A report yesterday by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to refer to criminal investigators and other authorities almost 100 complaints about possible foreclosure abuse and mortgage fraud at the companies over a recent two-year period, according to an article by Gretchen Morgenson in today's edition of The New York Times.
Steve A. Linick, the inspector general, and his staff, the article said, "found that during the period covered by the report, the agency assigned only two employees to process consumer complaints about Fannie and Freddie."
The article said that the report said that the two staff members overseeing the complaints "received no specific training regarding how to evaluate complaints or how to identify allegations requiring further action by the agency or referral to law enforcement authorities, such as the Department of Justice or the F.B.I."
Representative Spencer Bacchus, the Alabama Republican who is chairman of the House's financial services committee, said in a statement "Who knows how many reports of waste, fraud and abuse have gone unheeded and unaddressed?"
The article said that Meg Burns, senior associate director in the office of Congressional Affairs and Communications, said that the agency had a limited mandate to deal with consumer issues but that it agreed with the report's recommendations and would follow them.
Steve A. Linick, the inspector general, and his staff, the article said, "found that during the period covered by the report, the agency assigned only two employees to process consumer complaints about Fannie and Freddie."
The article said that the report said that the two staff members overseeing the complaints "received no specific training regarding how to evaluate complaints or how to identify allegations requiring further action by the agency or referral to law enforcement authorities, such as the Department of Justice or the F.B.I."
Representative Spencer Bacchus, the Alabama Republican who is chairman of the House's financial services committee, said in a statement "Who knows how many reports of waste, fraud and abuse have gone unheeded and unaddressed?"
The article said that Meg Burns, senior associate director in the office of Congressional Affairs and Communications, said that the agency had a limited mandate to deal with consumer issues but that it agreed with the report's recommendations and would follow them.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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