By Freddie Mooche

(AXcess News) Washington - The now defunct investment bank, Lehman Brothers, collapsed as a result of the recession, though its ex-CEO, Richard Fuld, blamed the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, saying the decision not to provide support when other financial institutions received it was to blame.

Rumors of a deliberate move to crush Lehman Brothers by other top Wall Street investment banks have circulated for months, though with Fuld's testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday the former CEO suggests it was the Fed who undermined Lehman's collapse.

Lehman's failure in 2008 was considered a keystone in bringing about the financial crisis though Fuld says the Federal Reserve carried on a "double standard" in supporting certain financial institutions with government bailout funding while letting others collapse.

Fuld says Lehman Brothers problems where the result of "uncontrollable market forces and the incorrect perception and accompanying rumors that Lehman did not have sufficient capital to support its investments."

Lehmans assets were devoured for steep discounts and absorbed by other investment banking firms at the time of Lehman Brothers' collapse, which was steered by a combination of other investment banks willing to buy those assets and decisions made at the Federal Reserve.