Illinois to sue top mortgage lender

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 25 (UPI) -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she would sue the nation's largest mortgage lender for overselling risky loans.

The lawsuit accuses Countrywide Financial and its Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo of inflating incomes for loans and misleading customers with hidden fees and false advertising. The suit also says the company gave employees monetary incentives to sell loans with risky features, The New York Times reported.

"People were put into loans they did not understand, could not afford and could not get out of," Madigan said. The "mounting disaster" had a statewide and global impact, she said.

"It's all from the greed of people like Angelo Mozilo," she said.

Countrywide, which has lost $2.5 billion the last three quarters, didn't respond to e-mail from the Times requesting comment, the newspaper reported.