Prosecuting Wall Street

Kroft: And yet they signed the Sarbanes Oxley letter saying that everything was fine.

Partnoy: I'm very surprised that the CEO and CFO would sign those letters. I wouldn't have signed them under those conditions. You're signing them under penalties of potentially 10 years in prison. You're certifying that you designed and implemented effective internal controls in the aftermath of all this news about the company's problems.

Kroft: How is that not a violation of Sarbanes Oxley?

Partnoy: I don't know. I think that it might be hard to establish knowledge. That might be what prosecutors are thinking in not bringing the cases.

Kroft: The letter was addressed to Vikram Pandit, the new CEO of Citigroup.

Partnoy: And he had eight days to think about it, from February 14th, Valentine's Day, he gets the letter. And then February 22nd, he sits down and signs his name, certifying that financial statements are accurate and that he had designed and evaluated and reported any problems with internal controls. Eight days is a long time on Wall Street. I can't get inside his head, but I would certainly think, as a prosecutor, that this would be something I'd be interested in asking some questions about.

We wanted to know what Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, thought about that, and why no prosecutions have been directed at Wall Street. We also wanted to know why Sarbanes Oxley has not been used against big banks like Citigroup.

Lanny Breuer: When you talk about Sarbanes Oxley we have to know that you intended-- had the specific intent to make a false statement.

Kroft: They knew there was a problem. Not only had they been told that there was a problem by one of their chief underwriters, that the loans that they were buying were not what they claimed, and that the federal government, that the comptroller of the currency didn't think their internal controls were adequate either.

Breuer: If a company is intentionally misrepresenting on its financial statements what it understands to be the financial condition of its company and makes very real representations that are false, we want to know about it. And we're gonna prosecute it.

Kroft: Do you have cases now that you think that will result in prosecution against major Wall Street banks?

Breuer: We have investigations going on. I won't predict how they're gonna turn out.

Kroft: Has anybody at Treasury or-- or the Federal Reserve or the White House come to you and said, 'Look, we need to go easy on the banks. That-- there are collateral consequences if you bring prosecutions. Some of these organizations are still very fragile and we don't want to push them over the edge?'

Breuer: Steve, this Department of Justice is acting absolutely independently. Every decision that's being made by our prosecutors around the country is being made 100 percent based on the facts of that particular case and the law that we can apply it. And there's been absolutely no interference whatsoever.

Kroft: The perception. I mean, it doesn't seem like you're trying. It doesn't seem like you're making an effort. That the Justice Department does not have the will to take on these big Wall Street banks.

Breuer: Steve, I get it. I find the excessive risk taking to be offensive. I find the greed that was manifested by certain people to be very upsetting. But because I may have an emotional reaction and I may personally share the same frustration that American people all over the country are feeling, that in and of itself doesn't mean we bring a criminal case.

Kroft: If you had said two years ago that nobody was gonna be prosecuted on Wall Street for the subprime mortgage scandal, I think people would think, "It's not possible."

Breuer: Sometimes it takes a number of years to bring these cases. So I'd say to the American people, they should have confidence that this is a department that's working hard and we're gonna keep working hard, so stay tuned.

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[goodetech]

Now is the time to join forces with those you would not normally consider.
This is all starting to leak out to the main stream media... finally. We just need to KEEP THE HEAT on them. We will soon be posting new petition and email campaign info as well as protest ideas. We just need more people following this group and we can use resources from the Tea Party, Occupy and other groups. THEY win as long as they can keep us arguing with each other.
WE need to come together with people we wouldn't normally work with to bring these criminals DOWN! Spread the word, others have carried the load of exposing this activity. Now we the people NEED to come out and make it a major issue in the news and in this political cycle.
Every day we receive more and more disclosure of Financial Corruption by our Banking Institutions and Politicians from the G8 Nations. The U.S., U.K. and E.U. have been gaming the financial system in their favor to create Trillions of dollars on computer screens and stealing tons of Gold from other nations since at least 1911. The Federal Reserve Bank and other evil clones (IMF, BIS etc...) have plundered the world for quite long enough. The recently revealed evidence needs to be covered in depth by the Main Stream Media (Who is owned by the criminal Cabals).

We plan to start a huge letter writing, Fax sending and protesting campaign to the MSM and local representatives to get them to get them to bring these "Self proclaimed Elite's" to justice. When the scope of the manipulation, wars and murder of so many innocents is revealed arrest and imprisonment will be the least of the "Elite's" concerns. They have make billions of people slaves to debt. We toil, suffer and die in debt to them and unknowingly worship and grovel at their feet. They suppress technology that will conflict with their business model. Many technologies that could increase the quality of life and save lives of the people YOU love who have died of disease.

Join now, with us to bring the heat to the Media and our "Representatives" to set us free from the financial tyranny that we have been subjects to for generations. Become a member of this movement, there is room for everyone. Once we realize that the Left Wing and Right Wing are what gives flight to the same BEAST. The ideology of Liberal and Conservative thinking is important to our individual morality and beliefs. But the Elite use these differences to cause us to forget what we have in common. They use our differences to keep us at odds with each other and diverted from their corruption. Why deceive us "ignorant and useless eaters"? Because we outnumber them 99 to 1 and they are afraid of OUR power.

So, now put aside your political or religious differences and band together to expose this corruption and usher our world into a new era. We do not need a "New World Order" ran by self proclaimed rulers. They have no "divine right" to rule. They only have the power we give them. Let's take that power back and create an "Era of Prosperity for ALL"! It is possible!

Say NO to any more WAR that is used to divert our attention from corruption when it starts to leak. We can join together and form a world of peace, I refuse to believe we cannot live together with our differences without butchering one another. What do we have in common? We love our families, our friends and we love peace. So, click the LIKE button and spread this web site to everyone you know. Join other movements that you normally would not associate with. The enemy of our enemy is our friend. This is NOT a place for political debate or bickering. It is a place to come together and break these chains.
Sign this Online Petition as a start to put Bankers in Jail (We need others):
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bankers_behind_bars_f/
JOIN US, this is YOUR cause too:
www.facebook.com/BankAndPoliticianFinancialCorruption

[A__Smith]

I am interested in any information regarding fraud/bad practices employed by Countrywide. If you would like to talk, please email me at [e-mail]

[DebbieCorona]

These people should be in jail but with so much $$ and power in Wall Street that owns the US Government it is never going to happen. What I find interesting is that the GOP will not allow anyone to be on the Consumer Advocate Agency. So while I think both DEM and GOP in Congress are guilty I find it interesting the GOP is doing everything they can to give power back to the people.

[skikill32]

Everyone who has one of these mortgages needs to become educated. All should know how to find out who "owns" their note. If everyone tried to findyournote all the proper parties might come to the table to discuss modifications, principal reductions and writing new mortgages without fraud.

[dcschorr]

Thanks to all who signed the petition!

[dcschorr]

Inspired by this reporting, I developed a petition at The White House website (link below) regarding having the Administration instruct the Justice Department to prosecute banking executives under the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

If you like the petition, please send it to your friends because I need 25,000 signatures by January 4, 2012 to receive an official response by The White House. Just to be able to see the petition in searches, I need 150 signatures. I really think it will be popular once it reaches the level 150 signatures to be seen in searches.

Thanks for your support.
http://wh.gov/D1o

[pliny_colorado]

Well done! Your petition steers clear of most of the political hot-buttons which distort our discourse.
I have encouraged by email many of my friends to consider signing the petition at http://wh.gov/D1o

[cg37102006]

I worked at Countrywide for a year back in the mid 00's. While I didnt know of or participate in any mortgage fraud, I can say, for a fact, that we were putting people in home loans that they should not have been in. This was company policy. Mozilo's settlement payment of 22 mill or whatever he paid was less than 20% of all the money he made at Countrywide, so it is hard to say justice was done. But then again, ultimately, people signed on the dotted line and took the keys to house they agreed to pay for, so blame has to be spread around some beyond just the corporation.

[ctdeihl]

I feel that Foreclosers should come to a STOP when this was out about the Fraudulent Misconduct going on through Bank Systems and Wall Street.To allow Foreclosers to go on,is like telling people Crime does Pay,but only if you pay certain people amount to go on with the activitys.I thought We had a Justice system for All.It's not looking that way anymore.

[FdnDoc]

I don't belive the guy from the Justice Department when he says that they are acting independently from the White House. I just read in the newspaper a story about California State Atty. General Kamala Harris getting "enormous pressure" from the Obama administration to cut a deal with banks for a sum of cash, rather than any further investigation into "robo-signing" of documents. If they are pressuring people outside their jurisdiction why wouldn't they inside their own.

[techsearch64]

THANK YOU CBS and Mr. KROFT for having GUTS start to lay it out like no one else has done on prime time till now...it's TIME!!! So Mr. Lanny Breuer, head of the criminal division at the Department of Justice, you find it offensive that all of this was done, then before you take another day of salary we pay you, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, MAN!!! YOU have the tools, the law, you have at least 2 top level executives 1 who has never been tapped for testimony....who said NO this is wrong and they have the FACTS and EVIDENCE for you and this still isn't enough?? You don't fool us. Good grief. Thanks to the ENRON tragedy with the losers tragically being the employees who lost their savings, the stage was set for more of same. Please CBS keep on this story and know we "out here" in reality land support you 100% of the way.