“Inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse”

The LA Times reports, on Tuesday, the Special Inspector General overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program released a nearly 250 page report detailing the first cases of fraud in the program. The IG also announced the opening of 20 criminal probes into possible securities fraud, tax violations, insider trading and other crimes which, when all told, could reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

The disclosures reinforce fears that the hastily designed and rapidly changing bailout program run by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve is going to carry a heavy price of fraud against taxpayers[.]

[The IG] said the complex nature of the bailout program makes it "inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse, including significant issues relating to conflicts of interest facing fund managers, collusion between participants, and vulnerabilities to money laundering."