Cuomo Charges BofA, Ex-CEO With Fraud; SEC Settles

February 10th, 2010

New York's attorney general charged Bank of America Corp, former Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis and former Chief Financial Officer Joe Price with fraud for allegedly misleading shareholders about the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately said Bank of America agreed to pay a $150 million civil fine and bolster disclosure and governance practices to settle its two lawsuits alleging poor disclosure of Merrill's losses and $3.6 billion of bonus payouts. That accord requires court approval.