Fed Supports Lawsuit Against JPMorgan Chase

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is throwing its support behind a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase accusing Bear Stearns, the investment bank JPMorgan bought in 2008, of engaging in massive fraud in deals involving billions in residential mortgage-backed securities.

At a news conference, acting Associate Attorney General Tony West credited a coalition of law enforcement agencies created by President Barack Obama in 2009 with assembling evidence in the lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general's office.

The Obama administration has been under heavy political pressure to hold major Wall Street players accountable for the nation's biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression. Bear Stearns was sold to JPMorgan Chase in 2008.