Preet Bharara, the Department of Justice’s top prosecutor of FHA fraud and legacy mortgage-backed securities cases, has accepted President Donald Trump’s request to stay on as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The question is whether Bharara, who was nominated by President Obama in 2009, will be as aggressive as he was under the previous administration in holding FHA lenders accountable for faulty business practices that result in huge taxpayer losses. Since 2009, Bharara’s aggressive enforcement has resulted in cases filed against large and regional FHA lenders alleging fraud in violation of the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act. Except for two cases that went to trial, all the other FCA/FIRREA cases against FHA lenders ended in consent orders and huge settlements. The DOJ’s (and Bharara’s) vigorous enforcement of the two statutes, both of which provide for hefty monetary penalties, have forced many larger banks to exit the ...