Until recently, Darryl Woods was the chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Mainstreet Bank in Ashland, Missouri. Last week he pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government and taxpayers. His crime? The feds say he took $381,000 of TARP bailout monies and used the cash to purchase a luxury condo in Fort Meyers, Florida. Now […]
David vs Goliath (Bank Fraud Post)
by Brian Mahany The following post is an email from a client. It is reposted with permission. For privacy reasons, we have changed her name to “Jane” and redacted identifying information. Brian, I spent some time this AM reading your blog posts on my case and “Legal Abuse Syndrome”. Well done, and thank you. I […]
Attorney General Confirms – Big Banks Are "Too Big To Jail" (Bank Fraud Post)
by Brian Mahany Wednesday was a sad day for the American public, good government and law enforcement. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and answered questions about the financial crisis and the response of the Justice Department. When asked why no big banks have been prosecuted, Holder admitted what we […]
Banks As Model Citizens – (Bank Fraud Post)
by Brian Mahany Banks as model citizens. Some folks might laugh but we know of many, well run small community banks that are model citizens. It’s the big banks that really frighten us. Whether they are “too big to fail”, “too big to jail”, or simply “too big to care”, most big banks are not […]
Crisis Of Confidence – America's "Too Big To Care" Banks
by Brian Mahany It’s been a half decade from the dark days of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Since then, most banks have paid back their TARP monies, government regulators have subjected banks to numerous “stress tests” to insure they are financially stable and Congress passed dozens of new laws to better regulate banks. There is […]
JP Morgan Chase Faces Sanctions Over Refusal To Cooperate In Madoff Probe – Bank Fraud
by Brian Mahany America’s “Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Jail” banks have always been favorite targets of ours. Not a day goes by without one of the big banks being in some sort of legal trouble or regulatory hot water. We have heard countless stories of how these lenders have abused their business […]
David v Goliath – Homeowners Beat Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac In Foreclosure
[Post updated related to COVID-19 forbearances] We like rooting for the underdog. Particularly when the underdog has no lawyer and takes on the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Company (“Freddie Mac”). Freddie Mac is a government sponsored enterprise with over $2 trillion in assets. They certainly can afford great lawyers and take on small homeowners who dare […]
"Too Big To Jail" – The Politicians Respond (bank fraud post)
by Brian Mahany We have written many stories about big banks and mortgage companies. In our opinion, they are terrible corporate citizens and are directly responsible for the mortgage crisis and resulting recession. We believe that thousands of people have lost their homes and jobs because of the actions of Allied Home Mortgage, Bank of […]
“Too Big Too Jail” – Why The Justice Department Sends So Few Bankers To Jail (bank fraud post)
by Brian Mahany For the longest time we have said that the Wall Street elite and big banks were simply “too big to care.” Popular media says they are “too big too fail.” After the Justice Department settled with HSBC Bank, we have added “too big to jail” to the list of their shortcomings. This […]
Whose Responsible For The Housing Market Meltdown? FDIC Settles With IndyMac CEO
by Brian Mahany There is plenty of blame for the housing market meltdown. Ask anyone on Main Street, America and most will quickly (and correctly) point the finger at the Wall Street and the big banks. Those folks, however, will likely deny everything. Last week the FDIC was successfully able to hold one big bank […]