In a continuation of the woes of mortgage-lender Countrywide Financial Corp., company CEO Angelo Mozilo has raised questions about his cashing stock options at a time when the company was beginning a financial collapse as myriad subprime borrowers defaulted on Countrywide loans, the Los Angeles Times reported. The stock options, valued at $138 million, greatly increased Mozilo’s wealth at a time when Countrywide shareholders watched their stock dramatically decline in value, the Times said. Countrywide denies any wrongdoing on the part of their CEO, whose transactions were made within trading plans used by hundreds of executives, Countrywide said. Analysts, however, say Mozilo veered from the plan, something financial experts recommend against because of the suspicion it can raise. According to the Times, Mozilo twice changed his stock plan in late 2006 and early 2007 as the credit crunch was striking Countrywide. “This raises a slew of red flags, Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago securities lawyer, told the Times. “Anytime you have revisions or modified plans it is extremely suspicious.”
