CALABASAS, CA - JULY 18: The Countrywide Financial headquarters is seen on July 18, 2008 in Calabasas, California. State officials have expanded allegations made in a suit filed by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown against Countrywide and several of its top executives to charge that the mortgage lender rewarded staff with higher commissions for putting borrowers with poor credit scores into some of the riskiest of loans, such as adjustable-rate mortgages with very low initial 'teaser' rates that would balloon over time. The expanded allegations also state that Countrywide agents regularly disregarded warnings from the company's computerized underwriting system which analyzes the ability of applicants to repay their loans. In an example offered by the suit, Countrywide approved a mortgage for an 85-year-old disabled veteran with a low credit score and too much debt to qualify for the loan which went into default within six months. Getty Images logo Getty Images 16 months ago

CALABASAS, CA - JULY 18: The Countrywide Financial headquarters is seen on July 18, 2008 in Calabasas, California. State officials have expanded allegations made in a suit filed by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown against Countrywide and several of its top executives to charge that the mortgage lender rewarded staff with higher commissions for putting borrowers with poor credit scores into some of the riskiest of loans, such as adjustable-rate mortgages with very low initial 'teaser' rates that would balloon over time. The expanded allegations also state that Countrywide agents regularly disregarded warnings from the company's computerized underwriting system which analyzes the ability of applicants to repay their loans. In an example offered by the suit, Countrywide approved a mortgage for an 85-year-old disabled veteran with a low credit score and too much debt to qualify for the loan which went into default within six months.

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  1. LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: California State Attorney General Jerry Brown speaks during National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims on September 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The rally to honor murdered loved ones and fallen law enforcement officers was organized by Justice for Murdered Children (JFMC) founder LaWanda Hawkins, whose child was murdered in 1996, and Southern California Crime Victims' organizations.
  2. LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: California Attorney General Jerry Brown holds a press conference to announce a Web-based prescription drug database to track all all controlled substances prescribed in California on September 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The new system will help doctors find prescription drug abusers.
  3. LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: California Attorney General Jerry Brown holds a press conference to announce a Web-based prescription drug database to track all all controlled substances prescribed in California on September 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The new system will help doctors find prescription drug abusers.
  4. LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: California Attorney General Jerry Brown holds a press conference to announce a Web-based prescription drug database to track all all controlled substances prescribed in California on September 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The new system will help doctors find prescription drug abusers.
  5. LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: California Attorney General Jerry Brown holds a press conference to announce a Web-based prescription drug database to track all all controlled substances prescribed in California on September 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The new system will help doctors find prescription drug abusers.
  6. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, right, who is running for governor of California, and Attorney General Jerry Brown, left, who is also running for governor, talk backstage between panels at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.
  7. California Attorney General Jerry Brown speaks outside the California Supreme Court in San Francisco, California in this March 5, 2009 file photo. Brown, a Democrat who served as governor of California from the mid-1970s to early the 1980s, took a major step toward running for governor on September 29, 2009 by filing paperwork that will allow him to raise campaign funds more aggressively.
  8. California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is also running for Governor, speaks during a panel at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.
  9. California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is also running for Governor, smiles during panel discussion at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.
  10. California Attorney Jerry Brown announces a lawsuit against State Street Bank and Trust on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. The suit alleges Boston-based State Street overcharged the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System with fees and penalties for handling foreign currency trades.
  11. California Attorney Jerry Brown announces a lawsuit against State Street Bank and Trust on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. The suit alleges Boston-based State Street overcharged the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System with fees and penalties for handling foreign currency trades.
  12. In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, a horse is seen on pasture land owned by James Reamer, a fourth generation farmer, near Clarksburg, Calif. Reamer is among the landowners fighting a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office for denying the state access to survey their property as a potential site for a new canal to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.
  13. In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, James Reamer, a fourth generation farmer, inspects some grape vines on his fields near Clarksburg, Calif. Reamer is among group of landowners fighting a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office for denying the state access to survey their property as a potential site for a new canal to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.
  14. In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, James Reamer, a fourth generation farmer, inspects some grape vines on his fields near Clarksburg, Calif. Reamer is among group of landowners fighting a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office for denying the state access to survey their property as a potential site for a new canal to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.
  15. In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, the flower of a cucumber plant is seen in a field owned by John Merwin and his family near Clarksburg, Calif. Merwin and his cousin, Peter Hunn are among the landowners fighting a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office for denying the state access to survey their property as a potential site for a new canal to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.
  16. In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, the flower of a cucumber plant is seen in a field owned by John Merwin and his family near Clarksburg, Calif. Merwin and his cousin, Peter Hunn are among the landowners fighting a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office for denying the state access to survey their property as a potential site for a new canal to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.

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