is leveraging all of Canada's mining industry, lol!
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I read it. Here, let me translate:
"We loaded up on preferreds and H's already, so feel free to start buying them on our pump/rec and run up the price for us. But we are still accumulating commons slowly because we have no clue as to the status of the EC, so don't buy those yet until we know for sure and are done buying up all those that we are currently having our MM friends shake out of the weak hands."
IMO that's a good possibility. Regardless, I believe we see a nice big green candle today on big volume obviously, and then another one tomorrow.
Holy cow, tried to add and it ran away from me, I bid over the ask and it was gone by the time the order went through!
My point exactly Chiron, see my post last night on this subject. We all know how the game is played, they probably have already scrambled into the preferreds and the Wahuq's, look at the recent activity and PPS rise there.
Good Morning to all! GM Godfather! GM Uzual! GM Bluebird! GM Jestiron!
You mean the article on the Street.com, brainchild of Jim Cramer, former hedge-fund weasel that spams my inbox several times a week pumping or bashing a given stock and describing to me how much money I will make if I just give him x-amount of dollars per month to get his PERSONAL pumps/bashes ahead of everyone else much like the other dozen pump/bash sites that spam my inbox 100 times a week promising me the same thing?
meh. not so much.
Thanks Diane, but I can't take full credit, Ghost and the crew pointed the way, and deciphered a lot of the lawyer/accounting-speak, all credit to them, and also to a lot of the people here on I-hub. It's all about community, something we desperately need to get back to in this country.
GLTU!
MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!
And congrats to all Wamu longs!
Uzualsuzpect, yes you do, we all do. And also to Ghost and all the other diehards who have been here since day one, fighting for justice.
Johnny Winter....Happy Holidays sport, mean that with ALL MY HEART!
Jamie....say hi to Bernie..and ummm, I wouldn't pick up the soap if you drop it if I were you.
You're welcome my friend, mods, feel free to sticky or put in the i-box if you feel like it's useful.
I can't claim to know what's on the judge's mind regarding the summary judgement, so I will not speculate.
I'm in no hurry anyway, just sitting back accumulating more cheap shares as funds become available, as I am ABSOLUTELY convinced of the facts of this case, but that's JMHO of course.
The really hot thing to me about the last couple of days, is that it looks like our list of possible defendants in this case might have just more than doubled, and that my friend is BIIIIIIIG $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ potential for us. Sure it'll likely take plenty of time to litigate everyone, but there will be ample PPS appreciation along the way for those so inclined to not wait for the big payday.
The sticky'ed link above from cmcatz is the correct one, all the exhibits were there when I re-checked it this morning, the file is large, and may take some time to fully load. Update your Adobe reader to be sure all features are enabled.
Links may also be found at ghostofwamu.com , as well as many text-searchable versions. http://www.ghostofwamu.com/CaseHeader/08-12229Header20091101.htm
http://www.kccllc.net/wamu
Kurtzman Carson Link to Court Filings
http://www.my.calendars.net/wmi
Wamu calendar of court dates (*note: may need to refresh a couple of times, this link sometimes gives an error message)
http://twitter.com/WaMuUpdates
http://twitter.com/Was_Mutual
Twitter updates during court proceedings when possible
http://chap11.epiqsystems.com/clientdefault.aspx?pk=7e177733-2db7-46cf-92cb-30b1fea50bc5&l=1
Wamu Creditors' Committee site, some pertinent info and FAQ
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=11133
I-hub Wamu board, I-box has some useful info and links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Mutual Wikipedia Wamu page, info and 50 links to outside news
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase#Controversy Wamu on Wikipedia JPM page
http://www.nwprogressive.org/vault/legal/MAR09WaMuLawsuit.pdf
PDF of Wamu's lawsuit action against the FDIC
http://files.ots.treas.gov/730021.pdf
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) fact sheet on Wamu dated Sept. 25th 2008
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/wamu.html
FDIC's Wamu page
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08085.html
FDIC press release about Wamu seizure
http://www.fdic.gov/about/freedom/Washington_Mutual_P_and_A.pdf
Link to FDIC P & A of the Wamu sale
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Judges In ongoing Wamu court actions
http://www.deb.uscourts.gov/Opinions/opinions_walrath.htm
Decisions of The Honorable Mary J. Walrath, Judge in Delaware bankruptcy court
http://law.widener.edu/Academics/Faculty/ProfilesDeAdj/SleetGregoryM.aspx
Profile of Judge Sleet
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/collyer-bio.html
Profile of Judge Collyer (D.C. suit vs. FDIC)
https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opinions.pl?2009
2009 opinions/decisions page for the D.C. court, type "Collyer" in the search box to narrow results to just her court
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Some selected media links
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238415586576687.html
WSJ article of Sept. 26th 2008, first day after seizure
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/15/news/companies/boyd_goldman.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008041604
Goldman's recommendation to short Wamu, right after they brokered the TPG deal.
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article14326.html WaMu Insider Trading and Naked Short Selling
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article13894.html The Biggest Banking Heist in World History: Washington Mutual
Interesting articles/opinions about Wamu, the FDIC, JPM, and the trading activity that went on prior to seizure.
http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/banking-finance/2009/12/07/why-federal-regulators-closed-washington-mutual/
Kirsten Grind's excellent article of 12-07-09, shows in detail that Wamu was railroaded by the FDIC. Also, a previous article by Grind, written on the anniversary of the seizure and giving a good synopsis of events leading up to the seizure, may be found here:
http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/banking-finance/2009/09/25/washington-mutual-downfall-anniversary/
http://www.ghostofwamu.com/Audio/DaveRoss.mp3 *9.5 mb Mp3 file, so allow some time for download, cut down to just the interview portion.
Radio 97.3 Seattle 12-09-09, Dave Ross interview with Kirsten Grind and Al Scott of the Puget Sound Business Journal-Why did they close Wamu?
And add this to my previous RICO act post:
"Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court, as it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts.[4]"
I think all ideas of what's "legally" owed goes out the window if the law is found to have been broken. I see RICO here personally:
Under RICO, a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $250,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of "racketeering activity." RICO also permits a private individual harmed by the actions of such an enterprise to file a civil suit; if successful, the individual can collect treble damages.
In many cases, the threat of a RICO indictment can force defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, in part because the seizure of assets would make it difficult to pay a defense attorney. Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court, as it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts.[4]
There is also a provision for private parties to sue. A "person damaged in his business or property" can sue one or more "racketeers." The plaintiff must prove the existence of a "criminal enterprise." The defendant(s) are not the enterprise; in other words, the defendant(s) and the enterprise are not one and the same. There must be one of four specified relationships between the defendant(s) and the enterprise. A civil RICO action, like many lawsuits based on federal law, can be filed in state or federal court.[5]
Both the federal and civil components allow for the recovery of treble damages (damages in triple the amount of actual/compensatory damages).
Although its primary intent was to deal with organized crime, Blakey said that Congress never intended it to merely apply to the Mob. He once told Time, "We don't want one set of rules for people whose collars are blue or whose names end in vowels, and another set for those whose collars are white and have Ivy League diplomas."[4]
Under the law, racketeering activity means:
* Any violation of state statutes against gambling, murder, kidnapping, extortion, arson, robbery, bribery, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act);
* Any act of bribery, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, dealing in obscene matter, obstruction of justice, slavery, racketeering, gambling, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire, and several other offenses covered under the Federal criminal code (Title 18);
* Embezzlement of union funds;
* Bankruptcy fraud or securities fraud;
* Drug trafficking;
* Money laundering and related offenses;
* Bringing in, aiding or assisting aliens in illegally entering the country (if the action was for financial gain);
* Acts of terrorism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racketeer_Influenced_and_Corrupt_Organizations_Act
and example:
On September 7, 1988, Milken's employer, Drexel Burnham Lambert, was also threatened with a RICO indictment under the legal doctrine that corporations are responsible for their employees' crimes. Drexel avoided RICO charges by pleading no contest to lesser felonies. While many sources say that Drexel pleaded guilty, in truth the firm only admitted it was "not in a position to dispute the allegations." If Drexel had been indicted, it would have had to post a performance bond of up to $1 billion to avoid having its assets frozen. This would have taken precedence over all of the firm's other obligations—including the loans that provided 96 percent of its capital. If the bond ever had to be paid, its shareholders would have been practically wiped out. Since banks will not extend credit to a firm indicted under RICO, an indictment would have likely put Drexel out of business.
Agreed Jestir, they were leaning on it from the start with small sells at the bid and dropping the ask, but that moment when they dropped the ask below the bid? Holy cow, that's some desperate rally-killing tactics, I hardly ever see them going that far, hope somebody from the SEC was watching that, somebody has been ordered to keep it down no matter what tactics it takes. I for one, am not surprised to see it, too many billions at stake here. No biggie, adding some more here cheap, and bugging my broker every day making SURE that my shares have been delivered.
It's called "starting a dialogue" Jo, doesn't necessarily mean agreeing to everything on your terms.
But I do like the fact that this last message had at least a slightly less hostile tone!
San Diego? ick. How about Austin?
Glad to hear I make you laugh, good karma for me, good medicine for you!
Happy holidays BTW!
NITE and company working the heck out of it this morning, lol, Dimon must be FURIOUS!!
When and where? Are we gonna verbally spar the whole time we drink that beer? Or can you drop that massive ego long enough to actually connect with someone?
BIYC!
Rally time indeed my friend! I'm ready!
Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin, I CAME TO WIN!
GLTU! And to all, a GOOD night!
Goldman-Sachs got the subpoena too, another defendant to add to the list? How much did they take for stabbing Wamu in the back? And how many BILLIONS are they liable for?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/15/news/companies/boyd_goldman.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008041604
Oh wait, Blankfein said they were doing "God's work".
The arrogance and blatant criminal activity here is just staggering.
So it looks like the list of defendants might expand here, and possible criminal charges to follow? Not to mention DAMAGES.
"In an internal JPMorgan email dated Sept. 11, 2008, executives discussed a
deal to "acquire the assets and liabilities of West's [believed to be a code
word for Washington Mutual] thrift subsidiaries but leave behind senior and
unsecured debt with the FDIC ($15.2 billion)."
September 11th, the SAME DAY Moody's dropped their ratings bomb on Wamu. Could Moody's be held liable for the subsequent 16 billion dollar run on Wamu? 3X damages? And now Wamu is demanding documents from them, along with the SEC and the Justice Department's investigation of them, and also Fitch and Standard & Poor's. It literally boggles the mind how much cash we are talking about if all parties named are found guilty, and thus, liable. 100 billion?
BOOM.
And Kirsten Grind hits Dimon with a left, then a right, then another left...Dimon is wobbly, Grind tags her partner Peg Brickley in...WHOA, Brickley delivers a flying kick right in Dimon's..errr..wallet area...Dimon is down, his tag-team partner Sheila Bair is ignoring Dimon's frantic efforts to tag out...OH but she's not going to escape the fray, referee Walrath smacks her back to the ring area with what appears to be an extremely large stack of documents! The belts could be changing hands soon folks, stay tuned!
Lol! Me either, and especially not with the car i'll be driving to Vegas.
OH MUCH bigger courtroom, as someone posted last night:
"The Regulators"
FDIC - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in its capacity as receiver for WMB and in its corporate
capacity,
OTS - Office of Thrift Supervision
OCC - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Federal Reserve - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Treasury Department - U.S. Department of the Treasury
SEC - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paulson - former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr
"The Rating Agencies"
Moody's - Moody's Investors Service
S&P - Standard and Poor's Corporation ("S&P")
"The WaMu Suitors"
Banco Santander - Banco Santander, S.A.
Toronto-Dominion - Toronto-Dominion Bank
TD Bank - TD Bank, N.A.
Wells Fargo - Wells Fargo, N.A.
"The Banks"
FHLB-SF - Federal Home Loan Bank-San Francisco
FHLB- Seattle - Federal Home Loan Bank-Seattle
Goldman Sachs - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
"The JPMC Professionals"
PWC - PricewaterhouseCoopers
Equale - Equale & Associates
Holt - Richard F. Holt
Horne - David Horne, LLC
The truth is going to come out now, may take a while, but the longer it takes, the more $$$$$$ it will be. Some heads are going to roll, some "fat cats" who "don't get it", lol!
So Moody's and Standard & Poors are getting a nice big fat 2004 subpoena for documents as well! Well well well, looks like I was right:
"JPMC's Rule 2004 Discovery indicates that JPMC had several meetings and
communications with each of the Rating Agencies in April 2008 and September 2008 regarding
Washington Mutual. The American National Complaint alleges that JPMC misused confidential
Washington Mutual information to "drive down WMI's credit rating."
Not for nothin', but I wonder what your liability would be, if you were guilty of fraudulently rating a company, and IT WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR A 16 BILLION DOLLAR BANK RUN? Would 3x damages apply in a case like that as well? Looks like we may be adding more defendants to the party.
Lawsuit anyone?
I just covered my JPM short from this morning, and used the profit to buy some more Wamuq, it's the perfect irony really,this makes three times, i've been grinning all morning!
GOOOOOOO WAMUUUUUUUUU
Nice I-box!
Almost time to start buying again. See y'all shortly.
Game, set, and match. See ya JPM, i'll be shorting you shortly.
I would end this post with the "tick-tock" that's become kinda popular here, but the fact is:
Times up.
Dragynn
Oh let it go for pete's sake, do you just have to get in the last word? Was I right about Jo being a girl's name?
Grow up fotoz, you lost, at your own stupid game. Go take some lame-o pictures, or use your ill-gotten gains to buy a boat of your own finally, and sail away to the land of trolls where your ilk belongs. I have MUCH bigger fish to fry.
The Cuomo-Schumer connection, this gets even better.
Interesting...makes you wonder, there was a settlement/agreement,wherein again, nobody admitted fault, and in the end, FRE and FNM got bailed out, Wamu didn't and became the sacrificial lamb.
And Andrew Cuomo's name keeps coming up, in this case of mortgage fraud investigation, and again coincidentally in the spring/summer of 2008, Cuomo wrapped up his investigation into Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch with a similar result of settlements and agreements by those parties, the same Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch coincidentally/currently being sued by the Ohio Attorney General alleging they provided misleading ratings in exchange for money, the same Moody's that led the charge on Wamu by hammering it with with a downgrade to "D+" on 9/11/08, followed soon after by the other two, sparking another run on deposits.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5AJ3UM20091120?sp=true
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574547592472039198.html
http://www.bloggernews.net/123237
Andrew Cuomo and the Incredible Industry-Wide Mortgage Fraud Investigation
Posted on December 10th, 2009
by Carola Von Hoffmannstahl-Solomonoff in All News, Blogosphere News, Government News, New York News, North American News, US Government News, US News, US Politics, crime
In early December, after days of deliberation, an Albany jury delivered corruption convictions to Joseph L. Bruno, New York State’s former Senate majority leader. On their way to finding Joe guilty of two federal felony charges the jury requested extensive read-backs and clarifications. Joe’s crony cozy deals were aired and re-aired. How often do New Yorkers get such detailed info about malfeasance in high places? About as often as Joe Bruno turned down gifts from pals doing business with the state.
Republican Joe Bruno’s abuse of power to gild his own lily was fierce. But his style? Old hat. Self-serving pols masquerading as servants of the people are a bipartisan New York special. And once they get in, they never get out. Some municipalities and counties have been under the same greasy thumbs since the daze of Rip Van Winkle. Oh but there’s hope! The Working Families Party (WFP) is making inroads in upstate races. Running candidates on the Democrat, Republican, Independence, or Whatever lines.
A tenant activist friend in NYC refers to WFP as the “Working Phonies Party”. Note to self– ask why.
More hope 4 New York; the possibility that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will be our next governor. Folks admire how Andy pounces on big-time financial fraudsters. Denouncing them seven ways to Sunday. That his pounces often result not in prosecution, but in payoffs aka fines and/or some form of political enhancement for himself, matters not. The non-necessity of prosecuting the powerful is another New York special. In late 2008, Michael Garcia, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, decided that X Governor Eliot Spitzer shouldn’t face charges for availing himself of the money laundering services of the New York State-based, international prostitution ring he patronized. Stepping down to run his father’s real estate empire was punishment enough. Hey–Spitz knew he did a bad thing. When state attorney general, he excoriated money launderers and prostitution rings.
As a private citizen angling for another public berth, Spitzer is excoriating (expectorating?) anew. Coming on as Mister Reform in forums as far flung as the BBC and Slate magazine. In November, Spitz sniped Treasury Secretary Tiny Tim Geithner (former head of the New York Fed) for having “no backbone” while Wall Street partied with bizzaro securities and for flubbing the AIG bailout. Implying he, Spitzer, would have done it right. Prison’s loss might seem our gain if Spitz didn’t preen so nakedly. The man is a self love machine. Hard to understand why he had to hire hookers. As for bizzaro securities, Spitz as AG was a dud when it came to prosecuting the mortgage frauds that inflated the values on which said securities were based. Though he did excoriate predatory lenders and collect some mighty fine fines…
For a fine example of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in full NY pounce, think back to the brief period when the bursting housing bubble made it seem as if mortgage fraud perped by parties larger than brokers, bank clerks, and appraisers might finally matter. In November 2007, Attorney General Cuomo sent ominous missives to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the accompanying press release, Cuomo announced he was subpoenaing the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as part of an “industry-wide investigation into mortgage fraud”. An independent examiner would review all appraisals and mortgages purchased by Fannie and Freddie from Washington Mutual (WaMu), the nation’s largest savings and loan. (By the end of 2008, WaMu was the nation’s largest bank failure.) Transactions with other lenders would also be scrutinized.
Fannie and Freddie were suspected of buying and bundling fraud-inflated mortgage loans (as fodder for mortgage backed securities) from lenders colluding with several prominent appraisal entities. In a 11/06/07 letter to Richard F. Syron, then Chairman of Freddie Mac, Cuomo said “GSEs may also have an interest in inflating (or at least in not questioning) the value of pooled loans…the higher the values of the loans closed, the greater the value for which the securities are sold on the secondary market.”
Imagine if Cuomo’s investigation proved Fannie and Freddie had colluded in inflating loan values! Wall Street would be shaken to its crap real estate foundations. The public would get an in-depth look at government sponsored mortgage fraud. Pols and appointed officials who control and/or oversee housing and finance at the federal level would be disgraced. In the heat of the moment, sweeping policy reforms would be enacted. Important heads might roll off to actual prison. And should Fannie and Freddie need a bailout, taxpayers would definitely balk at covering a pair of proven grifters.
Whew. The bomb never blew.
Five months after his missive to Fannie and Freddie, Andrew Cuomo closed his industry-wide investigation into mortgage fraud. On March 3, 2008, Cuomo announced an agreement had been reached with Fannie and Freddie and their official overseer, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). He also thanked Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, for help in crafting the agreement. In Cuomo’s words, the agreement “begins to set right what had gone so wrong in the mortgage industry– rampant appraisal fraud”. Which occurred because “banks were putting pressure on appraisers to up the value of loans just to make a quick buck”. Nothing was said about prosecuting the unidentified banks that suborned fraud. (Though “predatory lending” got the de rigueur tongue lash.) As for the possible interest by Fannie and Freddie in inflating values, the topic was gone with the wind.
A few months after Cuomo closed his investigation, taxpayers bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Quoting CNN Money (The Most Expensive Bailout) “Congress essentially wrote a blank check to the Treasury Department in July 2008 to do what needed to be done to inject capital into the two firms”.
In the agreement struck with Cuomo, Fannie and Freddie didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing. However, they graciously agreed to contribute $24 million for the creation of an “Independent Valuations Protection Institute”. The institute would monitor lenders doing business with Fannie and Freddie for appraisal code adherence. The code (the Home Valuation Code of Conduct or HVCC) was a brand new one shaped by Andrew Cuomo. And oh yeah, OFHEO. The board of the new institute would be approved by, and answerable to, Andrew Cuomo. And oh yeah, OFHEO. That a state attorney general was playing the primary role in setting crucial policy for national lending standards, and for two humongous enterprises sponsored by the federal government mattered not.
In September, 2008, as part of the full federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, OFHEO officially merged with the Federal Housing Finance Board to form a whole new independent federal agency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Prior to the merge, OFHEO was a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Andrew Cuomo was HUD secretary between 1997 and 2001. As HUD head, he had the power to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Weird thought: what if Andrew Cuomo’s industry-wide investigation into mortgage fraud had uncovered bad stuff at Fannie and Freddie going back to his own days at HUD? Cuomo would’ve had to investigate himself! For failures in oversight– and in policy. Cuomo was one of several HUD heads who pressed Fannie and Freddie to take on more and more subprime mortgages in the name of advancing affordable homeownership. An ideal shared by Senator Chuck Schumer. In 2005, when the danger of Fannie and Freddie’s bulging mortgage portfolio was raised in Congress, Schumer opposed stricter GSE regulation in the name of protecting affordable housing.
Schumer incidentally, receives a hefty hunk of his political contributions from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries. No biggie tho. These industries are traditionally generous to members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
As for the home valuation code established by Cuomo and oh yeah, OFHEO, many in the real estate industry hate the HVCC and are trying to dislodge it. Claiming it keeps appraisal values artificially low. (Think they complained about appraisal values being artificially high?) Luckily, the Obama admin is tapping taxpayers in order to keep values inflated and housing affordable.
For those considering Andrew Cuomo as potential governor, the issue isn’t the goodness or badness of HVCC, but how he conducted his industry-wide investigation of mortgage fraud and how it reflects on his ability to potentially govern the Empire State.
New York government rolls on lack of transparency and autocratic attitude. Decisions affecting the fates and finances of some 20 million people are made by handfuls of power players in closed rooms. Hidden agendas and under-the-table alliances scotch democratic process. Even when results are beneficial (rarely) the public is treated like children who need to be administered, rather than as constituents. Hot button issues are come-ons for the rubes. Reform sentiment is exploited as a weapon for power grabs, extortion, and government expansion. Reformers are only reformers when it suits them. Questions are raised and accusations made but investigations fade away after advantages are gained or the wrong ox gets gored.
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The scope of what appears to be a conspiracy, just gets larger and larger by the day, as I posted , the SEC and the Justice Dept have now gotten into the act:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FINANCIAL_CRISIS_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-09-19-54-18
One of the moments that struck me in the Dave Ross interview, was when Dave asked that if Wamu WAS solvent, and properly capitalized, then WHY were they seized? And Kirsten and AL were silent for a moment, before they basically said that that was the big question, and i'm sure a Judge will want to know the same thing.
But to me, it's not just why, but also how? How do you set about taking down the nation's largest bank? How was it done in this case?
The actions taken in the spring of '08 are legion.
Wamu not included on the "no-short" list, why?
Goldman brokers the TPG deal, making them de facto insiders, then calls for their clients to massively short Wamu, why? And how many billions were made?
JPM makes an offer to buy Wamu, making them the holders of inside info as well, did they also join in the shorting directly or indirectly?
Cuomo investigates Wamu-FRE-FNM, then quietly settles with FRE-FNM and no mention of Wamu, why? Sen. Charles Schumer is deep into those negotiations too, as noted by Cuomo, so a New York Senator and a New York AG with aspirations of running for Governor...tell me, where again is JP Morgan Chase headquarters? And whose campaigns have they donated money to?
Cuomo investigates Moody's, Fitch, and S&P, again quietly settles, why? A few months later, Moody's delivers the death blow to Wamu's credit rating, there will be no more money coming their way.
And now we see, that despite whatever settlement was made with them, they apparently continued to do their dirty work, as they are under investigation by the Ohio AG, and the SEC and the JD for exchanging false ratings for cash.
And then there's Sheila...nuff said really about her, but for those who might not know, and think she's just a banker/bean counter type, she was also Senior Vice President for Government Relations of the New York Stock Exchange (1995 to 2000), and a Commissioner and Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1991 to 1995). So believe it, she knows how the game is played, and knew what the actions of Goldman, Moody's, and JPM would do.
Wamu was just not in the "club", they were West Coast, and not even Cali-West Coast. An East-West bankers civil war for control? Well, East coast won, that much is for sure, and this nations power and money, is solidly consolidated in New York and Washington D.C. now.
Here is a map of "failed" banks in 2008-2009, there was only one in all of New York state, the tiny Waterford Village Bank, representing only a few million in assets. Meanwhile, 20 in California, 21 in Illinois, 29 in Georgia...and of course 3 in Washington State including the largest in the country at the time.
http://www.portalseven.com/finance/Failed_Banks_Map_Since_2008.jsp
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And an update for just in case it might look like I am grasping at conspiracy straws, Chuck Schumer's page on Wikipedia gives the quick and dirty on his involvement in the sub-prime crisis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer
IndyMac Bank Controversy
On June 26, 2008 Senator Schumer took the extraordinary step of releasing publicly letters he had written to regulators regarding IndyMac Bank, the seventh largest Savings and Loan and the ninth largest originator of mortgage loans in the United States and a severely troubled institution. Schumer wrote he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers and that the regulatory community may not be prepared to take measures that would help prevent the collapse of IndyMac." Many depositors at IndyMac panicked and withdrew funds in the 11 days before IndyMac failed.[45]
An audit by the Treasury Department's Inspector General would find that the primary causes of IndyMac’s failure were associated with its business strategy of originating and securitizing Alt-A loans on a large scale. When home prices declined in the latter half of 2007 and the secondary mortgage market collapsed, IndyMac was forced to hold $10.7 billion of loans it could not sell in the secondary market. IndyMac's reduced liquidity was further exacerbated when account holders withdrew $1.55 billion in deposits in a “run” on the thrift following the public release of the letter. While the run was a contributing factor in the timing of IndyMac’s demise, the underlying cause of the failure was the unsafe and unsound manner in which the thrift was operated.[46]
Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision(OTS), John Reich immediately blamed IndyMac's failure on the release of the letter. Reich said Schumer gave the bank a "heart attack" and opined, "Would the institution have failed without the deposit run? We'll never know the answer to that question."[47]
Despite IndyMac's condition before the failure, the financial media criticized the Senator sharply. CNBC financial analyst Jerry Bowyer charged that Schumer was responsible for the "second largest bank failure in US history."[51] While opining that IndyMac's failure was only a matter of time, banking consultant Bert Ely termed Schumer's actions "wrong and irresponsible".[52]
A link, "How Chuck Schumer caused the nations second largest bank failure":
http://www.cnbc.com/id/25654303
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Schumer had an active hand in making sure FRE and FNM would not go down, it explains his sticking his nose into Cuomo's investigation understandable:
On April 6, 2005 Alan Greenspan testified to Congress about the enormous portfolio of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Schumer responded to the testimony "I see an analogy to Social Security," Mr. Schumer said. "Social Security has a problem and there are ideologues who want to undo it. Fannie and Freddie have problems, and there are ideologues who want to undo them. But there are ways to fix the problems short of what's been proposed. When the sink is broken, you don't want to tear down the house."
Without identifying anyone in particular, Schumer also suggested that some people who have advanced tougher regulation of the two housing finance companies were really pushing a broader agenda to eliminate the companies and their mission of providing affordable housing. He proposed that the OFHEO raise Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's conforming loan ("affordable") limits from $417,000 to $625,000, thereby allowing these GSEs to back mortgages on homes prices up to $780,000 with a 20 percent down payment.[40]
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And lastly, just wanted to throw this factoid in:
Schumer's top nine campaign contributors are all financial institutions who have contributed over $2.5 million to the senator.
Schumer currently serves on the following Senate Committees in the 111th United States Congress:
* Committee on Finance
o Subcommittee on Health Care
o Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
o Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy
* Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
o Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
o Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
o Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
* Committee on the Judiciary
o Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
o Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
o Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
o Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security (Chairman)
o Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
* Committee on Rules and Administration (Chairman)
* Joint Committee on the Library (Vice Chair)
* Joint Committee on Printing (Chairman)
* Joint Economic Committee (Vice Chair)
* International Narcotics Control Caucus
An update to my previous posts regarding Moody's et al being investigated, now the SEC and the Justice department have gotten involved, again I ask, how much did it cost to dump Wamu in the grease?
Stay tuned, I have another long post to follow, the rabbit hole gets deeper...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FINANCIAL_CRISIS_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-09-19-54-18
Dec 9, 7:54 PM EST
Feds target rating agencies' role in meltdown
By MARCY GORDON
AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Enforcement officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department said Wednesday that their staffs are targeting the role of Wall Street rating agencies in the financial meltdown.
The three dominant agencies - Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings - have been widely criticized for failing to give investors adequate warning of the risks in subprime mortgage securities, whose collapse touched off the financial crisis.
SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his staff is "looking very closely at credit rating agencies" and is "focused on that area."
A 2007 law empowers the SEC to bring enforcement actions against rating agencies based on false statements they may have made, he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer said the Justice Department also is "looking at" rating agencies.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo pursued the three big Wall Street raters last year, securing an agreement from them to overhaul how they evaluate investments backed by risky mortgage debt. The accord was meant to end what the industry calls "ratings shopping" that pits the agencies against one another.
The agencies are crucial financial gatekeepers. Their grades of creditworthiness can be key factors in determining at what cost securities will be purchased by banks, mutual funds, state pension funds or local governments.
Khuzami, Breuer and Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, detailed federal efforts to pursue fraud and rising abuses in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Mortgage fraud, which spiked to record levels in the wake of the subprime loan collapse in 2007, is an especially intense area of focus by federal and state prosecutors. Mortgage fraud investigations by the FBI now total more than 2,700, compared with 881 three years ago.
The Justice Department "has redoubled its efforts to uncover abuses involving mortgage lending" and related fraud schemes, Breuer testified. "We're prosecuting those cases around the country."
Charges related to mortgage fraud are pending against about 500 individuals and firms nationwide, he said.
The financial distress also has revealed a growing number of pyramid investment schemes that were undetected in stronger economic times - the highest-profile being the multibillion-dollar fraud by Bernard Madoff that continued for nearly two decades, the officials said.
"A week doesn't go by" without a new Ponzi case being opened, Perkins told the panel.
Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., who chaired the hearing, said to restore the public's faith in the financial markets, "We must identify, prosecute and send to prison the participants in those markets who broke the law."
The SEC and the Justice Department have conducted wide-ranging investigations of big companies across the financial services industry that blew up in the crisis. But a year after the catastrophe struck, charges haven't yet come in most of the probes.
Spokesmen for Moody's and Fitch Ratings didn't respond to telephone calls seeking comment Wednesday evening. A spokesman for Standard & Poor's had no immediate comment.
Great link Lawrence, thank you.
Again I have to say, this is a bellwether case for the future, Wamu literally got gang-tackled, the worst case of piling-on I have ever seen, to the point of being ludicrous and far too obvious. It reveals the depth and all-pervasiveness of corruption in the markets at the time, and should ultimately prove to be the undoing of the parties involved.
If not, you can forget about our banking system.
Agreed Godfather, it was a concerted effort, not adding Wamu to the "no-shorting" list, was like hanging a sign over their door screaming "CANNON FODDER". Credit agency too, Moody's is a piece of work for sure, and they put the final nail in the coffin, wonder how much they got paid?
Take a look at who Scottrade does their banking with.
HA-HA-HA!!! Loving it! The press beat-down is now over, the lid is coming off!
How do ya like them apples JW? Got no idea what's coming do you? Or how you could be so wrong?
Here endeth the lesson.
Happy Thanksgving Wamu'ers! Thanks for all your contributions to this board, drive safe, remember to save room for the pumpkin pie, and we'll see ya after the holiday! And who knows, maybe "Black Friday" will be our day too? Wouldn't that be delicious irony?
Dragynn
Happy Thanksgiving Tex and all here on the Junior Mining board!
Dragynn
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=42571096
Last line at the bottom Jo.
There is only one "c" in hypocrisy BTW.
Are you going to be done being a brat anytime soon? There isn't anyone posting in this thread but you and me, so quit posturing, there's no audience, and the only thing you could possibly do to impress me, is to put your big boy pants on and play nice. Otherwise it's back to the silent treatment for you!
C'mon, let it go Jo. This is absolutely the last post if you don't.
No one knows Freddy, that's the point, only the judge knows, and contrary to popular opinion, I doubt highly that anyone is going to get advanced notice of her ruling, she's a federal judge, NOT a typical underhanded insider-trading Wall St. shill.
Oh yeah, the leaks are a fact of life in pinky-land, we all know it, but this is a court case, not company insiders leaking a coming PR to their friends, if Walrath or any member of her court did something like that, there is no way they wouldn't get caught, and they would go to jail for a LONG time.
IMO we get a rush 5-15 minutes before the blip hits our streamers, the MM's always get the news first, but that's all the warning we'll get.
Dude, I gave you your chance to play nice, I even offered to meet you, and instead, you threw a little tantrum and stomped your feet and insisted that I never "gotcha", lol.
I didn't get pitched from the boards I was modding, PM Matt if you don't believe me, oh I definitely got tossed from the CTKH mod job, as I intended, the others I just resigned, I took on those jobs simply to re-do the I-boxes, because I kind of enjoy doing it, and it's a service to the community. I finished my work and left them for others to carry on.
Jo, I know who, and what you are, and I doubted you would accept my offer of "calling it even", before I ever proffered it. And again, here you are with the schoolyard taunts....wow, aren't you like in your 50's now?
And isn't "Jo" a girl's name?