Beazer Homes Agrees to Pay $53M to Settle Mortgage Fraud Charges
In the most blatant case of mortgage fraud disclosed to date, Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA Inc. has agreed to pay a total $53 million to settle a U.S. Dept. of Justice lawsuit.  In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Michael T. Rand, Beazer's former chief accounting officer. Rand is accused of conducting a fraudulent earnings scheme and hiding his wrongdoing from outside auditors and other company accountants. The New York Times and The Washington Post report separately that In the mortgage fraud case, prosecutors said Beazer ignored income requirements in making loans to unqualified buyers, and sought to hide from the Federal Housing Administration that some company branches had excessive default rates on their loans.... In the end, the SEC said, Beazer understated the company's income in SEC filings by $63 million between fiscal years 2000 through 2005. In addition, the company overstated its income and understated losses by a total of $47 million in fiscal year 2006 and the first two quarters of fiscal year 2007.

Beazer To Pay Up To $53 Million To End Mtge Fraud Charges
Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) will pay up to $53 million to settle mortgage fraud charges related to federally insured mortgage loans the company made to buyers of its homes, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The department said Beazer will pay $5 million to the federal government and up to $48 million to victimized homeowners.  The settlement is tied to an agreement with federal prosecutors in North Carolina that will allow the Atlanta-based company to avoid criminal prosecution on the mortgage-fraud charges, and on other accounting-fraud charges related to the manipulation of company earnings.

Legal fees stem from N.C. mortgage probe.Company reports 2Q loss of $114.8 million and 48% drop in home sales.
Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA expects to pay more than $13 million in coming months for ongoing litigation, the company’s chief executive told investors in a conference call Friday...In 2006, Beazer was the nation’s seventh-biggest home builder, and shares traded for as much as $79. Since then, stock prices have plummeted, and the company has downsized after homeowner defaults in the Charlotte area came to light, triggering the current investigations.

Homebuilder under investigation seeks stimulus tax break
One homebuilder that's under federal investigation and has left starter home communities in Charlotte, N.C., struggling with foreclosures is vying for a tax break in the almost $900 billion stimulus bill being considered by Congress. Beazer Homes USA is one of 37 companies that signed on to a letter last week urging senators to give businesses a waiver on income taxes they'd owe on canceled debt. The tax break, estimated to cost more than $19 billion, has widespread support across several industries — mortgage bankers, truckers, farmers and contractors among them.Atlanta-based Beazer is the subject of a mortgage-lending probe involving the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission is also investigating the company's lending practices.