and that if failed to disclose thousands of faulty mortgage loans to HUD.  According to Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, Wells Fargo "has been held responsible for years of reckless underwriting, while relying on government...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — April 11, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Goldman Sachs will pay $5 billion for misconduct related to sale of residential mortgage backed securities --  The settlement requires Goldman to provide $1.8 billion in relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities.  Goldman will also pay a civil fine of $2.4 billion for FIRREA violations and $875 to resolve other federal and state claims.  Goldman marketed RMBS to investors, assuring them...

March 7, 2016

The SEC charged the Rhode Island state agency now known as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation and its bond underwriter Wells Fargo Securities with defrauding investors in connection with a municipal bond offering to finance a start-up video game company called 38 Studios.  The Rhode Island agency loaned $50 million in bond proceeds to 38 Studios.  However, the bond offering documents produced by the agency and Wells Fargo failed to...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — March 8, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Raytheon must face $1 billion whistleblower lawsuit -- The 9th Circuit overturned a district court's dismissal of a False Claims Act suit "accusing the defense contractor of fraudulently overbilling the U.S. government under a contract to develop a weather sensor for a costly environmental satellite system."  Reuters Maybe too big to jail, but never too small -- Gordon Schnell writes on the current state...

State Enforcement Spotlight – Natixis Funding And Societe Generale

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This State Enforcement Spotlight features Natixis Funding Corp. and Societe Generale. On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a $56 million joint state-federal settlement for fraudulent and anticompetitive conduct in municipal bond derivative transactions with state and local government entities and nonprofits across the country. See NY AG Press Release. Natixis and Societe Generale will pay $29,950,000 and $26,750,000 respectively as part of a...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 26, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Landmark financial whistleblower legislation introduced in Senate and House -  Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Non-Retaliation Act of 2016 (WARN Act). This gold standard whistleblower protection bill would provide badly needed teeth in anti-retaliation rights for those who challenge bank fraud.  GAP UBS faces money...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 5, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Wells Fargo to pay $1.2b to settle whistleblower mortgage suit  --  Wells Fargo & Co. said it would pay $1.2 billion to settle a long running mortgage-lending whistleblower suit accusing the bank of “reckless origination and underwriting” of government-backed loans. WSJ Dismissed NHS whistleblower receives £1.22m in damages --  Cardiologist Raj Mattu claimed he had been vilified and bullied and subjected to a 12-year “witch-hunt”...

Top-10 DOJ Mortgage Fraud Settlements For 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the top-10 Department of Justice mortgage fraud settlements in 2015.      10.  WALTER INVESTMENT -- Walter Investment Management Corp. agreed to pay $29.6 million to resolve allegations that, through its subsidiaries, Reverse Mortgage Solution, REO Management Solutions and RMS Asset Management Solutions, it violated the False Claims Act in connection with the subsidiaries’ participation in the Department of...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - October 29, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team New False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit against Wells Fargo -- A False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit against Wells Fargo was unsealed this week, alleging Wachovia bank (purchased by Wells Fargo) defrauded the government when the government provided assistance to the bank during the Great Recession.  Charlotte Observer SEC investigating insider-trading at Medicare agency -- The Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating whether employees at the...