Countrywide's ex-CEO must face fraud case

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES: A federal judge rejected a request by Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp, to dismiss a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of securities fraud and insider trading.

In a court filing, US District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles also rejected requests by David Sambol and Eric Sieracki, respectively Countrywide's former chief operating officer and former chief financial officer, to dismiss related SEC fraud charges.

Countrywide had been the largest US mortgage lender before liquidity dried up in summer of 2007, leading to its acquisition the following year by Bank of America Corp for $2.5 billion.