Friday, April 18, 2008

Ex-Fannie Mae Executives Said to Be Near Settlement (FNM)

From the New York Times:

...Mr. Raines and the two others — J. Timothy Howard, the former chief financial officer, and Leanne G. Spencer, a former controller — were accused of engineering a six-year accounting fraud intended to inflate the reported earnings of the company and thus increase their bonuses.

...Two government reports in 2006 concluded that Fannie Mae improperly used financial reserves and deferred expenses to meet profit goals, which resulted in large bonuses for the men.

The executives have denied the charges.

In December 2006, Ofheo filed a suit against the executives, seeking the repayment of more than $115 million in bonuses. The oversight office also sought fines that it said could add up to more than $100 million....