SEC Drops Three Charges Against Thornburgh Execs

One of the high-profile lawsuits brought in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown has been quietly whittled down.

According to a Reuters report, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped three of the five remaining civil claims against two executives of the now-defunct Thornburg Mortgage Inc. The SEC made no public mention of its actions, with news of the dropped charges being made via court filings.

The SEC filed its lawsuit in 2012 against Thornburg's CEO Larry Goldstone, Chief Financial Officer Clarence Simmons and Chief Accounting Officer Jane Starrett, accusing them of hiding the company's perilous financial health prior to the financial crisis. In May, Starrett agreed to pay $25,000 in a settlement that did not require her to admit the allegations.

Goldstone and Simmons went to trial this year, but a federal jury found them not liable on five out of 10 counts while deadlocking on the remaining charges. A retrial is scheduled for February and will focus on the two remaining charges.