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ARTICLE · 15 MAY 2008

Federal Prosecutors Form Subprime Task Force

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On May 5, 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported that "prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn have formed a task force of federal, state and local agencies to investigate potential crimes ranging from mortgage fraud by brokers to securities fraud, insider trading and accounting fraud."

United StatesCriminal Law
Thomas Kokalas
Thomas Kokalas
Marc Mukasey
Marc Mukasey

On May 5, 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported that "prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn have formed a task force of federal, state and local agencies to investigate potential crimes ranging from mortgage fraud by brokers to securities fraud, insider trading and accounting fraud." "Wall Street, Lenders Face Subprime Scrutiny," The Wall Street Journal. Coming fast on the heels of stories about the FBI's investigation of improper subprime lending practices, this announcement makes clear that the federal government is gearing up for a major investigative effort.

The task force will likely cast a wide net in its quest to find wrongdoing in the subprime market. As in past large-scale investigations relating to options back-dating and accounting fraud, we expect that this task force will conduct broad investigations that seek information from virtually every corner of the

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