Goldman Sachs, Mortgage Fraud, California 2019

Grimy Times has learned that U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner for the Eastern District of California has announced his resignation effective midnight on April 30, 2019.

During his tenure, the Eastern District had several years of record recoveries in civil and asset forfeiture cases. A few of the significant civil cases handled by the office over the past six years include the recent $5.06 billion multiparty settlement with Goldman Sachs relating to the securitization and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

The settlement included a $2.385 billion payment to the Department of Justice as a result of efforts by attorneys in the Eastern District — the largest civil recovery in the history of the district.

“Serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California has been the most fulfilling and exciting experience of my professional career,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “I have the greatest respect for the women and men in this office who seek to do justice each day and I am proud of all that we have been able to accomplish together.”

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch praised U.S. Attorney Wagner, stating, “Ben Wagner has served the people of the Eastern District of California with distinction for nearly a quarter of a century, spending more than 17 years as a prosecutor in the office before becoming U.S. Attorney in 2009.”

In civil and asset forfeiture cases, the Eastern District had several years of record recoveries under U.S. Attorney Wagner’s leadership. A few of the significant civil cases handled by the office over the past six years include the following:

The recent $5.06 billion multiparty settlement with Goldman Sachs relating to the securitization and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. The settlement included a $2.385 billion payment to the Department of Justice as a result of efforts by attorneys in the Eastern District — the largest civil recovery in the history of the district.

The $13 billion multiparty settlement with JPMorgan Chase announced in 2013 relating to the securitization and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. The settlement included a $2 billion payment to the Department of Justice as a result of the Eastern District’s work.

The settlement with Sierra Pacific Industries announced in 2012, valued at approximately $122 million, relating to its role in the huge Moonlight Fire that damaged tens of thousands of acres of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land. The settlement agreement required the transfer of 22,500 acres of wilderness to the USFS in California.

Health care fraud and false billing settlements against Adventist Health, Catholic Health Care West, Medtronic Inc., Biotronik and Quest Diagnostics, resulting in total recoveries of nearly $40 million between 2011 and 2015.

The office also expanded its prosecution of financial and health care fraud cases, firearms trafficking, human trafficking and cybercrimes. U.S. Attorney Wagner served for three years on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) under Attorney General Eric Holder and was appointed to co-chair the White Collar Crime Subcommittee of the AGAC by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.

“Ben Wagner has served the people of the Eastern District of California with distinction for nearly a quarter of a century, spending more than 17 years as a prosecutor in the office before becoming U.S. Attorney in 2009,” said Attorney General Lynch. “Throughout his career with the Department of Justice, he has accepted a wide range of responsibilities – from coordinating his district’s anti-terrorism and hate crimes efforts to representing the department overseas as our Resident Legal Advisor in Indonesia.”

U.S. Attorney Wagner will continue to serve until midnight on April 30, 2019, at which time he will be succeeded by his successor. This is a developing story, and Grimy Times will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/united-states-attorney-wagner-announces-his-resignation