Federal prosecutors in New York are accusing the bank of defrauding the government by rushing home loans through the approval process, then selling them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Justice Department says Countrywide Financial — which B of A bought in 2008 — cranked out bad home loans without proper checks to make sure they were legit, and then sold those mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The home lender Countrywide gave preferential treatment to members of Congress, their staffs and employees of Fannie Mae in order to win influence in government, according to a long-awaited review by a House committee.
Countrywide was accused of steering more than 200,000 black and Hispanic borrowers into risky subprime loans during the housing bubble. But is the practice really over now?
