Obama creates fraud taskforce
The Obama administration created a new task force yesterday to crack down on financial fraud, an increasingly important political issue after a spike in mortgage scams and big Wall Street scandals. President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing the task force, led by the Justice Department, to investigate and prosecute financial crimes connected to the past year’s financial crisis and to try to deter future fraud. The administration has pledged to be more aggressive in fighting financial crime, although a recent case against two ex-Bear Stearns hedge fund managers was unsuccessful.