Legal woes mounted yesterday for Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America, as the Connecticut attorney-general accused the group of engaging in deceptive and predatory lending practices.

Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorneygeneral, accused the leading mortgage lender of pushing borrowers into unaffordable loans and of charging excessive legal fees to homeowners in default. The civil complaint alleged that Countrywide made "untrue or misleading representations" to consumers regarding the "material terms, suitability and affordability" of loans.