Fraud-closure biz fizzles out, Lawyers Might Increase Fees To Prosecute

Categorized | STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD

Fraud-closure Biz Fizzles Out, Lawyers Might Increase Fees To Prosecute

Posted on15 November 2010. Tags: affirmations, chief judge jonathan lippman, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, new york, new york state bar association

Fraud-closure biz fizzles out

By JOSH KOSMAN
Last Updated: 4:25 AM, November 15, 2010
Posted: 10:34 PM, November 14, 2010

Bank lawyers prosecuting the 80,000 foreclosure cases in New York are all but admitting that the cases they have filed over the past number of years have been riddled with fraud.

In the three weeks-plus since New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put the foreclosure lawyers on notice that any fraud in foreclosure paperwork would be met with severe penalties — he is making lawyers sign affirmations promising they took “reasonable” steps to make sure the legal papers are true — practically no new foreclosure cases have been filed, The Post has learned.

And existing cases have ground to a halt, a source close to the state’s foreclosure practice said.

“Banks do not want to be the first to test the new rules,” the source said.

The virtual shutdown of New York’s foreclosure business comes despite chest-thumping, bravado-filled statements made by some banks in October that they had nothing to be afraid of when it came to foreclosure fraud and that the lawsuits aimed at kicking delinquent homeowners from their houses would continue shortly.

It seems lawyers pressing the foreclosure cases are not willing to bet their law licenses on such claims.

The foreclosure fiasco will be the subject of Senate hearings tomorrow and a House hearing Thursday, when execs from major lenders like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are expected to testify.