No Criminal Charges: All 50 States Ready To Settle Foreclosure Fraud Probe Of Largest Banks
Video - Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) - The five largest loan servicers, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, may be the first to settle with all 50 state attorneys general probing foreclosure fraud, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.
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The five largest loan servicers, including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., may be the first to settle with the 50 state attorneys general probing foreclosure practices, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.
No settlements have been reached yet, Miller said yesterday in a phone interview. The other three are Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Ally Financial Inc., said Miller, the leader of the 50-state investigation. The five have 59 percent of the U.S. market, Miller said.
“What we’re looking at is five separate agreements with the five largest servicers,” Miller said. “We’re still a ways away” from reaching agreements, he said. “We’re working very hard to figure out what should be in the settlement.”
All 50 U.S. states are investigating whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. The probe, announced Oct. 13, came after JPMorgan and Ally Financial’s GMAC mortgage unit said they would stop repossessions in 23 states where courts supervise home seizures, and Bank of America, the largest U.S. lender, froze foreclosures nationwide.
The group isn’t pursuing a criminal investigation, Miller said. “Our focus is to reform the servicing process and that’s inherently civil, not criminal,” he said.
In an interview last week, Miller said the group might consider matters including whether servicers are charging borrowers appropriate fees.
“We hear stories far too often of it taking months before servicers get back to people, or they lose documents and that they don’t modify a loan when it makes sense,” Miller said last week.
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Jan 4, 2011 at 3:10 PM
Reader Comments (17)
After that, go down and open an account at a local bank or CU and pull your money from these TBTF banks.
This is ridiculous... the banks could commit murder, with documented proof tying the act to everyone from the trigger man up to the CEO, and they'd face simple fines... Hell, not even fines that actually "punish" them for their behavior! If you averaged $100 per gas station robbed, and faced a 20% chance of getting caught and found guilty, and then only faced a fine of $200 once you were found guilty, who would NOT start robbing gas stations?! (Morals aside)
This isn't going to stop until heads roll, and a slap on the hand is not heads rolling... bastards.
"Certainly they want to stop any problems with documents"
"Problems?" The "problems with documents" have a name, it's called FRAUD, FORGERY, and PERJURY! Why don't these MSM sheep call it for what it is? These aren't hiccups in the documentation process... this isn't someone not crossing a T or dotting an I... it's flat out fraud! They misrepresented loans, they're intentionally stonewalling customers who have legitimate re-finance needs, they forged signatures, they've shredded documents, they've robo-signed dead people's names on legal documents, they've used notaries who never witnessed original signatures...
FRAUD is the word you're looking for, not "problems with documents"...
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/01/summers_to_head.html
I could have driven to BoA quicker than ay responnse they ever gave me.
i do not know what state they are ina nd it wouldnt matter if i had to swimm to Hawai.
Mike is 100% right we need to support smaller banks and busnisses.
I predict record contributions for the 2012 graft season.
In Ohio, writing the AG will do no good. The people have spoken, and elected the American Bankers Association choice for AG.
The people have spoken. Even the tea party stood away from this gun banning Liberal bought and paid for Republican. What good is electing a liberal with an (R) behind their name anyway?
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/ohiopolitics/entries/2010/09/28/ohio_tea_party_pac_endorses_co.html
But will that happen. Its all up to the people. Close your accounts. Stop using debit cards. Go to local banks. Don't use any of their services. Boycott the bitches. Its really not difficult. Ya just need to give a damn.
State Attorney General Tom Miller seems to have given American consumers false hope that we would not sink in the Economic Titanic, created from BLATANT FINANCIAL FRAUD & GREED.
The settlement “deal” show that working class people have no real surety for consumer rights. It shows that Americans cannot afford to rely on lawmakers for our well-being; and we must broaden our knowledge base –for our good, as well as our loved ones and neighbors.
Regarding foreclosure fraud, appalling facts are contained in the Petition: “Request for Congressional Foreclosure Panel to Examine Foreclosure Lawyers” @ http://chn.ge/eU2zA. As people continue signing and sharing that petition, perhaps each consumer can bombard Attorneys Generals with copies, and compel AG’S to investigate and prosecute wrongdoers.
More than ever –aside from lawmakers, investigative reporters who put their safety on the line, and news media– average citizens need also to TAKE INITIATIVES for a better America.
*Commentary: “Emerging Battleground on Mortgage Abuses: Foreclosure Mills” @ http://t.co/riJXgou
* Foreclosure Frauds, Wells Fargo-the Fox in Charge @ http://bit.ly/bWpQCj
*Request for Congressional Foreclosure Panel to Examine Foreclosure Lawyers @ http://chn.ge/eU2zAm
Funny, 2009, Bernanke was person of the year. Wonder what they think of Jefferson and Jackson these days...
It is not like we were warned or anything.
I wonder what they would have thought about Bernanke in Jeffersons day.
Funny how things always change for the "better", gotta love ignorant herd animals, the barn is on fire and they still run in.
I second denmason, Off.With.Their.Heads!