BofA Whistle-Blower Receives $14.5 Million, Lawyer Says
By Hugh Son - May 29, 2012 4:54 PM ET
A former Countrywide Financial Corp. manager whose fraud suit contributed to the mortgage industry’s $25 billion settlement with federal and state regulators received about $14.5 million for his efforts, his lawyers said.
Kyle Lagow, an appraisal manager for Countrywide from 2004 to 2008, claimed that Countrywide inflated the value of homes to support bigger loans, according to a statement today from Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman. Charlotte, North Carolina- based Bank of America Corp. (BAC) bought Countrywide in 2008 to save it from collapse as defaults on home loans soared.
Lagow’s information helped prompt a $1 billion settlement of Federal Housing Administration claims announced by Bank of America in February, according to the law firm. The sum was included in the nationwide settlement reached that month.
Rick Simon, a Bank of America spokesman, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the award.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hugh Son in New York at hson1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net; Rick Green at rgreen18@bloomberg.net
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