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 have known for many years. America’s biggest banks are not only too big to fail, they are too big to jail.
In Holder’s words, “I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.”
In layman’s terms, Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and others have been given a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.
These banks have received billions of dollars of TARP money – money coughed up by strapped taxpayers – yet they can’t be held criminally responsible for their actions, mismanagement, greed and waste.
Many states have “3 strikes” laws where a thief can be sent to prison for life after just 3 relatively minor thefts (in several states, just taking $500 elevates a theft to a felony). Do those laws apply to bank presidents? Apparently not. Bank of America can wrongfully mismanage billions of dollars and put innocent homeowners on the street. The consequence? A fine. HSBC helps narcoterrorists launder hundreds of millions of dollars and their penalty? A fine.
Although only the Department of Justice can charge bank officers with federal felonies, the American jury system is alive and well and can still hit big banks in their wallets. Suits for wrongful foreclosure, whistleblower complaints for fraud and other civil actions can result in both punitive damages and heavy fines.
The bank fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl pursue banks and other financial institutions. Currently, we represent in the whistleblower in the largest false claims act (whistleblower) case in the nation against a lender, HUD’s $2.4 billion case against Allied Home Mortgage. Large or small, we take every lender liability case against banks and mortgage companies seriously.
If you have been defrauded by a bank or have inside information about violations of federal banking or HUD regulations, give us a call. (Whistleblowers may be entitled to a percentage of anything collected on behalf of the government.) For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct). All calls are protected by the attorney – client privilege and kept in strict confidence.
Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Fraud recovery available in many jurisdictions.
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