New York, NY —

Two former Bear Stearns executives are expected to testify this week in the first criminal trial related to the subprime mortgage meltdown. WNYC's Lisa Chow reports.

REPORTER: The government is calling Bear Stearns' former head of asset management and its former hedge fund boss to the witness stand.

Prosecutors will ask them about emails from two Bear Stearns employees, Ralph Cioffi and Matt Tannin, who were managing two funds invested in subprime mortgages that collapsed in the summer of 2007. The government says the emails show that Cioffi and Tannin were lying to investors after their funds ran into trouble.

Investors lost $1.6 billion. Cioffi and Tannin could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. For WNYC, I'm Lisa Chow.