STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: NPR's business news starts with a verdict against Bank of America.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Last night, a jury in New York found the bank liable for fraud after a month-long civil trial. It was considered a win for the Justice Department's prosecution of misdeeds during the financial crisis. Federal prosecutors argued that a division of Bank of America, Countrywide Financial, wrote bad home mortgages to people clearly unable to repay the loans.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Countrywide then sold those mortgages to the government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and, of course, many loans later failed. The judge is set to hear arguments December 5th on the government's request for a fine of $848 million.
A jury in New York found Bank of America liable for fraud Wednesday after a monthlong civil trial. The verdict was considered a win for the Justice Department's prosecution of misdeeds during the financial crisis.