This MSNBC article reports a $1 billion error in earnings for the year 2001.

Freddie Mac, mired in an accounting scandal, is still expected to report that, on a cumulative basis, it understated earnings by $4.5 billion or more in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the paper said. An independent report last summer said the company ignored accounting rules to push earnings into the future to smooth its results and make it easier to meet profit targets.