On May 3, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in the Southern District of New York against Deutsche Bank AG and MortgageIT Inc. (which was a wholly owned by Deutsche Bank), asserting multiple claims under the False Claims Act as well as claims for breach of fiduciary duty, gross negligence, negligence and indemnity. The Complaint arises out of MortgageIT’s activities as a qualified Direct Endorsement Lender of the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). From 1999 through 2009, the defendants originated mortgages that were insured by FHA. The Complaint alleges that during this time the defendants lied to FHA to maintain their Direct Endorsement Lender status which in turn allowed them to continue originating loans that were insured by FHA. The DOJ alleges that the defendants failed to abide by FHA’s standards to control the amount of risk the program would assume by funding mortgages that did not satisfy the underwriting guidelines and failing to implement quality control provisions to monitor the strength of the loans. The Complaint also alleges that HUD has paid more than $386 million in FHA insurance claims arising out of mortgages originated by the defendants. The DOJ seeks treble damages and penalties under the False Claims Act, as well as compensatory and punitive damages in connection with its other claims. Complaint.