FORMER COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL EXEC: FRAUD SYSTEMIC AT FIRM

Eileen Foster, Former executive vice president in charge of fraud investigations at mortgage lender Countrywide Financial says that mortgage fraud was a common occurence at Countrywide. She also says she faced illegal retaliation when she refused to lie to federal regulators on Countrywide’s behalf. She said on 60 Minutes recently that mortgage documents were forged and that no effort was made to determine whether any individuals were able to support many of the mortgages. She reported the fraud internally but nothing was done by the company. Last week Attorney General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts announced that she was filing a lawsuit against five major mortgage lenders including Bank of America.