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Former Countrywide Employee Awarded $57 Million in BofA Whistleblower Case

by devteam December 18th, 2014 | Share

The person who perhaps made it possible for state andrnfederal governments to collect billions from the Bank of America will apparentlyrnbe amply compensated for his actions. rnThe New York Times isrnreporting that Edward O’Donnell, a former employee at Countrywide Mortgage</bwhich was purchased by the bank in 2008, will receive a whistle-blower rewardrnof more than $57 MILLION  for his role in an August civil settlement. </p

Bank of America agreed to pay $16.65 billion in penalties tornsettle claims from federal prosecutors and several state attorneys general.  The bank was sued as successor in interest tornCountrywide, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country at thernbeginning of the century, has been repeated accused, along with its founder andrnCEO Angelo Mozilo of writing and selling shoddy mortgages.</p

O’Donnell is receiving the award because of a federal civilrnlawsuit he filed under the False Claims Act and which the federal government joinedrnand used as the basis for pushing Bank of America into a settlement.  His reward comes from a $350 million portion ofrnthe larger penalty amount resulting from a settlement between the bank andrnfederal prosecutors along with the states of California, Delaware, Illinois,rnKentucky, Maryland, and New York.  It wasrnruled that O’Donnell was entitled to a 16 percent share of that portion.  He will also collect an additional andrnseparate $1.6 million from the Bank of America.</p

The Times</isaid O'Donnell may not be the only whistleblower to profit from thernsettlement.  Court papers mention threernother similar false-claims lawsuits against the bank. Those litigants were notrnnamed in the suit but O’Donnell had not been previously identified either.  </p

O’Donnell was also instrumental in the October 2013 settlementrnof government claims against Bank of America for the so-called “hustle” programrnin which Countrywide loan officers were rewarded for the number of loans theyrnproduced regardless of their quality. rnBank of America was ordered to pay $1.27 billion in that case.  O’Donnell’s attorney was quoted by the Times as saying his client had not yetrnreached a financial agreement with the federal government regarding his role inrnthat case.</p

 

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About the Author

devteam

Steven A Feinberg (@CPAsteve) of Appletree Business Services LLC, is a PASBA member accountant located in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

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