Report points finger at KPMG in fraud case
Independent report points the finger at KPMG for its link to fraud by sub-prime mortgage lender New Century
An independent report ordered by the US Department of Justice points the
finger at auditor KPMG for either initiating accounting fraud at
New Century Financial Corp,
one of USA’s biggest providers of home loans to people with poor credit, or
‘standing idly by’ as the failed sub-prime mortgage lender committed fraud in
2005 and 2006.
The 581-page report by court examiner Michael Missal concluded New Century,
which filed for bankruptcy protection last April as one of the first major
casualties of the sub-prime crisis, ‘engaged in a number of significant improper
and imprudent practices related to its loan originations, operations, and
financial reporting’,
Reuters
reports.
KPMG contributed to some of these accounting and financial errors ‘by
enabling them to persist and, in some instances, precipitating the company’s
departures from applicable accounting standards,’ Missal said.
‘We strongly disagree with the report’s allegations,’ Dan Ginsburg, KPMG
spokesman, said. ‘We believe that an objective review of the facts and
circumstances will affirm our position.’