New Unit to Investigate Mortgage Origination and Securitization Abuses
The President will announce tonight that he has asked the Attorney General to collaborate with
several state attorneys general and other federal entities to investigate those responsible for
misconduct contributing to the financial crisis through the pooling and sale of residential
mortgage-backed securities. The Department of Justice has devoted significant resources to
combating the many forms of financial fraud - both on the criminal and civil sides - and we will
continue to work with our regulatory partners through the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task
Force.
• New Mortgage Unit: This effort will be run out of a new Unit on Mortgage Origination and
Securitization Abuses through the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
• State Attorney General Co-Chair: The Unit will be Co-Chaired by New York Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman.
• Other Enforcement Co-Chairs: The Unit will also be Co-Chaired by leading officials at the
Department of Justice, SEC, and IRS, including Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General,
Criminal Division, DOJ; Robert Khuzami, Director of Enforcement, SEC; John Walsh,
United States Attorney, District of Colorado, Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, Civil
Division, DOJ.
• Mortgage Unit Goals:
o The goal of this joint investigation will be threefold: to hold accountable any
institutions that violated the law; to compensate victims and help provide relief for
homeowners struggling from the collapse of the housing market, caused in part by
this wrongdoing; and to help us finally turn the page on this destructive period in our
nation’s history.
o This effort announced by the President will be in coordination with and in addition to
those ongoing efforts by the Department, the Task Force and state and federal law
enforcement investigating and prosecuting financial fraud.
o We will have a specific announcement about the Unit in the coming days.
The Administration is committed to ensuring that justice and relief are provided for the millions
of American families harmed by the financial crisis. This Unit will focus on misconduct by
financial institutions in the origination and securitization of mortgages that led to the global
financial crisis.
At the same time, federal enforcement agencies and state Attorneys General and some of the
nation’s largest financial institutions continue negotiations to reach a settlement to resolve
misconduct, including so-called robo-signing, in the servicing of home loans.