Angelo R. Mozilo, who presided over the spectacular rise and devastating fall of Countrywide Financial Corp., struck a deal Friday to avoid going to trial next week on accusations of investor fraud and insider trading. The 71-year-old Mozilo and two former top Countrywide executives settled a civil lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the demise of the Calabasas company, once the nation's top originator of home loans.
Mozilo agree to pay $22.5 million in fines to the SEC and to turn over $45 million in ill-gotten gains to former shareholders who have sued him.
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Countrywide's former president, David Sambol, agreed to pay $520,000 in fines and $5 million in restitution, and Eric P. Sieracki, former chief financial officer, agreed to pay $130,000 in fines.
Mozilo and Sambol also are barred from ever serving as officers or directors of public companies. The defendant, who neither admitted nor denied liability, were not in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for the 11 a.m. hearing, where the settlement was disclosed.
Judge John F. Walter approved the settlement, saying it was "fair, adequate and reasonable."
The SEC's lawsuit, filed in June 2009, also accuses Sambol and Sieracki of securities fraud.
Securities fraud expert John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, said a settlement could help Mozilo in fighting other civil cases arising out of the Countrywide collapse. "Any verdict in favor of the SEC would permit private plaintiffs to free ride on it and utilize those findings in their cases," Coffee said.
A settlement, on the other hand, could allow Mozilo to "deny everything in other litigation," Coffee said.
A criminal investigation of Mozilo remains open, people with knowledge of the probe said. With the SEC case settled, federal prosecutors will not see how the evidence against Mozilo plays out in a civil trial -- which could factor into their decision on whether to bring charges. Criminal charges carry a higher standard of proof.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive investigation.
The son of a Bronx butcher, Mozilo co-founded Countrywide in 1969 and oversaw its ascent to become the nation's No. 1 mortgage originator.
Countrywide diversified into a major maker of the subprime and other high-risk mortgages that kicked the housing boom into high gear.
But as the real estate market turned sour, the company racked up huge losses, and its financial support from Wall Street evaporated. Countrywide lost $1.6 billion during the second half of 2007 and was acquired by Bank of America Corp. early the next year.
The SEC accused the three former executives of representing to investors that Countrywide was a prudent lender when, in fact, it had become hugely risky with the potential for major losses. The defendants contended that they had adequately revealed risks and the condition of Countrywide's loans.
The SEC also accused Mozilo alone of insider trading -- allegations stemming from repeated changes made in late 2006 and early 2007 to his plan for regularly cashing in stock options. The changes, first reported by The Times, allegedly allowed him to improperly unload hundreds of thousands of additional shares before Countrywide stock went into a tailspin.
Bank of America recently agreed to pay $600 million to settle private lawsuits filed by investors who contended that Countrywide misled them, causing them to lose money when the company's fortunes declined.
