The Justice Department announced today that Deloitte & Touche LLP has agreed to pay the United States $149.5 million to resolve potential False Claims Act liability arising from Deloitte’s role as the independent outside auditor of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), a failed originator of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“With taxpayer dollars at stake, auditors must take their obligations seriously when auditing companies that participate in government programs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “When auditors fail to exercise their professional judgment, and make false statements that allow bad actors to remain in government programs and submit false claims to the government, there will be consequences.”

Under HUD’s Direct Endorsement Lender program, TBW was authorized to originate and underwrite mortgage loans insured by the FHA.  When a borrower defaults on an FHA-insured loan underwritten and endorsed by a Direct Endorsement Lender such as TBW, the holder of the loan can submit a claim to the United States to recoup losses resulting from the default.  To maintain its status as a Direct Endorsement Lender, a lender is required to submit to HUD annual audit reports on its financial statements and related reports on its internal controls and its compliance with certain HUD requirements...