OFHEO `More Than Likely` To Sue Former Fannie Mae Executives

Dow Jones reports:

Fannie Mae's top regulator said Wednesday that his agency will likely file lawsuits against former Fannie Mae executives who led the company during its $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
"We will more than likely be filing legislation against them," said James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. He did not specify a timeframe, but he did describe former chairman and chief executive Franklin Raines and former chief financial officer Timothy Howard as "the top two."
"I think we need to send a very strong message," Lockhart said during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute.
In May, OFHEO and the Securities and Exchange Commission fined Fannie Mae $400 million for its accounting lapses and reached an agreement with the mortgage giant capping its retained portfolio at $727 billion.
An OFHEO investigation alleged that former executives at the company manipulated earnings in a way to trigger huge bonuses for executives. Fannie Mae is required to review those bonuses and might seek some of the money back from both current and former board members and executives.

Fannie Mae's legal problems aren't going away just because the Justice Department isn't interested.