So where are all the arrests of the people who brought down a nation, no brought down a global economy??? where are the YouTube vids of cops raiding a wallstreet offices tasering the CEO? How about an investment banker jumping a fence of the TV show Cops? Why are these people still there still taking bonus money living the high life while some 3.5 million will lose there homes? 15.5 million lost their jobs? will they ever be punished? Maybe not...

The FBI has more than 580 large-scale corporate fraud investigations under way. At least 40 of them are scrutinizing players in sub-prime mortgage lending, which was the first domino to fall and triggered a global financial crisis...

To date, the closest thing to a prosecution of a major actor in the financial meltdown is a civil fraud case that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought on June 4 against Angelo Mozilo, the perma-tanned CEO of mortgage-lending giant Countrywide.

The SEC, in documents filed in a federal courtroom in central California, accuses Mozilo of "deliberately misleading investors" by misrepresenting the risk that Countrywide posed. The SEC also accused him of insider trading because he sold large shares of company stock and options ahead of what he allegedly knew was a coming collapse of mortgage lending.

Unless the Justice Department brings corresponding criminal charges, however, Mozilo could be hit with penalties and a ruined reputation if convicted — but he wouldn't see the inside of a jail cell.

There are persistent but unconfirmed reports that the FBI and grand juries are looking at the e-mails of executives of failed institutions such as Bear Stearns, which pioneered the process of pooling sub-prime loans for sale to investors, and Lehman Brothers, which was a leader in these toxic products when it collapsed.

Records from AIG, which the Federal Reserve saved from collapse on Sept. 17, 2008, are also thought to be under review. The FBI reportedly is also looking at rating agencies Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's to determine if they knowingly gave pools of sub-prime mortgages AAA investment-grade ratings, the best possible, despite evidence to the contrary.


But is what they did a crime? Is so what agency holds them accountable?

SEC, which regulates trading in stocks and bonds, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the trading of contracts for future delivery of energy and farm products, lack powers of criminal prosecution.

They can bring civil charges that result in fines or pass information to federal prosecutors or the FBI, which under the Bush administration was reorganized to focus less on white-collar crime and more on national security matters and crimes against children.

but in the end anything they do (Little to nothing) these same people will be back at their desks when trading opens in the morning


[edit on 2-11-2009 by DaddyBare]

VERy good question..indeed. I myslef have wondered, where is justice* Only answer i could conjure up, wa because realisticaly, those are the ones with the money, and holding things up..they go to tle slammer, everything as we know it will come undone, social wise. Along with thier political connections and who they know helsp out too.

Why? it's simple money.

Money talks, not only do they have money they control everyone elses money and make all the money policies. These people have that much control and power they are above the law. That's my theory on the matter.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The reason is posted above.

Because the same guys who run the ponzi schemes on Wall Street are the one's appointed to bureaucratic positions in Washington, so they can run the much larger ponzi schemes of the US government.

A ponzi scheme is a scheme where investors put money in, and are promised a return, but the ability to provide that return depends upon additional money coming into the system from future investors...because the scheme has no way to actually make any money.

Social Security and the sale of US Treasuries are thus by definition "state enforced" and "legalized" ponzi schemes...and like all ponzi schemes, these practices will eventually collapse. The guys running things both on Wall Street and in Washington are "experts" in ponzi schemes, designed to defraud and milk the US taxpayers for all they are worth. It wont end well.

I agree with kingoftheworld. It could really be defined as

Extreme Regulatory Capture

Anyone who works in an government agency that regulates any commercial enterprise they should be barred from going to work in that industry for a period of at least 5yrs. Is someone who would like to work for JPMorgan, Goldman, or Bank of America going to drop the hammer on them while employed by the government in say the SEC?