How Sex and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis of 2008 Led to Scapegoating a Little Guy
In the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008, the Obama administration decided someone must be punished. But instead of taking on the powerful financial institutions at the core of the scandal — which were given bailouts instead — they went after the easy targets like small real estate brokers. Tony Viola was one. Prosecutors sent him to prison for supposedly tricking banks into offering mortgages with no money down. But in reality, the banks were knowingly offering those loans. The prosecution withheld this evidence from him. The wrongdoing was so blatant that from prison, ...