Dodd asks Attorney General Holder for investigaiton of Lehman accounting

Dodd asks for Justice investigation of Lehman

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the circumstances that led to the spectacular collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Dodd’s request comes in the wake of a post-mortem review of Lehman’s finances that found Lehman used an accounting gimmick to hide its precarious condition from regulators and shareholders.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s failure in September 2008 was the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history and triggered the financial meltdown that plunged the economy into the most severe recession since the 1930s.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department would review the letter.