You would be hard-pressed to find a person who was not affected by the 2008 Housing Bubble. Millions of Americans watched their homes and life savings fall through their fingers, able to do nothing about it. With its rising mortgages, fluctuating home values and rampant foreclosures, the housing crisis stemmed from a long line of erroneous financial circumstances and was the leading cause of the 2007 American recession.

Despite the fact that the housing bubble’s causers and causes are vast and various-from mortgage bankers, underwriters, low short-term interest rates, negligent mortgage guidelines, investment banks and even homebuyers themselves-only one individual was found liable for their part in the 2008 financial crisis. Rebecca Steele.

Steele’s indictment was set in motion with the federal government’s case against Bank of America’s Countrywide for their issuance of unstable mortgages prior to the financial crisis; the accusation came with an additional $1.27 billion penalty for Bank of America. Edward O’Donnell, the whistleblower who received $57 million for his role in exposing the case, and was expected to earn an additional $1.6 million reward upon the case’s conclusion, pointed the finger at Steele, the only woman in senior management at Countrywide.

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