BofA Settles with SEC but Cuomo Still Brings Fraud Charge

Submitted by Chris Gaetano on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 12:14

While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have settled its feud with Bank of America, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has continued his assault by charging the megabank with fraud over its alleged role in the financial crisis. According to the lawsuit, the Attorney General accuses Bank of America and its two top executives of intentionally failing to disclose Merrill Lynch’s ailing finances from shareholders in order to manipulate them into approving a merger. Further, says the suit, once the deal was completed, the bank’s management allegedly tricked the federal government into using taxpayer money to save the deal by claiming, falsely, that they wouldn’t conclude the deal otherwise.

Cuomo, in a press release, said that he supports the SEC’s decision to settle, noting that his fraud charges and the SEC’s corporate governance actions are unrelated, adding that safeguards against future violations of the law will be implemented immediately and won’t have to await the conclusion of his own fraud case.
 

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