In 2009, President Obama created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. According to its website, its mission is to "hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial crisis as well as those who would attempt to take advantage of the efforts at economic recovery." The task force has charged some bottom feeders, like last Friday's arrest of a Connecticut woman who allegedly bilked $2 million from elderly people in a Ponzi scheme disguised as an investment.
They also went after the CEO of an Iowa brokerage firm who allegedly embezzled $200 million from customers. The CEO tried to kill himself, but failed. After investigators found his suicide note, in which he gave a detailed admission of his crimes, they charged him on July 13. It helps to have a hand-written confession, of course. Experts say "complex financial instruments" - a polite term for toxic securities - are so confusing that it's hard to understand how they work, let alone tie them to a particular crime.
Still, investigators couldn't ferret out a single fat cat from Wall Street?
Instead, we've had civil settlements. In February, the White House and state attorneys general agreed to a $25 billion deal with the nation's five biggest mortgage servicers. There have been other settlements involving other companies, as well. But compared with the damage done to the economy, the amount of money involved is peanuts. And the basic cause of the 2008 financial crash in the United States - the widespread practice, enabled by major financial institutions, of putting people into fraudulent, unsupportable loans - has gone unpunished.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has as its governor a Board Member of one of the worst financial actors, ACC Capital holdings. It is a topic we have covered extensively at Red Mass Group. Including the documented multi-state ethics violations Deval Patrick was allegedly part of.
Ms. Rodriguez, as a journalist, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and walk you through Deval Patrick's involvement in the destruction of our economy. You can reach me at rob@redmassgroup.com.
Sub Prime Banker Deval Patrick just sent an email asking me to join him in wishing anti sub-prime crusader Elizabeth Warren a happy birthday.
Dear Friend:
Elizabeth Warren is building a strong grassroots organization in her campaign for U.S. Senate that reaches into every corner of Massachusetts. It will be critical in November -- and beyond.
She knows what's at stake in this election, and she's fighting to keep the American Dream within reach for all. Now it's up to us to work at the grassroots -- to talk to our friends, family members and neighbors about her campaign and her vision for the Commonwealth, and for our country.
Today is Elizabeth's birthday, and we want to use this opportunity to introduce her to a lot more people.
You can help by attending a birthday house party or canvass for Elizabeth this weekend. This is a great opportunity to meet other campaign supporters in your community and talk to them about what is at stake in this election.
This campaign will be won at the grassroots, and we need you. Help me wish Elizabeth a happy birthday by signing up today.
Elizabeth Warren asked Scott Brown to give back JP Morgan chase donations. Will she give back all of the money raised through Sub-Prime Patrick's appeal?
Oh and while we are on the subject of celebrations. Here's a 2007 Ameriquest Award Ceremony, from after Deval Patrick "fixed" the company. I'm especially fond of the professional attire of the award recipients. Nothing says boiler room like gym shorts and "wife beater" t-shirts.
I'm anxiously awaiting my next emails, asking me to support Warren on her birthday from board members of Lehman Brothers, AIG, Countrywide, and Deutsche Bank. Oh and while we are at it, maybe Bernie Madoff will chime in.
Today, on the eve of the Democratic Convention in Springfield Massachusetts, Deval Patrick endorsed Elizabeth Warren. Writing in an email that, "Elizabeth Warren shares the values you and I care about, and I believe she will be a tremendous Senator for this Commonwealth. I look forward to partnering with her as we continue our work to leave Massachusetts better and stronger for a generation to come."
That is all well and good, except the record and values of Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren are at polar opposite odds to one another. For the past decade, Warren has made her calling card fighting the so called "greed" of financial institutions. Deval Patrick was a board member of an institution she accused of "defaruding the public"
Even with the company sinking in lawsuits over its predatory lending practices, Mr. Bush had a compelling reason to appoint the CEO of Ameriquest to the ambassadorial post: Mr. Arnall and his wife "contributed $5 million to a pro-Bush committee in 2003 and chipped in another $1 million for Bush's second inauguration party." Arnall, his wife and their companies "have been the biggest political contributors to Bush since 2002."
Never let it be said that this president let little things like defrauding the public stand in the way of taking care of his friends.
Near the same time in a letter to the Senate Committee charged with approving the ambassadorship, Patrick had this to say.
"I always say the measure of a good company is not whether things always go well, but whether a company does the right thing when they don't," he said in letter to [Senator] Lugar and [Senator] Biden. "By that measure, ACC Capital and Ameriquest are good companies."
Deval Patrick was a member of the board at ACC Capital Holdings over the time-frame Elizabeth Warren accused them of "defrauding the public". Let me rephrase Warren's words.
Never let it be said that Elizabeth Warren let little things like defrauding the public get in the way of her political ambitions.
12:30.......U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren holds roundtable discussion with residents struggling with their mortgages or who have experienced foreclosures. She plans to discuss the proposed Buffett Rule ahead of next week's Senate vote and "how a fairer tax system can help level the playing field for middle class families."......Lynn Arts, 25 Exchange St., Lynn - State House News Schedule for 4/11/2012
Tomorrow, shortly after noon, Elizabeth Warren will continue her campaign for U.S. Senate by again comforting whom she calls the victims of the sub-prime mortgage industry. She has at least once before used sub-prime "victims" as a backdrop for her campaign, in Jamaica Plain.
Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren came to JP on Tuesday and talked to folks whose homes are in foreclosure.
Warren, a Harvard Law professor and bankruptcy expert, listened to clients of the JP-based advocacy group City Life/Vida Urbana tell their stories at Ula Cafe.
Warren is the presumptive Democratic nominee to face incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, in the fall election.
In this video clip she talks about how the financial crisis "started one lousy mortgage at a time."
Warren has yet to answer questions about the leader of her party's role in the sub-prime crisis. Prior to being a candidate Warren said that she was upset with the Bush administration and the Senate for nominating and confirming the ACC CEO to an ambassadorship. During the confirmation process Deval Patrick wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for that CEO.
The press has an opportunity to find out from Elizabeth Warren what she thinks of Deval Patrick's role at ACC Capital, and whether she thinks he's been honest with the people of Massachusetts about his role.
In City of Lynn, where Warren will be meeting with people whose homes have been foreclosed upon, 56 homes have been foreclosed on by ACC Capital or those assigned ACC Capital mortgages since January of 2007. In 2012 alone there are four homes that have been foreclosed on with an ACC Capital originated mortgage. Of those four three were granted mortgages while Deval Patrick was on the board. Those homes are 12 Howard Street, 189 Marianna Street, and 47 Glenwood Street.
It is a real possibility that Warren will be comforting people sold "one bad loan at a time" by Deval Patrick tomorrow morning.
Deval Patrick has not been truthful with the people of Massachusetts regarding his role at ACC Capital, and within the past six months he defended sub-prime loans as necessary to allow certain people to get mortgages. It's time for Elizabeth Warren to say definitively whether or not Deval Patrick, the leader of her party, should be trusted when he talks about his role.
(Four days to sub-prime Friday - promoted by EaBo Clipper)
The sub-prime mortgage industry, and the bond market that developed around it, are widely seen as responsible for the collapse of the United States economy in 2008. Two of the major players in the sub-prime industry were ACC Capital Holdings through it's subsidiary Ameriquest and Countrywide Financial. Two major players in the Democratic Party have ties to these companies. Deval Patrick was on the Board of Directors of ACC (Ameriquest) and Chris Dodd had oversight responsibility in the Senate and received a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide.
Why is this relevant on Friday October 23, 2009? Barack Obama is holding seperate fundraisers for these two currently embattled politicians.
First up is Deval Patrick, who's 2006 campaign is known as the Obama '08 version 0.9 BETA. Currently Mr. Patrick is lagging in fundraising behind Republican Charlie Baker and Independent-Democrat Timothy Cahill, the current Treasurer of Massachusetts. At 12:45 PM on Friday October 23, 2009 Barack Obama is holding a $500 a head fundraiser for Deval Patrick. In addition a $5,000 a head private reception is being held for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. That evening Presdient Obama is hosting a fundraiser for Mr. Dodd in Connecticut.
In another case that recalled the BayBanks settlement, Justice Department lawyers were able to force a Maryland bank, Chevy Chase Federal Savings, to serve black neighborhoods and provide low- interest loans to their residents. Even though the bank had not discriminated against anyone, Patrick and Attorney General Janet Reno criticized the financial institution because it avoided serving certain minority districts. The bank reluctantly agreed to a settlement in which it would designate $11 million to build new branches and provide below-market-rate loans and mortgages to minorities. This greatly worried members of the financial community, who protested that the Justice Department had exceeded its authority.
The sub-prime mortgage industry, and the bond market that developed around it, are widely seen as responsible for the collapse of the United States economy in 2008. Two of the major players in the sub-prime industry were ACC Capital Holdings through it's subsidiary Ameriquest and Countrywide Financial. Two major players in the Democratic Party have ties to these companies. Deval Patrick was on the Board of Directors of ACC (Ameriquest) and Chris Dodd had oversight responsibility in the Senate and received a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide.
