California Attorney General Kamala Harris reportedly subpoenaed Citigroup and its Citibank unit to order both to answer questions about the selling and marketing of MBS in the state, according to a Los Angeles Times report that cited a person familiar with the investigation.
The person, the report said, did not further elaborate on that nature of the investigation.
In May, Harris formed the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, which is intended to prosecute illegal activity at every stage of the mortgage process. This means from loan originators to investment firms that improperly market MBS to California investment boards.
When it was formed, the task force had 25 attorneys in offices in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco and Sacramento, published reports said.
At time of the announcement, Harris stated that these attorneys will be divided into three groups, which are the following: a consumer enforcement team targeting predatory lenders, unfair business practices in marketing loans and loan modification and foreclosure product scams;a criminal enforcement team that will handle investment fraud associated with mortgage scams and foreclosure relief; a corporate fraud team that will target false claims made to the state regarding subprime MBS investments' quality.
