FBI Investigates Four Companies at Center of Wall Street Storm

The FBI is expanding its corporate fraud inquiries to include four financial giants at the center of Wall Street’s recent turmoil.

The agency has opened preliminary investigations into Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and the American International Group, the Washington Post reports, citing two anonymous sources. They are among 26 companies being reviewed for possible accounting misstatements made during the collapse of the subprime market, an anonymous official told Bloomberg News.

Another agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, is also pursuing investigations related to the subprime meltdown, the Post story says. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said yesterday in congressional testimony that his agency has opened more than 50 investigations of bankers, insurers and credit-rating agencies.