On the advice of many of you, tomorrow I'll be sending the following letter to the individuals below. I hope it will help the cause.
Long time lurker....David
January 23, 2011
Eric C Holder, Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Mr. Holder,
As the Attorney General of the United States I’d like to draw your attention to three items regarding Washington Mutual, Inc and its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Collectively, these three items appear to show that Washington Mutual, Inc’s bankruptcy proceedings are very unusual indeed and that some of the activities of the settlement noteholders, Appaloosa Management LP, Aurelius Capital Management LP, Centerbridge Partners LP, and Owl Creek Asset Management LP, may be criminal in nature. I ask that you consider these three items and use your authority to investigate further if you believe that it is warranted. What is clear is that even after two years (Washington Mutual, Inc was seized by the FDIC and sold to JP Morgan (JPM) and the remaining holding company entered bankruptcy in September 2008), this bankruptcy is anything but normal and I would suggest that the process is being manipulated at the detriment of Washington Mutual equity holders. The three items are as follows:
1) As indicated in attached article by the financial site Seeking Alpha, Traci Racki suggests that settlement noteholders were involved in insider trading of Washington Mutual debt based upon knowledge from closed door settlement negotiations between Washington Mutual, JPM, and the FDIC. Not only are there allegations of insider trading, Appaloosa Management LP had been previously fined by the SEC for willfully violating federal trading rules that involved stock “shorting” activities that occurred near the height of the fiscal/banking crisis in 2008, suggesting a willingness to exploit these circumstances for financial gain. As of the date of this letter, the value of the debt in question (symbol WAHUQ) has increased in value nearly over 1000% from $0.02 on Sept 25, 2008 to $20.05 on January 20, 2011.
2) Throughout the two-year Washington Mutual bankruptcy proceeding, not once has a Washington Mutual asset listing been produced in order to value assets and determine settlement. If my family were to file for bankruptcy, I am sure that one of the first items I would be required to produce would be a list of assets. Why has an asset list for Washington Mutual not been produced?
3) Washington Mutual’s banking division was sold to JPM in September 2008. Shortly after the sale of Washington Mutual’s banking division, the Washington Mutual holding company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing $33 billion dollars in assets and $8 billion dollars in debts. However, despite adequate capital (and a pending TARP program that assisted other banks with less liquidity) Washington Mutual’s banking division was sold to JPM Chase by the FDIC for a paltry $1.9 billion. Why was there no true valuation completed by the FDIC when even JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon was willing to pay $8 per share for common stock only a few months earlier?
Thank you for your time and consideration of these matters. I believe there are enough inconsistencies and outright questionable actions to warrant your further consideration of this matter. If you believe (as I do) that this bankruptcy process is being manipulated at the expense of equity holders or that insider trading has occurred, I ask that you use the authority of your office to correct this injustice. I count on you to do the right thing and ensure that the integrity of our financial institutions is maintained.
Very respectfully,
David M Lowe
cc:
Senator Richard Shelby
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Shelley Moore Capito
Committee on Financial Serivces
Chairman, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
2129 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Senator Randy Neugebauer
Committee on Financial Serivces
Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
2129 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
1 St. Andrew's Plaza
New York City, NY 10007
Eric C Holder, Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
James Gallo
Office of the Attorney General
Investor Protection Bureau
120 Broadway, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10271
Mary Schapiro, Chairman
Securities & Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549
George S. Canellos, Regional Director
Securities & Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office
3 World Financial Center, Suite 400
New York, NY 10281-1022
AI
