...have a similar effect to their segment on robo-signing last year?
In the report last night, Steve Kroft, the same reporter who did the robo-signing segment, laid out how executives in charge of investigating and reporting mortgage fraud at Countrywide and Citigroup were ignored and then sacked when they honestly reported the rampant mortgage fraud going on within their companies to top executives, and reported that the internal controls to prevent fraud were broken. Top management would later sign off on financial reports required under the Sarbanes Oxley law, which certified that these internal controls were not broken. These seemingly false certifications are criminally punishable-- one avenue by which Wall Street executives could be held accountable for their role in the financial meltdown-- but to date no Wall Street executives have been held criminally accountable.
Like the report on robo-signing scandal, there was nothing really new in the 60 Minutes report, but like the robo-signing report, the report did a good job of laying out the situation in simple terms that everybody will be able to understand. This report also showed the whistleblowers at the banks as credible people who were trying to save the companies they worked for from the rampant fraud, but were sacked for their efforts. On the other hand, the Justice Department official who was interviewed came off as mealy-mouthed and unconvincing, as he tried to explain the lack of prosecutions.
You can watch the 60 Minutes report here. The report is broken into multiple videos.
When the 60 Minutes robo-signing report aired, even though the information reported was already in the public domain, it seemingly woke people up, and since then, there has been a flurry of activity aimed at the banks specifically regarding robo-signing, coming from county recorders, state attorneys general, and federal regulators. Will this new report wake up federal prosecutors to prosecute any Wall Street executives?
I predict yes. After this report, we will finally see a top Wall Street executive indicted for their role in the financial crisis.
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