Catherine Austin Fitts born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bachelor's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania. MBA from Wharton in 1978. 1982, she organized a novel municipal bond sale to raise several billion dollars to revitalize NY Subway
- 3 years ago
Fitts went to work at Dillon, Read & Co. While there, in 1982, she organized a novel municipal bond sale to raise several billion dollars to revitalize the New York Subway System, marking the first time that a public agency had sold bonds backed by rider fares. In 1986, Fitts became the first woman promoted to managing director of Dillon, Read & Co. in the investment bank's then 156 year history. At the helm of the bank she became what Businessweek described as "Wall Street's foremost champion" of public utilities bonds.
..After leaving government, Fitts founded Hamilton Securities, an employee-owned brokerage house, which she ran until 1998. In 1993, Hamilton Securities won a contract with HUD to manage its $500 billion investment portfolio. While managing HUD's portfolio, Fitts devised a streamlined mortgage selling software program – Community Wizard – that some have claimed saved the department several hundreds of millions of dollars. In 1997, HUD canceled the Hamilton contract over what it claimed were accounting errors involving the program; an investigation into Hamilton Securities was launched by the HUD Inspector-General, the FBI, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Fitts, the investigation was undertaken as retribution against her; she claims that Community Wizard data revealed that some federally-guaranteed mortgage securities may have been fraudulently issued. One outside complainant, a government contractor, charged insider dealing and bid rigging in its contention that Hamilton Securities had obtained its HUD business due to favoritism, charges Hamilton Securities denied. In 2002 the investigation was closed with prejudice with investigators stating they had found no evidence of wrongdoing by Fitts or Hamilton Securities.However, according to Fitts, all of the company's assets, along with her personal assets, were destroyed defending themselves during the multi-year investigation. In 2017 Fitts co-authored a report, with Michigan State University economist Mark Skidmore, that claimed to find $21 trillion in unauthorized spending by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over a 17-year period. Four days following the report's release, the Department of Defense announced it would undertake the first independent financial audit in its history. The report was subsequently cited by United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as evidence of government funding that could be redirected to healthcare programs. Fitts has claimed that HUD's mission of spurring economic growth is secondary to what she contends is its use as a fundraising mechanism for military and intelligence agencies involving a complex securities scheme usingHUD-backed Ginnie Mae investments.According to Fitts, HUD overpays to rehabilitate public housing and funnels the difference into unaudited black budget programs at the behest of national security agencies.
..After leaving government, Fitts founded Hamilton Securities, an employee-owned brokerage house, which she ran until 1998. In 1993, Hamilton Securities won a contract with HUD to manage its $500 billion investment portfolio. While managing HUD's portfolio, Fitts devised a streamlined mortgage selling software program – Community Wizard – that some have claimed saved the department several hundreds of millions of dollars. In 1997, HUD canceled the Hamilton contract over what it claimed were accounting errors involving the program; an investigation into Hamilton Securities was launched by the HUD Inspector-General, the FBI, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Fitts, the investigation was undertaken as retribution against her; she claims that Community Wizard data revealed that some federally-guaranteed mortgage securities may have been fraudulently issued. One outside complainant, a government contractor, charged insider dealing and bid rigging in its contention that Hamilton Securities had obtained its HUD business due to favoritism, charges Hamilton Securities denied. In 2002 the investigation was closed with prejudice with investigators stating they had found no evidence of wrongdoing by Fitts or Hamilton Securities.However, according to Fitts, all of the company's assets, along with her personal assets, were destroyed defending themselves during the multi-year investigation. In 2017 Fitts co-authored a report, with Michigan State University economist Mark Skidmore, that claimed to find $21 trillion in unauthorized spending by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over a 17-year period. Four days following the report's release, the Department of Defense announced it would undertake the first independent financial audit in its history. The report was subsequently cited by United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as evidence of government funding that could be redirected to healthcare programs. Fitts has claimed that HUD's mission of spurring economic growth is secondary to what she contends is its use as a fundraising mechanism for military and intelligence agencies involving a complex securities scheme usingHUD-backed Ginnie Mae investments.According to Fitts, HUD overpays to rehabilitate public housing and funnels the difference into unaudited black budget programs at the behest of national security agencies.