In a recent interview, Attorney General Eric Holder told The Wall Street Journal that he expects to announce in the coming months significant cases arising from the financial crisis of 2008.1 The Attorney General's remarks follow criticism that the administration has not done enough to prosecute individuals and institutions said to be responsible for the crisis. One commentator, noting that the Attorney General did not say whether the new cases would be civil or criminal, dismissed the prospect of new cases with the quip, "I'll believe it when I see it."2
In fact, the Department of Justice has brought few, if any, high-profile criminal cases since 2008 charging important figures in the mortgage and financial industries, or otherwise addressing in criminal charges the financial transactions that contributed to the crisis. We have seen charges against Ponzi schemers exposed by the sharp decline in securities prices in 2008 to 2009,3 and a slew of charges involving relatively low-level mortgage frauds,4 but the criminal cases brought by the department are widely seen as missing the heart of what caused the financial crisis.5
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