Ex-Fannie Mae boss's lawyer says SEC lacks civil fraud evidence

 

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for a former Fannie Mae top executive says his client didn’t mislead investors about the mortgage giant’s exposure to sub-prime mortgages and should not face a New York trial.

Attorney John Keker asked a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss civil fraud charges brought four years ago against ex-Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd. Judge Paul Crotty did not immediately rule.

Keker says the Securities and Exchange Commission was “trying to find fraud by hindsight” when it made its accusations against Mudd. He said no evidence supported the charges.

Mudd led Fannie Mae in 2007, when home prices began to collapse. The SEC accused Mudd of misleading Congress and investors in reports, speeches and testimony.

SEC attorney Richard Hong said the agency would prove its case through Mudd’s public statements.