FBI Targets "every level" of subprime "CONSPIRACY" The Times

[autorank]

Nice work by The Money Party. They're screwed right now. At least they have a place to live
even if it's in Marion OH

TIMESONLINE ("The Times", London)
Jan. 31, 2008

FBI targets senior bankers in far-reaching sub-prime fraud inquiry

Tom Bawden in New York

America's Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating senior banking executives for insider dealing and fraud as part of a criminal inquiry into the sub-prime crisis, the agent leading the inquiry said yesterday.

Neil Power, the head of the FBI's economic crimes unit, is heading the most far-reaching criminal investigation into the practices of the mortgage industry since it began to melt down last year, after years of increasingly lax lending finally fed through into an increase in defaults on home loans.

The FBI is investigating every level of the conspiracy that it believes perpetuated the housing boom and ultimately resulted in millions of Americans losing their houses, investment banks losing billions of dollars and the chief executives of Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and UBS resigning.

Mr Power said: “We're looking at the accounting fraud that goes through the securitisation of these loans. We're dealing with the people who securitise them and then the people who hold them, such as the investment banks.”

More http://tinyurl.com/3bqx9q

[aquart]

1. Well, I'm seriously entertained.

My cup will run over when they beg for restoration of regulation.

[autorank]

5. We can hope.

Here's the Robert Ludlum version - is this one of the biggest shake downs ever? The information
gained will be the equivalent of J. Edgar Hoover's personal information. The FBI would own these
guys...get the goods, let 'em off. Use the info against them;)

We'll see if they do anything with it.

These "big guys" are terrified about prison. Maybe they'll appreciate habeas corpus and civil
liberties more when they find out they might be subject to some of the coercive techniques
invented by the Bush Administration. Even today, Mukasey wouldn't admit water boarding was torture.
What a disappointment.

[roguevalley]

25. If the FBI wants to bring the tree, I'll braid the rope. (joke of course)

I hope they get more than five years like other white (trash) collar bastards.

[lurky]

2. OMFG!

The amount of money written off by these banks has already dwarfed the losses of Enron and WorldCom combined. It's so bad that our economic and banking systems are teetering on the edge of the Abyss. And now they are saying it was caused by a criminal conspiracy?

Holy Fuck, this is huge! :wow::wow::wow:

And why did it take a foreign paper to break this? :wtf:

[autorank]

6. Yep -

I found it while I was researching the next episode of "The Money Party"

That is a great question.

But why is it that our media won't report 1 mil + dead Iraqi civilians due to consequences of the
invasion? What a bunch of robots they are.

[lurky]

8. Sense of personal responsibility?

I mean, these are many of the same people who beat the war drums so loudly in 2003. To acknowledge a share in the blame for these unnecessary deaths would have to be difficult.

[autorank]

10. You are right on target.

It's personal responsibility but also culpability. Doesn't matter what you call it, 1 mil plus,
and the figures below are mind blowers. They knew yet they continued to vote appropriations for
the war on the false and egregiously insincere notion of the right that to fail to fund the
war meant you weren't protecting the soldiers. B.S. You fund the withdrawal with full protections,
maximum and regnize that 80% of the Iraqi's want us out.

But this ties into the Money Party's desperation. War time is a time of massive wealth transfers.
They already had that going but the Iraq War is a bonus. The don't want to lose the 'cash cow.'

Why won't any major candidate go after the 70% of citizens who want out w/in a year (same figure
as Iraqi citizens)? Interesting question isn't it. That's a damn big voting block. It's not
controversial, it's smart politics but they feed us this LIE that "we have to move to the center"
bla bla bla... well, the center is out of Iraq in less than a year. Lots of votes there, crush
McCain who said 100 years is ok. Why won't they go there? Because the "donors" won't have it,
they won't give. They pushed Edwards out and he would not even demand that.

We're screwed.

[autorank]

13. Q: And why did it take a foreign paper to break this?" A: MSNBC, CNBC, etc.

Flacks for a phony market.

How hard is it to figure out that a tripple A rating for a bundle of "subprime" loans is
a bad idea? Yet they did it? Media complicity is the reason media doesn't cover it here,
I suspect.

[lurky]

14. Is Moody's under investigation?

How did that policy happen? Who made it happen?

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. It's about time that word showed up.

What else could it be, but a conspiracy? At least they're finally looking under the right rocks.

[JVS]

21. This is HUGH!!!!1!111!!!eleven!!!1!

[baby_mouse]

3. How much is the FBI worth? Has it got a share value?

How is performing these days?

[greenvpi]

7. Thankfully it doesn't!

Imagine a world where the Repuke idiots get to make their wildest dreams happen and turn the pigs, along with many other government entities that any sane person believes that should be public, into private companies. They would then fight as hard as they could to kill or arrest as many people as possible to make more money. FBI stock price low? Kill another dozen "stoners" to make the news. Income low? Steal more money from the rightful owners by making them prove it wasn't ill-gotten gains.

[baby_mouse]

27. Why stop at imagining it? Why not privatise and buy shares?

That way you get a fat cheque every time the FBI does something profitable.

[autorank]

11. If the guys in Vegas would put a line on this, we might establish a value.

Otherwise, it's just more of the same old subprime;)

[ursi]

4. I hope they follow through with this! I also hope Bush and Cheney

don't try to stop these investigations of their banking pals.

[Hannah Bell]

9. If it was conspiracy...

it was conspiracy with a very large cast, e.g. Congress deregulating banking. They can't tell me they didn't understand the implications when they repealed Glass-steagall,an act put in place following similar meltdowns in the depression.

Mr. Clinton was one of the conspirators in the repeal.

In fact, deregulation is a license to loot. Knowingly so.

[autorank]

12. Do you think I overdid it in the subject line;)

Yep, prosecutors all over the USA know that conspiracies are the way of the world with big crimes.

But the MSM has made that a dirty word. Since a bunch of them, including that stupid MSNBC/CNBC
stock touting operation, are probably included, watch the media on this.

[NashVegas]

18. "Flip This House" And Other Shows

Were they in on the conspiracy, as well?

While I don't doubt there were low-level brokers run by a mob, the truth, IMO, is that those at the top were simply being as cynical as the times and their stock-holders were demanding.

Knowing there's something fucked up going on, and using that to your advantage when others refuse to take a stand isn't against the law.

I'm not excusing them. I'm just tired of seeing low-level fuck-ups successfully plead ignorance when that ignorance is willful.

[autorank]

20. That's an interesting point.

They're clearly targeting high level folks but they do mention "every level."

The show was run by people who clearly knew what was going on in the market but you didn't hear it
mentioned (I have a daughter who loves the show (but doesn't flip houses;). I'll watch it with her
occasionally. It seems lately they never come close to their target price but it generally works out.
The show isn't dated.

They're not going to get a visit but the show should get some serious scrutiny and criticism.

[autorank]

24. Kick

:kick:

[Dover]

26. Buy-Hold Comic

[smiley_glad_hands]

16. They are just seeing who repugs should solicit donations from. eom

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[autorank]

19. That's about how it would work;) n/t

[Blue_Tires]

22. i'm sure they are going to investigate 'very' hard

lol

[autorank]

23. Probably not...

...they may break a sweat. It will be mostly in New York City, which is a workout if you're not
accustomed to it. But it does make for a nice headline and people generally think that when
the uber crowd gets charged they're guilty.

I've got to do a google later today to see who picked this up here but one of the bright users on
this thread pointed out - why did it break there, London?

[Richard Steele]

29. Yeah, I'll be holding my breath waiting to see busloads of billionaires in handcufs.

:eyes:

[sarcasmo]

28. Good lip service, let's see if anything happens.

[countryjake]

30. kick

[killbotfactory]

31. Suspicious activity reports have skyrocketed in the past few years

Power and other senior officials said the number of suspicious activity reports they review for potential investigation skyrocketed from 3,000 in fiscal year 2003 to about 35,000 in 2006, to 48,000 in 2007. And in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, Power said, officials have already received 15,000 such reports, putting them on pace to receive 60,000 complaints this year.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/01/29/fbi.mortgage.fraud/

It's not just about stupid borrowers.

[donkeyotay]

32. FBI Investigating is an oxymoron. They strike fear into the junta's hearts. nt