No. 22 of The Subprime 25: American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.

Introduction

Total high-interest loans 2005-2007:

At least $15.3 billion

Federal bailout money received:

None

Company overview

• Status: CLOSED. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. purchased the servicing unit of the company.
• History: American Home Mortgage rapidly rose to $1 billion in annual loan volume within about a decade. By October 2006, it claimed to be the tenth largest retail lender in the nation. It stopped lending and closed its doors in August 2007 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the same month.
• Parent/subsidiary companies:
• CEO: Founder/CEO: Michael Strauss
  • Most recent salary: 2006 – $907,185; bonus, $2,637,000
• Location: Melville, New York
• Year founded: 1987
• Backers: Bankruptcy filings show the company’s top creditors included Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Bear Stearns.

Lobbying overview

• Lobbying: None found. **
• Total Contributions: At least $46,676 *
• Top Recipients:
  1. Representative Roy Blunt, R-Missouri $5,000
  2. Representative Peter Roskam, R-Illinois $4,900
  3. Governor Bill Richardson, D-New Mexico $4,600
  4. National Republican Congressional Committee $4,350
  5. The Desert Caucus (PAC) $4,200

** Lobbying totals calculated by the Center for Public Integrity using data from the Senate Office of Public Records.

* Contribution grand total includes employee and soft money contributions from the lender and its subsidiaries. Top recipient totals include employee and political action committee contributions. Data provided by CQ Money Line, analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.