WASHINGTON AP – As a prosecution witness, Warren Buffett testified he detected signs of trouble at mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac years before a $5 billion accounting lapse was revealed.
The billionaire investor testified Tuesday for the government in its legal proceeding against Leland Brendsel, the former Freddie Mac chief executive who was ousted in 2003 when the firm’s manipulated earnings were discovered. Buffett’s testimony by video link to a courtroom in Washington was intended to explain why his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. holding company, which had been one of Freddie Mac’s largest shareholders, began selling off shares in the late 1990s.