US seeks $2.1 bn from Bank of America in fraud case

The US government has raised the amount it is seeking in penalties from Bank of America Corp to $2.1 billion after a jury found the bank was liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit.

The request in a court filing late on Wednesday for $2.1 billion was based on gross revenue generated by the fraud, the government said. The Justice Department had previously asked for $863.6 million.

The initial request was based on gross losses it said government-sponsored mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac incurred on loans purchased from Countrywide Financial Corp in 2007 and 2008.

A spokesman for Bank of America had no immediate comment.

In a December hearing, a judge asked the bank and the Justice Department to brief him on how he might base the penalties on Countrywide's gains rather than losses resulting from the mortgage sales.

A federal jury in New York in October had found Bank of America and Rebecca Mairone, a former mid-level executive at Countrywide, each liable for fraud in the civil lawsuit.

The case focused on a mortgage lending process at Countrywide, which Bank of America acquired in July 2008, called the "High Speed Swim Lane," or alternatively "HSSL" or "Hustle."