 merrie says: Barofsky, in the interview, insisted his goal is to inform the public that someone is minding the store and that bailout programs are not a "black hole." "It's not trillions of dollars going out the door without anyone keeping tabs on it," said Barofsky, who will testify before Congress on Thursday about his findings. As an inspector general, Barofsky has legal firepower. He can use subpoenas to compel disclosure and is tasked by federal law to track the details of how banks are spending taxpayer dollars. Barofsky, appointed by then-President Bush last November, has so far hired 35 members of a staff he expects to grow to 150. Currently working out of the main Treasury compound next to the White House, Barofsky and his staff are securing their own offices in the same building in downtown Washington that houses the Treasury staffers that administer TARP. Finally, he said he is concerned about the Obama administration's nascent mortgage rescue program, which aims to help millions of homeowners get affordable loans. He's worried that the program could spur a wave of real estate fraud and suggests officials take steps to confirm the identities of participants and make sure homeowners know that they aren't required to pay fees to take part. Barofsky's report did not detail the 20 criminal investigations, which it said "vary widely" and include securities fraud, tax, insider trading and public corruption matters. He has previously reported working with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate how bonuses were given to high-ranking e... The report reveals that Barofsky is looking into whether bailout decisions were influenced by those who stood to benefit from them...... Neil Barofsky, who is overseeing the $700 billion TARP, says he has 20 criminal probes and calls for changes to prevent fraud. |
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