The embattled housing loan centers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have racked up nearly $50 million in legal fees, and the taxpayer is footing the bill, according to the New York Times.
The mortgage giants have spent the money defending its disgraced executives from fallout over the Obama administration’s bailout program.
According to the Times:
$37 million has gone to three former Fannie Mae executives accused of securities fraud, according to the analysis by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees both companies. Acting as their conservator, the agency is charged with protecting taxpayers from further losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those losses now stand at $183 billion.