Former treasurer of mortgage firm pleads guilty to fraud (TARP cheat)

The former treasurer of one of the country's largest mortgage firms - Taylor, Bean & Whitaker - pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to charges of participating in a $1.9 billion fraud scheme. Desiree Brown, 45, of Hernando, Fla., was accused of participating in a scheme that contributed to the collapse of Colonial Bank in Alabama, one of the nation's largest regional banks. She was also charged with participating in a fraudulent but unsuccessful effort to extract $570 million of federal bailout funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The case is being prosecuted by the Justice...