New York Paralegal Blog

By: Joel Irving The U.S. Department of The Treasury and the FDIC have agreed to provide protection against losses on a large asset pool of approximately $306 billion dollars in loans and securities backed by residential and commercial real estate and other related assets that will remain on Citigroups's balance sheet. Moreover, the Treasury will invest $20 billion dollars in Citigroup from the Troubled Asset Relief Program in exchange for preferred stock with an 8% dividend to the Treasury. More...

"Citigroup's announcement today that it will cut an additional 50,000 jobs is a sad and disturbing development for the company. As Citigroup suffers, so too do investors, employees, and taxpayers. At the very least, Citigroup should follow Goldman Sachs' lead and announce quickly that top executives will not be receiving bonuses this year. Citigroup's stated intention to wait until the new year to make its bonus decisions is a mistake. After four consecutive quarterly losses, it seems only fair that top executives should shoulder their fair share of these difficult economic times. It would send exactly the wrong message for Citigroup's top brass to collect bonuses while investors, taxpayers, and now Citigroup's own employees suffer." "Citigroup is, of course, not the only company in this situation. Other companies like AIG, who have received billions in rescue financing from taxpayers, also need to take a hard look in the mirror when determining the r...

Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Kenneth Donohue, Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced the filing of a civil complaint against Madison Home Equities, Inc., a mortgage lender located in Carle Place, Long Island, seeking a court-ordered injunction to prevent the company from making loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”). The complaint also seeks relief against Madison’s president, Nadine Malone. The case is pending before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. As alleged in the civil complaint, Madison participates in a federal program sponsored by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) which authorizes Madison to make mortgage loans that are insured by FHA in the event of default. As a condition of participation in the program, Madison must determine that all borrowers who receive FHA-insured mortgage loans meet HUD lending stand...

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Chicago to block the proposed acquisition by JBS S.A., currently the third-largest U.S. beef packer, of National Beef Packing Company LLC, the fourth-largest U.S. beef packer. The Department said that the proposed deal would combine two of the top four U.S. beef packers resulting in lower prices paid to cattle suppliers and higher beef prices for consumers. The Attorneys General of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming are joining the Department’s lawsuit. JBS, headquartered in Brazil, is in the process of acquiring Smithfield Beef Group Inc. from Smithfield Foods Inc. The Department is not challenging JBS’s acquisition of Smithfield Beef Group Inc. In 2007, JBS purchased Colorado-based Swift Foods Company. Beef packers purchase annually $30 billion in fed cattle from feedlots, slaughter them, and pr...

New York-( 10/16/08)-Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo met today with Edward M. Liddy, the new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American International Group, Inc. (“AIG”) In a candid discussion, the Attorney General laid out his serious concerns regarding executive compensation issues and exorbitant expenses at AIG. The meeting in the Attorney General’s New York City Offices occurred one day after Attorney General Cuomo informed AIG that it must recover improper bonuses and other payments and perks from its former executives or Cuomo would do so pursuant to New York law. During the meeting, Mr. Liddy agreed to take several significant actions with respect to expenditures at AIG. First, AIG has agreed to provide the New York Attorney General’s Office with an accounting of all compensation paid to its senior executives and has agreed to assist the Attorney General’s Office in recovering any illegal expenditures. This includes all forms of compensation paid to former CEO Martin Sull...

One year ago today two of New York’s bravest were killed in the line of duty, while responding to a fire at Deutsche Bank. The tragic deaths of Joseph Graffagnino and Bobby Beddia were, and are still, a reminder of the dangers faced by our uniformed first responders each and every day. Today, in memory of Mr. Graffagnino and Mr. Beddia, we suspended the work being done by the 400 men and women cleaning the Deutsche Bank building. The greatest tribute to the sacrifices made by these firefighters will be to complete the work on this building safely. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones who still endure the pain of these sudden losses, and my thanks go to their comrades who continue to keep New York safe.