I'm surprised there haven't been more of these.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30344303/
QuotePolice probing death of Freddie Mac official
Kellermann's death apparent suicide; company under investigation
WASHINGTON - David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of money-losing mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead at his home early Wednesday in what police said was an apparent suicide.
The Fairfax County police responded to a 911-call at 4:48 a.m. at the suburban Virginia home Kellermann shared with his wife Donna and five-year-old daughter Grace. The police would not release the exact cause of death, but spokesman Eddy Azcarate said Kellermann's body was found in the basement.
Kellermann, 41, lived in Hunter Mill Estates, a well-off neighborhood of large single-family homes with manicured lawns. County records show Kellermann's home is worth about $900,000.
Paul Unger, who lives across the street from the Kellermanns, called the family a "solid, salt-of-the-earth kind of family" that hosted the neighborhood's Halloween party. "He was just a nice guy ... You cannot imagine what kind of pressures he must have been under," Unger said.
Some neighbors said Kellermann had lost a noticeable amount of weight under the strain of the job, and some said they suggested to him he should quit to avoid the stress. The neighbors did not want to be quoted by name because they didn't want to upset the family.
Kellermann, a University of Michigan graduate who went to business school at George Washington University, worked for Freddie Mac for the past 16 years and was named acting chief financial officer last September when the government seized control of the company and ousted top executives. Freddie Mac lost more than $50 billion last year, and the government has pumped in $45 billion to keep the company afloat.
Kellermann's death is the latest in a string of blows to Freddie Mac, which owns or guarantees about 13 million mortgages and us the No. 2 mortgage finance company after sibling Fannie Mae. The company has been criticized for financing risky mortgage loans that fueled the real estate bubble, and its first government-appointed CEO, David Moffett, resigned last month after six months on the job.
As the company's financial chief, Kellermann was working on the company's first quarter financial report, due at the end of May, with federal regulators closely overseeing the company's books and signing off on major decisions.
That relationship has been tense at times. Freddie Mac executives recently battled with federal regulators over whether to disclose potential losses on mortgage securities tied to the Obama administration's housing plan, said a person familiar with the deliberations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia have been investigating Freddie Mac's business practices. But two U.S. law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the Freddie Mac investigation, said Kellermann was neither a target nor a subject of the investigation and had not been under law enforcement scrutiny.
News of Kellermann's death came as a shock to employees of the McLean, Va.-based company, with those who knew Kellermann tearing up on Wednesday morning and a quiet mood prevailing. Senior executives at the company heard the news on local radio before going to work.
John Koskinen, the company's interim chief executive, said in a statement that Kellermann, "was a man of great talents .... His extraordinary work ethic and integrity inspired all who worked with him."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement that "our deepest sympathies are with his family and his colleagues at Freddie Mac during this difficult time."
Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae have both come under fire from lawmakers as they plan to pay more than $210 million in bonuses through next year to give workers the incentive to stay in their jobs. Kellermann was in line to receive retention awards totaling $850,000 over the next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leaving his wife and kid to carry on? What a selfish fuckhead.
Does Senator Grassley have an alibi?
So, what are we going to find out FM was doing eh?
QuoteKellermann, 41, lived in Hunter Mill Estates, a well-off neighborhood of large single-family homes with manicured lawns. County records show Kellermann's home is worth about $900,000.
Isn't it rather cheap for a financial shark?
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 12:56:35 PM
Leaving his wife and kid to carry on? What a selfish fuckhead.
That is a pretty harsh criticism--should he have killed them too?
:yeah:
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:16:16 PM
That is a pretty harsh criticism--should he have killed them too?
No he should have stayed alive and raised his kid.
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 01:18:29 PM
No he should have stayed alive and raised his kid.
Do you know how much most new Fortune 500 CFOs work? I doubt he was raising his kid before, and he won't do so now either.
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:23:09 PM
Do you know how much most new Fortune 500 CFOs work? I doubt he was raising his kid before, and he won't do so now either.
If all he had was a 900K house I doubt he was pulling 100 hour weeks.
Quote from: Grey Fox on April 22, 2009, 01:17:31 PM
:yeah:
Poor form, Gay Fox. When you kill yourself, do you want people to react that way?
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 01:24:22 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:23:09 PM
Do you know how much most new Fortune 500 CFOs work? I doubt he was raising his kid before, and he won't do so now either.
If all he had was a 900K house I doubt he was pulling 200 hour weeks.
I can guarantee that no employee on Earth pulls a 200 hour week.
Quote from: Neil on April 22, 2009, 01:27:02 PM
I can guarantee that no employee on Earth pulls a 200 hour week.
Oh come on I changed that typo in about 30 seconds.
Quote from: Martinus on April 22, 2009, 01:16:10 PM
QuoteKellermann, 41, lived in Hunter Mill Estates, a well-off neighborhood of large single-family homes with manicured lawns. County records show Kellermann's home is worth about $900,000.
Isn't it rather cheap for a financial shark?
I thought the same. That's a rather cheap property.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 22, 2009, 01:15:01 PM
So, what are we going to find out FM was doing eh?
That was my initial thought too. :blush:
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 01:24:22 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:23:09 PM
Do you know how much most new Fortune 500 CFOs work? I doubt he was raising his kid before, and he won't do so now either.
If all he had was a 900K house I doubt he was pulling 100 hour weeks.
He was just an acting CFO, so he may have just been promoted. The last proxy I could find showed the CFO made just over $4.3 million for Freddie Mac in 2007. I would guess he is familiar with the 100 hour workweek, at least on occassion.
Quote from: Martinus on April 22, 2009, 01:16:10 PM
QuoteKellermann, 41, lived in Hunter Mill Estates, a well-off neighborhood of large single-family homes with manicured lawns. County records show Kellermann's home is worth about $900,000.
Isn't it rather cheap for a financial shark?
real estate values ;) have been plummeting. it's probably worth less.
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:48:20 PM
He was just an acting CFO, so he may have just been promoted. The last proxy I could find showed the CFO made just over $4.3 million for Freddie Mac in 2007. I would guess he is familiar with the 100 hour workweek, at least on occassion.
Well despite your opinion I still say kids prefer their parents do not kill themselves before they turn 6. Call me an idiot who knows nothing about the families of CFOs if you wish.
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 02:05:16 PM
Well despite your opinion I still say kids prefer their parents do not kill themselves before they turn 6. Call me an idiot who knows nothing about the families of CFOs if you wish.
Idiot.
Does that make you feel any better?
Perhaps he needed to see a therapist.
Quote from: Valmy on April 22, 2009, 02:05:16 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 01:48:20 PM
He was just an acting CFO, so he may have just been promoted. The last proxy I could find showed the CFO made just over $4.3 million for Freddie Mac in 2007. I would guess he is familiar with the 100 hour workweek, at least on occassion.
Well despite your opinion I still say kids prefer their parents do not kill themselves before they turn 6. Call me an idiot who knows nothing about the families of CFOs if you wish.
It just seems a bit harsh.
Maybe we can say that the kid is better off without a father than a suicidal one just waiting for him to turn 18? :P
Quote from: alfred russel on April 22, 2009, 02:11:17 PM
It just seems a bit harsh.
Maybe we can say that the kid is better off without a father than a suicidal one just waiting for him to turn 18? :P
No I will not say such a thing.
Quote from: Neil on April 22, 2009, 01:25:58 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on April 22, 2009, 01:17:31 PM
:yeah:
Poor form, Gay Fox. When you kill yourself, do you want people to react that way?
No one will care, I am not a CFO.
Quote from: Grey Fox on April 22, 2009, 03:09:55 PM
Quote from: Neil on April 22, 2009, 01:25:58 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on April 22, 2009, 01:17:31 PM
:yeah:
Poor form, Gay Fox. When you kill yourself, do you want people to react that way?
No one will care, I am not a CFO.
People often celebrate the deaths of emo kids.
I just saw a screen crawl on TV that the FBI is investigating Freddie for accounting fraud.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2009, 12:19:49 PM
I just saw a screen crawl on TV that the FBI is investigating Freddie for accounting fraud.
I remember back during the AIG bonus witch hunt/kangaroo Congressional court, that Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac employees were about to get their bonuses as well. If so, seems that never really made the slash and burn news cycle. I wonder if that added to this man's stress levels, to add to causing him to kill himself? Sad that he committed suicide; condolences to the family. :(
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2009, 12:19:49 PM
I just saw a screen crawl on TV that the FBI is investigating Freddie for accounting fraud.
Well duh. Why else do you think this cat offed himself? ^_^