Tag Archives: Fairholme Funds

The Net Worth Sweep, or the sweeping of all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits into Treasury, has been under more intense scrutiny as of late.

Fairholme Funds, one of the largest GSE investors, sued the government in 2013 for sweeping of GSE profits into the U.S. Department of Treasury and recently noted that "a “common sense solution" will prevail.

In late January, Judge Magaret Sweeney denied the government's attempt to stay court proceedings in the case, ruling that Fairholme could continue to pursue its lawsuit against the government, which was originally filed in 2013. The suit claims that the sweeping of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits into Treasury, a practice authorized by Congress in August 2012, equates to taking private property for public use without "just compensation," which is forbidden by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Judge Royce Lambert dismissed lawsuits filed in 2013 by investors at Fairholme Funds, led by Bruce Berkowitz, and Perry Capital with regards to the government's "sweeping" of GSE profits into the U.S. Treasury. The investors believed that the diversion of GSE profits created a "windfall" for the government while short changing GSE shareholders.