Fannie, Freddie Probe Widens

The government probe into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac widened as the mortgage giants disclosed they are under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies, which were seized by the government three weeks ago, said that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the SEC have opened investigations over accounting, disclosure and corporate governance matters relating to events dating to Jan. 1, 2007. A federal grand jury convened by the U.S. attorney issued subpoenas to the companies asking for documents, and the SEC directed the companies to preserve their records.