FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Contact: Shanessa Bryant, 202-618-6433 or sbryant@bettermarkets.com
**Download Proposed Questions for Lynch**
Washington, DC — The testimony of Attorney General Loretta Lynch tomorrow before the Senate Judiciary Committee will occur just one day after the ninth anniversary of infamous subprime lender New Century Financial Corporation’s announcement that it would stop originating new mortgages. New Century was one of the nation’s largest and most predatory subprime lenders and much of its business was outright fraud, but DOJ has not held any of its executives accountable.
“Just one year from today, New Century’s executives will be popping champagne corks to celebrate because the ten-year statute of limitations applicable to their fraud will have lapsed. The same will soon be true for the executives from scores of other firms who committed egregious frauds in 2007 and 2008 that contributed to the financial crisis. Time is running out for Attorney General Lynch and DOJ to do what they have repeatedly said they intend to do: prosecute executives for their role in causing the worst financial crash since the Great Depression,” said Dennis Kelleher, Better Markets’ President and CEO.
“The American people want to know if DOJ will end the double standard of justice and bring accountability to the high-ranking financial executives who broke the law, caused the 2008 crash, and cost tens of millions of hardworking Americans their jobs, homes, savings, and so much more. So far, not one high-ranking executive has been criminally charged despite overwhelming evidence of illegal conduct, much of which is known by DOJ and documented throughout its many slap-on-the-wrist settlements with the biggest financial institutions. The statute-of-limitations clock is ticking, and DOJ must act now.”
Attached are two related lines of questioning that should be asked of Attorney General Loretta Lynch during tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. The first concerns the statute of limitations and the clock of justice that is quickly ticking toward midnight. The second concerns the September 2015 memo from Sally Q. Yates, Deputy Attorney General, which outlines DOJ’s purported new emphasis on individual accountability when investigating corporate wrongdoing, a policy that DOJ appears to have ignored in its recent Morgan Stanley settlement.
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Better Markets, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street, and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business, and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements, and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.
