CLOSING IN ON THE WALL STREET CROOKS

Lehman is getting a close look from 3 different prosecutors:

Investigators Said to Take Closer Look at Lehman
By BEN WHITE
Published: October 17, 2008
NY Times

Federal prosecutors from three jurisdictions have stepped up their investigations into the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, issuing at least a dozen subpoenas including one to the chief executive, Richard S. Fuld Jr., people close to the matter said Friday.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey are all examining events leading to Lehman’s collapse and its subsequent bankruptcy filing, these people said.

The Financial Times reports that many more companies are under investigation and that there already are some indictments:

Fuld and other Lehman executives subpoenaed
By Greg Farrell and Joanna Chung in New York
Published: October 17 2008 23:57 Last updated: October 17 2008 23:57
Financial Times

In addition to the Lehman probe, federal investigators have opened investigations into at least 25 other companies, including AIG, the insurer, and mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The US attorney in Seattle has announced an investigation into the collapse of Washington Mutual, the biggest bank failure in US history.

In September, prosecutors in the Brooklyn office indicted two former Credit Suisse brokers for allegedly lying to clients about what kind of auction-rate securities they were being sold. They also indicted two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers in June on charges that they intentionally misled investors about the financial conditions of the funds that collapsed last year.

I suspect that this is just a few droplets of what will eventually be a flood of indictments.