But there is positive news! SEC to charge Mozilo with fraud!

[redrumloa]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Report-SE ... et=&ccode=

he staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to recommend that the agency bring civil fraud charges against Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., according to a published report Wednesday.

The SEC staff sent a Wells notice to Mozilo a few weeks ago informing him of possible charges, The Wall Street Journal reported online, citing unnamed people familiar with the investigation. The report said the charges include illegal insider trading and failing to disclose significant information to Countrywide shareholders.

Mozilo sold some $130 million in Countrywide stock in the first half of 2007 through a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan. These plans allow a company insider to set up a program in advance for such transactions and proceed with them even if he or she comes into possession of material nonpublic information.

North Carolina's state treasurer, who asked the SEC in 2007 to investigate Mozilo's stock sales, raised questions about changes made to Mozilo's plan in the months before the company's stock plunged which allowed Mozilo to significantly increase his sales of Countrywide shares.

Mozilo had sold company shares through prior arrangements since 2004; the pace of his sales began to quicken in October 2006 when he put a new plan into effect.

Molizo is a crooked as they get. I remember seeing him go on TV and say something like "Contrywide is well capitalized, we have no liquidity issues", weeks before the total collapse of CoutryWide. Of course this scumbag was dumping his shares hand over first the whole time. The only thing I can't figure out is... WHAT THE HELL TOOK SO LONG, SEC?!?!?