Beazer Homes subpoenaed by U.S. Attorney's Office

Beazer Homes USA Inc. said Thursday it has received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina seeking documents related to the company's mortgage origination services.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Atlanta-based Beazer Homes said the U.S. Attorney's office has "made no allegations of wrongdoing." Responding to media reports that the FBI and Internal Revenue Service are also involved in the investigation, the company said it has not received requests for information or documents from those agencies.

The U.S. Attorney's Office launched its investigation following a series of stories in the Charlotte Observer questioning the role of the company's mortgage lending subsidiary in financing homes built by the parent company.

The Observer reported that at least 388 of the 2,900 homes Beazer built in Mecklenburg County, N.C., between 1997 and 2006 have foreclosed, and that some of the company's actions violated federal lending rules. Beazer has denied any wrongdoing.

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