There's been a lot of concern about TARP banks and what they've done while on the public dole. Many of these controversies fell into a gray zone: Are customer conferences a no-no in every and all cases? Are business jets always bad, even when they save money? But the Financial Times reports on one practice that would be tough to justify: Cooking the books to qualify for TARP funds.

Neil Barofsky, the inspector general also known as the TARP cop, has launched an investigation. He told the FT: "I hope we don't find a single bank that's cooked their books to try to get money but I don't think that's going to be the case." Banks applying for TARP funds had to prove they were sound, which may have caused some to misstate their financial positions. Another area of concern: The TALF and whether public money might be used to invest in fraudulent mortgages. Barofsky says there have been other crimes as well.

For more:
- here's the article

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