VIENNA, VA. - The chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, one of the mortgage giants at the heart of the nation's financial meltdown, was found dead in his basement early Wednesday morning in what police said was an apparent suicide.
David Kellermann, 41, apparently hanged himself in his suburban Washington home.
Kellermann was promoted in September when the government seized the mortgage company and ousted its top two executives. Neighbors said he had lost a noticeable amount of weight under the strain of the new job. Some neighbors said they suggested he quit to avoid the stress, but that he had responded that he wanted to help the company through its problems.
Kellermann supervised about 500 people at Freddie Mac's McLean, Va., headquarters and was working on the first-quarter financial report, due by the end of May. Federal regulators closely oversee the company's books. That relationship has been tense and stressful, with Kellermann, who'd been there 16 years, working long hours, a colleague said. The company lost more than $50 billion last year.
Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae have been criticized for plans to pay more than $210 million in retention bonuses. Kellermann got $170,000 and was to receive another $680,000 over the next year. Federal officials said he was not a target or subject of investigation.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
