False Claims – Mortgage Programs

U.S. v. Countrywide / BofA. In landmark litigation against a major U.S. financial institution under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Brattle experts helped to identify and recruit multiple experts and advise counsel on case-specific facts and considerations from inception through trial. We coordinated rigorous review of millions of documents produced and used in discovery, as well as analysis of loan-level data to determine the information known about the quality of the loans in question, management’s actions, the causes of loan defaults, and the extent of resulting damages. We assisted counsel in real-time before and during trial, which ended in a jury verdict favorable for the client on liability and a $1.3 billion damages award.

U.S. v. Deutsche Bank. Brattle experts advised the U.S. DOJ in litigation under the False Claims Act on behalf of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Government alleged Deutsche Bank managers misrepresented the quality of loans insured through the FHA Direct Endorsement Lender program. We analyzed a range of issues to determine whether the bank knowingly misled HUD about the quality of mortgages, which later defaulted. Our analysis included financial and institutional factors relating to then-current market conditions and banking practices in the mortgage industry. The case settled for over $200 million prior to trial.

Manufacturing Defects Fraud. On behalf of the U.S. DOJ in an ongoing case, we analyzed documents and data relating to a fraud action involving an alleged scheme to defraud the u.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies by concealing known defects in high-tech military equipment.