Prosecutors May Seek Larger Penalty For Countrywide Exec Behind “Hustle” Scam

Last fall, Bank of America and former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone were found liable in federal court over a Countrywide scam that had bilked bailed-out mortgage-backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of piles of cash by selling them worthless mortgages. Mairone was originally expected to face a $1.1 million penalty, but that was before she got a big bonus from her new gig.

While at Countrywide, Mairone was in charge of the High Speed Swim Lane program — better known as the “Hustle” — a plan that removed many of the roadblocks in the mortgage underwriting process that are intended to prevent lenders from issuing loans to borrowers who can’t repay. The notion, alleged prosecutors, was that Countrywide was trying to package up and sell as many loans as possible to Fannie and Freddie under the pretense…