A former Countrywide Financial executive who became a whistle-blower is collecting more than $57 million for providing evidence that helped federal prosecutors force Bank of America to pay a record $16.65 billion penalty in connection with its role in churning out shoddy mortgage and related securities before the financial crisis, the New York Times Dealbook blog reported yesterday. Edward O’Donnell reached an agreement last week with the government that enables him to collect part of the settlement that Bank of America agreed to pay in August in a deal with federal prosecutors and a number of state attorneys general, according to a court filing. The payment to O’Donnell arises from a federal lawsuit he filed under the False Claims Act earlier this year and which Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, joined and used as the basis for pressing Bank of America to reach a deal.
