The charges center around the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and the lack of disclosure regarding losses, and the accelerated bonuses paid to Merrill.
Cuomo also cites their indiscriminate use of attorney - client privilege to mask wrongdoing.
Cuomo's action is a slap at the SEC which has crafted a settlement with the Bank, which has been challenged repeatedly by the Judge as a wristslap, defying commen sense and basic justice.
This comes as the SEC faces further charges of a whitewash of their involvement with the Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal, and the lack of discovery of the fate of the billions which Madoff took from investors.
Reminds one of the Spitzer actions as the New York Attorney General in which he brought Wall Street to judgement and a settlement on its scandals regarding analysts improper rating of stocks from the tech bubble. There had been repeated attempts by the federal regulators to short circuit Spitzer.
Reuters
UPDATE 1-NY's Cuomo may charge BofA execs over Merrill
Tue Sep 8, 2009 3:05pm EDT
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - New York's attorney general threatened on Tuesday to file charges against top executives of Bank of America Corp over the disclosure of details regarding bonuses it authorized to Merrill Lynch & Co employees before the company's merger.
Andrew Cuomo, the attorney general, made the threat as U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff considers whether to approve the bank's $33 million civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the disclosures.
The judge has rejected the settlement twice, and Bank of America and the SEC are expected to made new submissions in the matter by Wednesday.
Cuomo accused Bank of America of using a defense of attorney-client privilege to explain why it should not release more information about who authorized the payment of billions of dollars of bonuses.
"We cannot simply accept Bank of America's officers' naked assertions that they sought and relief on advice of counsel in good faith, and that, therefore, they should not be charged," Cuomo wrote in a letter to the bank's lawyer.
He gave the bank until Sept 14 to provide more information.
Bank of America did not immediately return a call seeking comment. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Additional reporting by Elinor Comlay and Grant McCool; Editing by Ted Kerr)
