Fannie Won't Be Prosecuted

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia confirmed on Thursday that it has discontinued its criminal investigation of Fannie Mae and will not bring any charges against the company.A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington would not comment when asked whether charges would be brought against individuals, saying the agency has never confirmed that individuals are the subject of a criminal probe. The congressionally chartered mortgage giant was first notified in October 2004 that it was the subject of a criminal probe. Among the many allegations levied, regulators accused Fannie executives of manipulating accounting rules in 1998 by making adjustments to a "cookie jar" account allowing the company to meet an earnings-per-share goal (to the penny) that unlocked some $27 million in bonus payments for top officers. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.