December 4, 2011 4:01 PM
Two high-ranking financial whistleblowers say they tried to warn their superiors about defective and even fraudulent mortgages. So why haven't the companies or their executives been prosecuted? Steve Kroft reports.
Prosecuting Wall Street
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See all 46 CommentsWall Street made the business risk decision to Not do anything because the Risk/Reward factor was 80% reward and 20% Risk. In other words, they felt they would only be fined a portion of the Fraud, no wrong doing, and keep doing the Fraud as it made them lots of money.
I see, all the time, Financial fraud. In our Community, there was a fellow that stole $44 Million, unaccoutable (suspect Cayman Islands bank account) and the prosecutors plea bargained for 7 years in a state prison (parole possible). There was such an outcry, that the judge backed off.
The "Do the Crime and do the Time" does not apply to Wall Street and Bank Fraud and evidently, in 2005 through 2007, Citibank just took the Risk, defrauded $Billions and estimated the fine would be minimal. They evidently think they have someone on the "inside" who will shield them from prosecution or there was "Safety in Numbers" with everyone on the chain of Fraud.
Someone high up decided to take the Risk and the country be damned.
This is an Outrage but throughout the Trillion dollars of Financial Fraud, the pattern is the same, Risk Reward was too great for Reward and minimal for Risk taking and "no wrong doing" with little or no jail time.
As I watch the House Republicans underfund the budgets of the SEC, CFTC, and FBI of the Dodd Frank law, so there will not be enough investigators to go after the bad guys, it is apparent we have a Systemic problem, namely Congress and specifically the Republicans.
I want to remind Congress, the fall of the Soviet Union, the demise of that Countries Political System was in part, greatly attributed to the Fraud of their Financial System. People did not Trust the banks, money disappeared and people quit depositing their money.
What would happen, if people stopped contributing to their 401K that is funneled into Wall Street? The Honey Pot of money that is skimmed every minute by the Hyper trading of 70% of the funds by Computers that could care less about a Companies earnings or management. Or just quit saving. Oh, that's right, the FED would just print more money at 0% interest.
Think about it, you wise men of Washington and Wall Street.
The Fraudsters need to go to jail.
The Sentences should align with the cash value of Marijuana you are caught with as a sentencing standard.
Five years mandatory in Federal Prison for 100 plants worth $100,000 or ten Years in Federal Prison for 1000 plants worth $One Million.
So, if Citibank stole $One Billion, $1000 million, that would be 10,000 years in jail. I suppose the 1000 in the management chain of command of Citibank could spend at least 10 years in jail each, with no parole for stealing a $Billion. You THINK?
We need to stop this nonsense of Immunity from Prosecution of Wall Street. I recall, a fellow wrote a book about "Unsafe at any speed" that a car was built that was unsafe, management at GM knew it but did a Risk/Reward Assessment and built them anyway, killing thousands.
Stealing life Savings is like Killing people, Wall Street and the banks have done just that.
What ever changed the mindset of GM to building cars that were unsafe and took the risk, needs to be implemented on the Banks, Wall Street, and our Financial System. The Government is the only entity big enough to take them on but not if the Republicans continue to underfund the agencies headcount like the SEC, CFTC, Justice Department, and FBI.
The Republicans are hoping they gain control of the White House as to control the key Agency positions like the FCC, the SEC, CFTC, Justice Department and FBI as to return to continuation of the "Guilded Age" of Fraud and Immunity from Jail.
Please sign my petition at The White House website (link below) to have the Administration instruct the Justice Department to prosecute banking executives under the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Not one high level executive has been prosecuted under the Act since the financial crisis three years ago. CBS's 60 minutes, among other sources, found that wrongdoing by high level executives at two banks, Countrywide Financial and Citigroup, have prosecutorial merit.
Thanks for your support.
My White House Petition:
http://wh.gov/D1o
Congressional benefits ---- free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days. What unmitigated gall they to call my social security retirement an entitlement.
I paid in to it. The only moral barrier to preclude any criminal from acting on that criminal impulse is the fear of getting caught. That fear has all but went away and they can act with impunity or get a slap on the wrist like the CEO from Countrywide got. In the end, and I hope it's broadcast on pay per view, they always get what they're supposed to get meted out to them.
Bob Dylan was right, "Steal a dollar and they'll call you a criminal, steal a million and they'll make you a king."
Sad, and now congress is set out to eliminate our constitutional rites. Pathetic. The end of the empire is near it's just going to cause a lot of peripheral damage as we go.
"The revolution will not be televised...." Gil Scott Heron.
and HITLER and STALIN and Chairman Mao?????
And, 120+ MILLION people dead because of their GREED???
Their pathetic lies and all of there MARGIN CALLS and DERIVATIVE crap from HELL!!! are causing misery World wide !!!
But, the BANKERS can't do it alone
they need Governments
and a docile and, woefully un-informed Citizens,
EDUCATED by TEACHERS that CAN'T be FIRED aka TENURE,
and 535 members of Congress exempt from INSIDER TRADING,
to PULL IT ALL OFF !!!!
Read the HAMMURABI CODE from 3,500 years ago, the BANKERS we're doing the same thing then as they are doing NOW !!!
Until, an EDUCATION includes MONETARY and FISCAL math instructions for CITIZENSHIP, this GARBAGE will go on forever, and the misery with it!!
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See all 46 Comments