Jun
19
Countrywide’s Mozilo Off Hook as U.S. Said to Abandon Suit
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Prosecutors give up 2-year quest over mortgage practices
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Pioneered subprime lending at heart of financial crisis
U.S. prosecutors have abandoned their case against Angelo Mozilo, a leader in selling the risky subprime mortgages that fueled the financial crisis, after a two-year quest to bring a civil suit against him.
The Justice Department sent a letter informing Mozilo, the co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp., that it isn’t moving ahead with any action against him, according to people familiar with the matter. That effectively ends nearly a decade of U.S. scrutiny of a man who became a face of risky lending practices and later an emblem of the government’s mixed success in holding individuals accountable. ..