There are several errors in the recent article by Bud that need corrected, imo.
#1
Bud writes, "5,000 pending indictments", while the DOJ's web site and news media quotes AG Holder stating, "moving forward on more than 5,000 pending Financial Institution Fraud cases".
January 15, 2010 Bud: Last week, in a speech given in West Palm Beach, Attorney General Holder announced 5,000 pending indictments by the Department of Justice
West Palm Beach, Fla. ~ Friday, January 8, 2010 AG: And I’m heartened that the Department of Justice, at last count, is moving forward on more than 5,000 pending Financial Institution Fraud cases.
Both the Palm Beach speech and AG Holder's testimony on 1/14/2010 are specific about four types of financial crime. Bud was incorrect again.
Bud: His speech did not specify for the audience the type of targets the DOJ was focusing on, leaving open the most important questions about such an announcement. Who is being indicted by type, and for what kind of specific misconduct?
AG Holder's speech: But we are fighting back, and our newly-established task force is at the forefront of this effort. At the core of the task force’s mission is a more robust and strategic law enforcement effort. Through this effort, critical information will be shared in real time across the federal government – and with our state and local law enforcement partners – so that we can stop fraud schemes in their tracks.
We will focus on four key types of financial crime:
· Mortgage fraud -- from the simplest of “flip” schemes to systematic lending fraud in our nationwide housing market; · Securities fraud – from traditional insider trading, to Ponzi schemes, to accounting fraud, to misrepresentations to investors; · Recovery Act and rescue fraud – including the theft of federal stimulus funds and the illegal use of taxpayer dollars intended to shore up our financial institutions; and · Financial discrimination – including predatory lending practices in minority communities and the sale of financial products that exploit the elderly and disadvantaged.
AG Holder's testimony :The cornerstone of our work in this area is a new, interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established in November by Executive Order of the President and is led by the Justice Department. At the core of the Task Force’s mission is a more robust and strategic law enforcement effort, focused on combating four types of financial crime:
Mortgage fraud - from foreclosure rescue and loan modification frauds to systematic lending fraud in the nationwide housing market; Securities fraud - from traditional insider trading, to Ponzi schemes, to accounting fraud, to misrepresentations to investors; Recovery Act and rescue fraud - including the theft of federal stimulus funds and the illegal use of taxpayer dollars intended to shore up our financial institutions; and Financial discrimination - including predatory lending practices in minority communities and the sale of financial products that exploit the elderly and disadvantaged.
Bud oddly neglects the 2,800 mortgage fraud cases being investigated by the FBI. AG Holder made a point to focus on this "type" of financial crime. Mortgage fraud has been a huge media story for quite sometime now. I am unable to even find the word "mortgage" in Bud's article.
AG Holder's speech: We’ve also devoted substantial attention to preventing and prosecuting mortgage fraud. No one in South Florida needs a lesson on the destructive consequences of widespread mortgage fraud. But you should know that, right now, the FBI is investigating more than 2,800 such cases, up almost 400 percent from five years ago.
AG Holder's testimony: We’ve also devoted substantial attention to preventing and prosecuting mortgage fraud. Right now, the FBI is investigating more than 2,800 such cases, up almost 400 percent from five years ago. The recently-enacted federal budget for 2010 will enhance these efforts, as will the enhanced legislative authorities Congress provided the Department last year in the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.
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