#foreclosure fraud settlement

[averagestan-blog]

If you believe this, I’ve got a bridge to sell ya’.  

[averagestan-blog]

Your House on Big Bank Foreclosure Fraud "drugs".

Any questions?

[theamericanbear]

[There] are larger releases from liability than at first contemplated. It’s not just a “robo-signing” settlement. Among the elements released in the settlement include foreclosure fraud, numerous instances of varied servicer abuse, violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, whistleblower claims of fraud in HAMP, origination errors, false documentation in court, violations of the False Claims Act, appraisal fraud at Countrywide, fair lending violations, underwriting inaccuracies on FHA loans, and more. Here’s just one list from the complaint of servicing abuses found by the government:

a. failing to timely and accurately apply payments made by borrowers and failing to maintain accurate account statements; b. charging excessive or improper fees for default-related services; c. failing to properly oversee third party vendors involved in servicing activities on behalf of the Banks; d. imposing force-placed insurance without properly notifying the borrowers and when borrowers already had adequate coverage; e. providing borrowers false or misleading information in response to borrower complaints; and f. failing to maintain appropriate staffing, training, and quality control systems.

This is one portion of what is being released in the settlement. And here’s another list on loan modification noncompliance (which in the case of FHA and other loans, is mandatory):

a. failing to perform proper loan modification underwriting; b. failing to gather or losing loan modification application documentation and other paper work; c. failing to provide adequate staffing to implement programs; d. failing to adequately train staff responsible for loan modifications; e. failing to establish adequate processes for loan modifications; f. allowing borrowers to stay in trial modifications for excessive time periods; g. wrongfully denying modification applications; h. failing to respond to borrower inquiries; i. providing false or misleading information to consumers while referring loans to foreclosure during the loan modification application process; j. providing false or misleading information to consumers while initiating foreclosures where the borrower was in good faith actively pursuing a loss mitigation alternative offered by the Bank; k. providing false or misleading information to consumers while scheduling and conducting foreclosure sales during the loan application process and during trial loan modification periods; l. misrepresenting to borrowers that loss mitigation programs would provide relief from the initiation of foreclosure or further foreclosure efforts; m. failing to provide accurate and timely information to borrowers who are in need of, and eligible for, loss mitigation services, including loan modifications; n. falsely advising borrowers that they must be at least 60 days delinquent in loan payments to qualify for a loan modification; o. miscalculating borrowers’ eligibility for loan modification programs and improperly denying loan modification relief to eligible borrowers; p. misleading borrowers by representing that loan modification applications will be handled promptly when Banks regularly fail to act on loan modifications in a timely manner; q. failing to properly process borrowers’ applications for loan modifications, including failing to account for documents submitted by borrowers and failing to respond to borrowers’ reasonable requests for information and assistance; r. failing to assign adequate staff resources with sufficient training to handle the demand from distressed borrowers; and s. misleading borrowers by providing false or deceptive reasons for denial of loan modifications.

You might ask why any industry with this kind of performance record would be allowed to stay in business. It would be a good question.

Just so you're clear: the banks, miraculously (as a result of this settlement), will not be on the hook for the items in italics above and so far this behavior has been accompanied by only a few torches and pitchforks. We need more torches and pitchforks.

[theforeclosurelawcenter-blog]

HOMEOWNERS MIGHT ONLY SEE ABOUT 6 PERCENT OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS

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