Fannie Mae, KPMG Reach $153M Settlement with Ohio Plaintiffs

""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/index.html and Dallas-based accounting firm, ""KPMG"":http://www.kpmg.com/US/en/Pages/default.aspx agreed to a $153 million settlement with a group of Ohio shareholders this week. Pending approval from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the settlement will end multi-year litigation started in 2004.

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The ""Ohio Public Employees Retirement System"":https://www.opers.org/ and the ""State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio"":https://www.strsoh.org/ were lead plaintiffs in the class action suit alleging Fannie Mae and KPMG ""issued false and misleading financial reports in violation of federal securities laws,"" according to a press release from ""Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine."":http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Home

The misleading reports allegedly took place between April 2001 and December 2004.

""I am pleased to see this litigation finally resolved on behalf of the Ohio pension funds and other members of this very large class,"" DeWine said. ""This settlement brings closure to this matter and recovery for our Ohio pension funds and class members.""

Despite agreeing to a settlement, both Fannie Mae and KPMG deny wrongdoing.

""KPMG is pleased that this long running litigation, related to matters at Fannie Mae occurring more than a decade ago, has been resolved,"" a spokesperson relayed to theMReport.com in an email.

""KPMG determined that it was in the firm's best interest to put this matter behind us and avoid the significant additional cost, and the distraction and inherent uncertainty, of protracted litigation,"" KPMG stated.

Fannie Mae EVP Bradley Lerman expressed a similar sentiment in an email statement. ""We are satisfied with the outcome and pleased to put the matter behind us.""

""With the Bank of America resolution and this agreement we have closed two long-standing issues and resolved both in a positive manner,"" Lerman said.

Fannie Mae and KPMG will contribute equally to the settlement amount.