Some customers of Countrywide Financial Corp. are learning that their personal information might have been sold by a former employee.
The Los Angeles division of the FBI arrested Rene Rebollo, a former financial analyst for Countrywide's subprime mortgage division, last month and charged him with “exceeding authorized access to the computer of a financial institution.”
Investigators say Rebollo admitted to giving out customers' account information to third parties over two years. He estimated that he profited by as much as $70,000 on the sales, the FBI said. He has pleaded not guilty; the charge carries up to five years in federal prison.
Countrywide, a California mortgage company that was bought by Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. this summer, sent letters to customers – including some in Charlotte – whose accounts might have been available to Rebollo. The FBI says he was terminated by Countrywide in July.
Susan Martin, a spokeswoman for Countrywide, said the company alerted the FBI when it noticed the breach. She said she couldn't specify how many customers might be involved, because of the federal investigation. She said there has been no evidence that the customers have been victims of identity theft or fraud.
Countrywide told customers it will monitor their mortgage accounts for suspicious activities, and it offered to pay for two years of credit monitoring by an outside company.
“We value our customer relations so much, and keeping customer information protected is a top priority,” Martin said.
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