Bank of America lawsuit: US sues over bad loans

GlobalPost

The US government sued Bank of America on Wednesday for $1 billion over allegedly bad loans issued to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The litigation actually targets Countrywide Financial, which was later bought by Bank of America.

More from GlobalPost: Bank of America agrees to $2.43 billion settlement

US Attorney Preet Bharara told the Associated Press that the mortgage company's procedures were designed to process loans at high speed, resulting in thousands of fraudulent loans.

He claims this is the first civil fraud suit brought by the US Justice Department over loans later sold to government-controlled housing giants Fannie and Freddie.

“The fraudulent conduct alleged in today’s complaint was spectacularly brazen in scope,” Bharara said in a statement.

More from GlobalPost: Bank of America to cut 16,000 jobs

The case is the latest legal headache for Bank of America over its acquisition spree during the financial crisis, The New York Times reported.

In September, it paid $2.4 billion to settle a securities class-action lawsuit alleging the bank misled investors about its takeover of Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America also announced plans last month to cut 16,000 jobs as part of a restructuring agreement.

Less than .05% of listeners will donate. Can we count on you?

Our coverage reaches millions each week, but only a small fraction of listeners contribute to sustain our program. We still need 224 more people to donate $100 or $10/monthly to unlock our $67,000 match. Will you help us get there today?