Monaco-based hedge fund firm SRM Global is claiming that Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis and Countrywide Financial’s former CEO Angelo Mozilo knew Countrywide was essentially going under when Bank of America took over the mortgage lender last year.

The hedge fund firm said Mozilo knew that Countrywide was no longer a viable company as early as July 2007. When Lewis agreed to take over Countrywide in January 2008, he also knew that the company was essentially bankrupt, SRM Global claimed. Despite that, both men kept proclaiming publicly that Countrywide had plenty of liquidity.

SRM Global filed a motion in Delaware Chancery Court for leave to start the lawsuit, naming Bank of America, Countrywide, Ken Lewis and Angelo Mozilo, according to court documents.

A spokesman for Bank of America said the company had no comment.

The charges in the lawsuit revealed the machinations that led up to Countrywide’s takeover by Bank of America in the summer of 2008 at a steeply discounted price of $4.1 billion.

Countrywide was a leader in subprime mortgage underwriting, so much so that its name has become practically synonymous with the crisis that followed increased defaults on those loans.

As one of its examples of Mozilo’s tactics, SRM Global referred to an interview with CNBC in which Mozilo derided a Merrill Lynch analyst who downgraded the company in August 2007.

Mozilo said the analyst was responsible for Countrywide depositors, “primarily senior citizens, who stood on-line, frightened to death that Countrywide was going to go bankrupt, to withdraw their money.”

Based on Mozilo’s assurances that the Countrywide was in good shape, SRM Global upped its stake.

When Bank of America agreed to take over countrywide in January 2008, SRM Global at first objected to the deal, saying its $8 per share price was a deep discount to the valuation of Countrywide which then was at about $20 per share. SRM Global claimed that, even though Lewis knew Countrywide was no longer a viable company, he pressed ahead with the deal.

Before the deal closed, Mozilo finally met with SRM Global representatives in June 2008. Mozilo told the hedge fund if the deal didn’t go through, Countrywide would be bankrupt. SRM Global then dropped its challenges and sold its shares at what it said was a loss of about $4.50 per share. SRM Global had amassed about 50 million shares in the company at that point.

Both Mozilo and Lewis are facing mounting criticism, as well as court action, over their leadership. Mozilo is reported to be facing SEC action.

Last month, Bank of America shareholders voted Lewis out of his chairman position. Lewis has been accused of hiding or ignoring losses at Merrill Lynch & Co., which the bank acquired in December. Lewis is still Bank of America’s CEO.