The Associated Press reports that Countrywide Financial Corp (NYSE: CFC) employees are suing their employer for encouraging them to invest in Countrywide stock for their 401ks despite knowing that it was a bad investment.

The minute I read this story it reminded me of Enron. How so? As you may recall the formerly living Enron Chair, Ken Lay, was giving speeches to Enron employees touting its stock even as he was dumping shares. After Enron went bankrupt, employees sued Enron — but they sued an empty bag.

Is this pattern recurring at Countrywide? Well its CEO has been dumping the stock — yielding options gains of $118 million — since December when it traded at $40 — that’s 59% higher than the current price. But unlike Enron, I am not sure Countrywide is headed for bankruptcy. Moreover, having seen what happened to Enron employees, I’d like to think that Countrywide’s workers might be a little smarter about diversifying their retirement savings.

So while those employees don’t seem to have learned the lessons of Enron, their lawyers have. That’s because they’re suing Countrywide before it runs out of cash to pay a juicy settlement.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Countrywide securities.

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