Fishing Trips in Toxic Waters

Mortgage Pioneer Accused Of Fraud Former Countrywide CEO Sued by SEC Over Risky Lending By Zachary A. Goldfarb Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 5, 2009 The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged former Countrywide chief Angelo R. Mozilo, who ran the nation's largest subprime mortgage lender, with fraud, making him the most prominent executive accused of illegality in connection with the financial crisis. Mozilo was one of the masters of the housing boom, steering Countrywide as it moved into new, perilous markets in pursuit of profit, making risky loans to borrowers with checkered credit histories or without proof of income or employment. By the first half of 2007, the company funded about one of every five home loans, and mortgage industry observers say its reach in the Washington region was deep. . . . Mozilo in private e-mails referred to loans the company were making as "toxic" and acknowledged the firm was "flying blind," the SEC alleged . . . Mozilo wrote,…