And then the homebuilders started going to jail...

Beazer Accountant Fired in Document Destruction Try

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Beazer Homes USA Inc., a homebuilder that's under investigation by the FBI for potential fraud, fired its chief accounting officer for violating the company's ethics policy by attempting to destroy documents.

Beazer fired Michael Rand after an internal probe of the company's mortgage origination business, according to a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Messages left at Rand's home and with Leslie Kratcoski, a Beazer spokeswoman, were not immediately returned.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation of Beazer after the Charlotte Observer reported on March 25 the company sold homes to low-income buyers who couldn't afford them, using mortgages based on expectations the buyer's income would rise. That practice is prohibited by the Federal Housing Administration, which provides loan guarantees for home buyers.