Report finds TARP at risk of fraud

[seafan]

Source: The Hill

The special inspector general for the $700 billion financial bailout package said the program is at risk of fraud in his first report to Congress.
In a 188-page report delivered to Congress on Thursday, Neil Barofsky raised specific concerns about the potential for fraud in the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility (TALF), a program run jointly by the Federal Reserve and Treasury that is set to being later this month.

.....

Barofsky said taxpayers are at risk of fraud because of the way private institutions can post collateral under the program. The Treasury Department should not participate in the program, he said, until there are safeguards and prevention mechanisms. Participants in the program could fraudulently overvalue the collateral and then walk away, thereby leaving the federal government with the cost.

Barofsky is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday to testify about the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as the financial rescue package is formally known.
In his report, Barofsky raises additional general concerns about TARP and is seeking better accounting from companies that have received government aid about how they have used the money.

“The long-term success of the program is not assured,” Barofsky said in the report.

.....

Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/report-finds-tarp-at-risk-of-fraud-2009-02-05.html

---

Nevermind the millions who called Congress to demand strict regulation and oversight before passing Hank Paulson's bank bailout. We are just the focus group rabble.

[Lost4words]

1. No Fing Kidding!?

goosh who would have thought?

[Lasher]

7. My reaction too.

Duh. Almost zero oversight and won't even say where the money went. Whoulda thunk there might be some sticky fingers reaching in there?

[notesdev]

2. "at risk of"?

try "designed for"

You put together a program that hands a mind-boggling amount of money with zero strings attached and zero accountability and allow both the givers and recipients to disclose nothing... what do you honestly expect to happen? That the same group of people who can't keep their spending appetites in check enough to balance the budget are all of a sudden going to become scrupulous stewards of the public treasury?

[pleah]

3. Sheesh!

A little slow aren't they?

[w4rma]

4. Procecute for fraud. (nt)

[Mika]

5. BREAKING: Report finds that water is wet.

:dunce:

[jpak]

6. Paulsen + Bush = fraud

no surprise here

[slackmaster]

8. This is my shocked face

:eyes:

[Lost4words]

9. LOL LOL LOL! nt

[pjt7]

13. That's what happens when you give away so much $$$$

so fast.

I understand most of the objectives of what Obama & team wants for their $$$$$$$$4 bill, but rushing that, also seems FOOL-HARDY.

[Lost4words]

15. I think the OP was reffering to the first part of TARP by traitor bush.

[slackmaster]

25. It's like putting out a huge pile of cheese and being surprised when rats and mice show up

Cats rule.

[liberal N proud]

10. Since it was created to be FRAUD

HELLOoooooooooooooo!!!!!

[Still Sensible]

11. Duh! n/t

[HopeHoops]

12. To quote Zazzoo - "Oh, now THERE'S a surprise. I'm gonna have a HEART ATTACK from THAT surprise."

[pjt7]

14. The really sad part of the great Paulson bank robbery

(robbing people for the banks) was more Democrats voted for that stink of sh%t, than Republicans.

[Lost4words]

16. Yea I have no explation for that. I dont like establishment Dems too much.

[chill_wind]

23. All you'd have to do is look at the Wall Street money behind the Dems.

Securities & Investment: Top Donars and Top Recipients-- 2008


Organization Amount Dems Repubs

1 Goldman Sachs $5,541,651 76% 24%
2 Morgan Stanley $3,482,677 59% 41%
3 UBS AG $2,887,772 56% 44%
4 Merrill Lynch $2,727,597 48% 52%
5 Credit Suisse Group $2,289,360 52% 48%
6 Lehman Brothers $2,211,761 66% 34%
7 Elliott Management $1,574,840 1% 99%
8 Blackstone Group $1,360,942 49% 51%
9 FMR Corp $1,345,852 49% 51%
10 Bear Stearns $1,241,290 57% 43%
11 Capital Group Companies $1,132,443 52% 47%
12 Bain Capital $1,084,970 71% 29%
13 Citigroup Inc $981,871 64% 36%
14 KKR & Co $971,250 23% 77%
15 National Venture Capital Assn$941,886 50% 50%
16 CME Group $926,710 55% 45%
17 Carlyle Group $875,078 61% 39%
18 DE Shaw & Co $841,741 96% 4%
19 Securities Industry
& Financial Mkt Assn $810,200 51% 49%
20 Investment Co Institute $797,506 58% 42%


http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?ind=F07++&goButt2.x=9&goButt2.y=12&goButt2=Submit




2008


1 Obama, Barack (D) Senate $14,070,872
2 McCain, John (R) Senate $8,276,377
3 Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) Senate $6,681,904
4 Giuliani, Rudolph W (R) $5,087,095
5 Romney, Mitt (R) $4,929,537
6 Dodd, Christopher J (D-CT) Senate $2,853,332
7 McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) Senate $827,436
8 Richardson, Bill (D) $799,100
9 Coleman, Norm (R-MN) Senate $796,275
10 Warner, Mark (D-VA) $785,443
11 Edwards, John (D) $784,395
12 Sununu, John E (R-NH) Senate $778,350
13 Emanuel, Rahm (D-IL) House $645,700
14 Baucus, Max (D-MT) Senate $609,250
15 Himes, Jim (D-CT) $538,304
16 Durbin, Dick (D-IL) Senate $531,062
17 Thompson, Fred (R) $498,355
18 Lautenberg, Frank R (D-NJ) Senate $476,283
19 Shays, Christopher (R-CT) House $469,645
20 Biden, Joseph R Jr (D-DE) Senate $441,225

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2008&ind=F07


"Dancing with the ones that brung ya".

[RantinRavin]

17. How many millions did this study cost ?

When everyone here could have done it in one page costing 5 bucks....

[Lost4words]

18. or less!

[OwnedByFerrets]

19. No Shit Sherlock.....who but an idiot would expect these thieves do

do anything less.

[hughee99]

20. The taxpayers got ripped off for this report, too.

188 pages to say what we all knew at the time and could sum up in 6 word. "The taxpayers will get ripped off".

When you take a pile of money, and give it to people who fucked their companies up by engaging in questionable, unethical or outright fraudulent behavior, you should expect that they're going to put their "expertise" to use.

[truedelphi]

21. And what will be Obama's excuse when the economy has totally crumbled?

"Uh, how was I to know that Gensler, Summers, Rubin and Geithner had not reformed and turned to Jesus?"

[MisterP]

22. *babble* but I, like, TRUST our officials coz theyre so much smarter than us and have access to,

like, secret information. that's like why secret tribunals and Nazi Iraq are so much better off
:sarcasm:

[SOS]

24. " I'm shocked, shocked to find that fraud is going on in here!"

Casablanca meets Wall Street.

[alterfurz]

26. TARP = Taxpayer Ass-Reaming Program

and get ready now for the "bad bank" Bad Asset Repository Fund = BARF