Freddie's Acting CFO Found Dead

ANUSHA SHRIVASTAVA JAMES R. HAGERTY

The acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, David Kellermann, was found dead at his suburban Washington home early Wednesday.

Officer Shelley Broderick of the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia said there were "no signs of foul play" when police found Mr. Kellermann's body after responding to a call made at 4:48 a.m. ET. Mr. Kellermann was 41 years old.

David Kellermann

Mr. Kellermann's wife told local police he committed suicide, local television station WUSA reported, citing sheriff's deputies in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County.

The police department would only say the case is under "active investigation." Freddie Mac officials didn't have an immediate statement. In a prepared statement, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, "On behalf of the Treasury family, we are deeply saddened by the news this morning of David Kellermann's death. Our deepest sympathies are with his family and his colleagues at Freddie Mac during this difficult time."

Mr. Kellermann became Freddie's acting finance chief in September, succeeding Anthony S. Piszel amid a broader overhaul of top management. He had previously been the company's controller and principal accounting officer.

Mr. Kellermann's job made him responsible for financial controls and reporting at Freddie Mac, a housing-finance company backed by the federal government. He had been with the company for more than 16 years, starting as a financial analyst and auditor in 1992, according to the company's Web site.

Investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department have been questioning officials of Freddie Mac about possible accounting violations and other matters in recent months, the company disclosed in March.

Freddie disclosed in the recent SEC filing that in September it received a federal grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York seeking documents related to accounting, disclosure and corporate-governance matters. That subpoena was later withdrawn, Freddie has disclosed, and the investigation was taken over by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Freddie said the SEC also is investigating and has told the company to preserve documents. Freddie has said it is "cooperating fully in these matters."

Freddie Mac and its sibling Fannie Mae were taken over by the government in September in what would become a string of state interventions in financial-services firms. The housing-finance giants have been hobbled by falling home prices and the subsequent deterioration in their investment portfolios. Freddie has received $30.8 billion in support from the government while Fannie has taken $15.2 billion.