CHARLOTTE (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins said Tuesday that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and certain of its affiliates, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith f/k/a/ Banc of America Securities, LLC, Bank of America, N.A., and Banc of America Mortgages Securities, Inc.
The complaint alleges that Bank of America lied to investors about the relative riskiness of the mortgage loans backing the residential mortgage-backed securities, made false statements after intentionally not performing proper due diligence and filled the securitization with a disproportionate amount of risky mortgages originated through third party mortgage brokers.
The announcement is part of the ongoing efforts of President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force's RMBS Working Group and is accompanied by an announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has filed civil charges in federal court in Charlotte, N.C. against Bank of America for defrauding investors.
The civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte alleges that Bank of America defrauded investors, including federally insured financial institutions, who purchased more than $850 million in RMBS from Bank of America Mortgage Securities 2008-A securitization.
The government's civil complaint also seeks civil penalties from Bank of America.
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