New Documents Give Hope to Fannie Shareholders Seeking Redress

Shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say a trove of documents they have obtained bolsters their case that the government lied when it decided to take all of the mortgage companies’ profits.

Investors have filed dozens of lawsuits in courts across the country over a 2012 government decision to replace Fannie and Freddie’s 10 percent dividend to the U.S. Treasury with a new one equal to almost all of their profits. At the time, officials said the change was made to hasten the companies’ wind down and avoid the need for bailout money to pay dividends, a process known as a “circular draw” or “death spiral.”