InfoBytes Blog
RMBS Task Force Announces New Suits Over Sale of Jumbo Prime RMBS
On August 6, the DOJ and the SEC announced parallel civil fraud actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The DOJ alleged that a national bank and related entities misled investors about the residential jumbo prime mortgage loans backing an $850 million RMBS the bank offered for sale, made false statements after failing to perform proper due diligence, and filled the securitization with a disproportionate amount of risky mortgages originated through third party mortgage brokers. The DOJ action represents the enforcement agency’s latest effort to employ the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) to seek civil penalties. The SEC is seeking an order requiring disgorgement and civil penalties under the Securities Act. The complaints were announced as part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s RMBS Working Group, and Task Force participants Attorney General Eric Holder, Associate Attorney General Tony West, and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman all promised additional investigations and actions, using every tool and resource available to the group.