Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders sued the U.S., alleging that the 2008 takeover of the housing lending giants was illegal and cost investors billions of dollars, Bloomberg reports.

The takeover of the mortgage companies by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, “while beneficial to the economic welfare of the nation, destroyed the value of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s common and preferred stock and trampled the private ownership rights” of shareholders, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington.