Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead In His Home

Subject: Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead In His Home Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:49 pm

David B. Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of the troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead Wednesday morning at his home in Northern Virginia, the police said.

The executive apparently committed suicide by hanging himself, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Fairfax County police said there were no signs of foul play. A police spokesman said that they would not comment on whether a note was found, but did say that no files or anything except the body have been removed from the house.

Police were called to the home at 4:48 a.m., reportedly by Mr. Kellermann’s family. His body was taken away by the Fairfax Coroners Office shortly before 9 a.m. By then, the large home about 20 minutes outside Washington was surrounded by eight television trucks and about two dozen reporters. When a neighbor in a car inquired what had happened, and was told of Mr. Kellermann’s death, she began screaming and drove away.

Mr. Kellermann, 41, had been Freddie Mac’s chief financial officer since September. He was named to the position when the federal government seized the company and ousted its top executives last fall. In recent weeks, according to neighbors and company officials, Mr. Kellermann had received a bonus of about $800,000. Such bonuses — which totaled $210 million for executives at Freddie Mac and its sibling company Fannie Mae — caused some controversy earlier this month, and some lawmakers called for them to be rescinded.

According to neighbors, Mr. Kellermann hired a private security firm after reporters came to his house to ask about his bonus. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Kellermann and his wife had a daughter.

Mr. Kellermann was also involved in recent tense conversations with the company’s federal regulator over its public disclosures. Freddie Mac executives wanted to emphasize to investors that the company was being run for the benefit of the government, rather than shareholders.

The company’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Authority, had reportedly pushed to play down that language. Freddie Mac ultimately reported that it made changes to business practices to help the government that “have increased our expenses or caused us to forgo revenue opportunities."

Mr. Kellermann’s death is the latest blow to the company. The chief executive, David M. Moffett, resigned last month after apparently clashing with the company’s regulator over compensation issues and independence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/business/23freddie.html?_r=1&em

Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead In His Home

Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead In His Home

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