Here's something you might be interested in.
It's no doubt among the least of New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner's problems these days, but based on his official financial disclosure reports, he apparently once owned between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of preferred stock in Accredited Home Lenders, the San Diego sub-prime lending outfit that went bust during the great economic meltdown.
Back in 2004, the company received local fame for donating a $275,000 vehicle to the San Diego Fire Department, but things went only downhill from there.
Calling it "Accredited Home Lender Pfd," Weiner reported the holding on his annual 2008 financial disclosure statement, filed May 15, 2009, which said he received between $201 and $1000 in dividends from the company.
On Weiner's 2009 statement, filed June 17, 2010, there is a note saying "Accredited Home Lender does not appear on this report, as it is now worth less than $1,000. (It was listed on 2008 disclosure)."
Last October, the New York Daily News reported that Harry Wilson, Republican candidate for New York state controller, had also invested in Accredited:
"Records show that Wilson's hedge fund -- Silver Point Capital -- at one point owned as much as a 10% stake in Accredited Home Lenders, a San Diego firm that was a top player in the subprime industry before it went bust and declared bankruptcy last year."
Our Don Bauder ran up a warning flag on Accredited back in December 2006:
"TV's frenetic Jim Cramer, cofounder of TheStreet.com and one who enjoys being labeled the "Mad Man of Wall Street," likes Accredited stock. Cramer believes that concerns about sub-prime lending are overblown and notes that Accredited is seeing an increase in mortgage applications. 'They'll have a tough time for many months,' says Cramer, but 'they have a good [business] model.'
"However, the view that the housing downturn is ending requires a large pair of rose-colored glasses. As an investment, Accredited scores lower than 76 percent of stocks that rating agency Standard & Poor's follows. 'I would be very cautious jumping into the sub-prime lenders until we see the extent of the shakeout,' says Bud Leedom, publisher of CaliforniaStocks.com. 'There is fear of what is in these underlying portfolios. A lot of investors feel that sub-prime lenders will be going out of business. The ticking-time-bomb scenario is alive and well.'"
The whole story is here:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2006/dec/28/risky-mortgages-hurt-borrowers-investors/
Update, 11:35 PM PDT: Disclosures covering 2010 have been released by Congress; the Accredited holding has returned to Weiner's statement, valued at between $1001 and $15,000. No dividends reported.
We have the filings here:
2010:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclosure-10/
2009:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclsoure-09/
2008:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclsoure-08/
It's no doubt among the least of New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner's problems these days, but based on his official financial disclosure reports, he apparently once owned between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of preferred stock in Accredited Home Lenders, the San Diego sub-prime lending outfit that went bust during the great economic meltdown.
Back in 2004, the company received local fame for donating a $275,000 vehicle to the San Diego Fire Department, but things went only downhill from there.
Calling it "Accredited Home Lender Pfd," Weiner reported the holding on his annual 2008 financial disclosure statement, filed May 15, 2009, which said he received between $201 and $1000 in dividends from the company.
On Weiner's 2009 statement, filed June 17, 2010, there is a note saying "Accredited Home Lender does not appear on this report, as it is now worth less than $1,000. (It was listed on 2008 disclosure)."
Last October, the New York Daily News reported that Harry Wilson, Republican candidate for New York state controller, had also invested in Accredited:
"Records show that Wilson's hedge fund -- Silver Point Capital -- at one point owned as much as a 10% stake in Accredited Home Lenders, a San Diego firm that was a top player in the subprime industry before it went bust and declared bankruptcy last year."
Our Don Bauder ran up a warning flag on Accredited back in December 2006:
"TV's frenetic Jim Cramer, cofounder of TheStreet.com and one who enjoys being labeled the "Mad Man of Wall Street," likes Accredited stock. Cramer believes that concerns about sub-prime lending are overblown and notes that Accredited is seeing an increase in mortgage applications. 'They'll have a tough time for many months,' says Cramer, but 'they have a good [business] model.'
"However, the view that the housing downturn is ending requires a large pair of rose-colored glasses. As an investment, Accredited scores lower than 76 percent of stocks that rating agency Standard & Poor's follows. 'I would be very cautious jumping into the sub-prime lenders until we see the extent of the shakeout,' says Bud Leedom, publisher of CaliforniaStocks.com. 'There is fear of what is in these underlying portfolios. A lot of investors feel that sub-prime lenders will be going out of business. The ticking-time-bomb scenario is alive and well.'"
The whole story is here:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2006/dec/28/risky-mortgages-hurt-borrowers-investors/
Update, 11:35 PM PDT: Disclosures covering 2010 have been released by Congress; the Accredited holding has returned to Weiner's statement, valued at between $1001 and $15,000. No dividends reported.
We have the filings here:
2010:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclosure-10/
2009:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclsoure-09/
2008:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2011/jun/15/weiner-disclsoure-08/