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NY sues Bank of America alleging fraud in Merrill deal
AFP - Friday, February 5
NEW YORK (AFP) - – New York state Thursday sued Bank of America and two former top executives, alleging fraud and deception in the banking giant's Merrill Lynch takeover in order to get billions in bailout funds.
The news came as the top US stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced a new agreement to settle its investigation calling for Bank of America to pay 150 million dollars.
Andrew Cuomo, the New York state attorney general, announced the lawsuit against the bank, former chief executive Kenneth Lewis and former chief financial officer Joseph Price "for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete a merger with Merrill Lynch."
Cuomo said Bank of America, through its top management, "engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large. This was an arrogant scheme hatched by the bank's top executives who believed they could play by their own set of rules."
"In the end, they committed an enormous fraud and American taxpayers ended up paying billions for Bank of America's misdeeds," Cuomo added.
Bank of America, the biggest US bank by assets, Lewis and Price lashed out at the charges.
Bank of America said it was "disappointed" by the charges, saying they were "totally without merit."
"In fact, the SEC had access to the same evidence as (Cuomo) and concluded that there was no basis to enter either a charge of fraud or to charge individuals," the bank said in a statement.
"The company and these executives will vigorously defend ourselves," it added.
AFP - Friday, February 5
NEW YORK (AFP) - – New York state Thursday sued Bank of America and two former top executives, alleging fraud and deception in the banking giant's Merrill Lynch takeover in order to get billions in bailout funds.
The news came as the top US stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced a new agreement to settle its investigation calling for Bank of America to pay 150 million dollars.
Andrew Cuomo, the New York state attorney general, announced the lawsuit against the bank, former chief executive Kenneth Lewis and former chief financial officer Joseph Price "for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete a merger with Merrill Lynch."
Cuomo said Bank of America, through its top management, "engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large. This was an arrogant scheme hatched by the bank's top executives who believed they could play by their own set of rules."
"In the end, they committed an enormous fraud and American taxpayers ended up paying billions for Bank of America's misdeeds," Cuomo added.
Bank of America, the biggest US bank by assets, Lewis and Price lashed out at the charges.
Bank of America said it was "disappointed" by the charges, saying they were "totally without merit."
"In fact, the SEC had access to the same evidence as (Cuomo) and concluded that there was no basis to enter either a charge of fraud or to charge individuals," the bank said in a statement.
"The company and these executives will vigorously defend ourselves," it added.
