Pleas in federal sub-prime mortgage probe

By The Associated Press
Posted: 6:15 pm Wed, February 1, 2012

NEW YORK — Two former Credit Suisse traders pleaded guilty to conspiracy and signed cooperation agreements Wednesday in a long-running probe of the federal sub-prime mortgage securities market that was expected to result in more arrests.

Salmaan Siddiqui, who worked for the company in Manhattan, and a former London-based managing director, David Higgs, entered pleas to a charge of conspiracy to falsify books and records and commit wire fraud, which carries a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Both admitted that they falsified the books to enhance their standing in the company and their year-end bonuses as the housing market collapsed.

“Today is a terribly difficult day for me and my family. I am truly sorry for what I’ve done,” Higgs said. The defendant said he falsified records to enhance his job performance, which resulted in higher bonuses.

“I was directed by my bosses and my boss’s bosses,” Siddiqui said. His lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said after the plea that his client had a “minor role in the conspiracy.”