The SEC honored 8 members of its Enforcement Division for outstanding cooperation in uncovering and jointly investigating the $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the collapse in 2009 of Colonial BancGroup Inc. and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. The following SEC employees received the 2011 Award for Excellence in Investigations by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE):

• Suzanne Ashley, Senior Counsel to the Director of Enforcement and former detailee to the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).
• Rhea Dignam, Regional Director, SEC Atlanta Regional Office.
• William Hicks, Associate Regional Director for Enforcement, Atlanta Regional Office.
• Barry Lakas, Staff Accountant, Atlanta Regional Office.
• Aaron Lipson, Assistant Regional Director, Atlanta Regional Office.
• M. Graham Loomis, Regional Trial Counsel, Atlanta Regional Office.
• Michael Mashburn, Senior Investigations Counsel, Atlanta Regional Office.
• Yolanda Ross, Senior Counsel, Atlanta Regional Office.

Investigation Outcome. The SEC charged 5 individuals, including former Taylor, Bean & Whitaker chairman Lee Farkas, alleging he arranged to sell more than $1 billion of sham or worthless mortgage loans to Colonial Bank, and attempted to scam the U.S. Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).  Farkas was found guilty of related criminal fraud charges and is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.  The SEC also charged Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's former CEO and former treasurer, and a former executive and former supervisor at Alabama-based Colonial Bank. For further details, go to:   [SEC PR 11-211, 10/18/11]