(a) Commencement of action; notice. Upon obtaining approval from the Department of Justice, the reviewing official may commence an action to establish liability of the respondent under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) and this part. To commence an action, the reviewing official must issue a notice to the respondent of the allegations of liability against the respondent. The notice shall be mailed, by registered or certified mail, or shall be delivered through such other means by which delivery may be confirmed.

(b) Notice contents. The notice required under this section shall include:

(1) The allegations of liability against the respondent, including the statutory basis for liability, the claim or statement at issue, and the reasons why liability arises from that claim or statement;

(2) A statement that the required approval to issue the notice was received from the Department of Justice;

(3) The amount of the penalty and, if applicable, any assessment for which the respondent may be held liable;

(4) A statement that the respondent may request a hearing by submitting a written response to the notice;

(5) The addresses to which a response must be sent in accordance with §1209.15 of this chapter;

(6) A statement that failure to submit an answer within 30 days of receipt of the notice may result in the imposition of the maximum amount of penalties and assessments sought, without right of appeal;

(7) A statement that the respondent must preserve and maintain all documents and data, including electronically stored data, within the possession or control of the respondent that may relate to the allegations; and

(8) A copy of this part 1217 and part 1209, subpart C of this chapter.

(c) Obligation to preserve documents. Upon the issuance of a notice under this section, FHFA and the respondent shall each preserve and maintain all documents and data, including electronically stored data, within their respective possession or control that may relate to the allegations in the complaint.