SEC Seeks Money, Leadership Penalties for Ex-Fannie, Freddie Execs
Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil complaints against six former top executives of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with securities fraud on Friday in two separate filings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Potential penalties are monetary and would limit the accused parties’ participation as executives in other public companies.
Under the complaints, former Fannie Mae executives Daniel Mudd, Enrico Dallavecchia, and Thomas Lund would see similar consequences as Freddie Mac’s Richard Syron, Patricia Cook, and Donald Bisenius.
The SEC is seeking the disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains, with interest, from each of the six executives, but did not specify an amount. For reference, Mudd made nearly $4 million in salary and bonuses in ‘07, and Syron made more than $18 million, the same year the mortgage giants were hit hard by a sharp decline in home prices as well as rising mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.
Additionally, each would be barred from ever serving as officers or directors of other public companies. Mudd is currently chief executive of the New York hedge fund Fortress Investment Group. Dallavecchia has stepped down as the chief risk officer of PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
The SEC is also seeking penalties from each executive under the Securities Act and Exchange Act, a maximum of $100,000 per violation.
The companies have cost taxpayers almost $150 billion since their government adoption in ‘08, a figure that could reach $259 billion according the Federal Housing Finance Administration.