August, 2018 - FORECLOSURE FRAUD - Page 2

Archive | August, 2018

Defective Mortgages: Variations on a Theme

Defective Mortgages: Variations on a Theme

Bankruptcy-RealEstate-Insights –

Harker v. PNC Mtg. Co. (In re Oakes), 581 B.R. 500 (6th Cir. B.A.P. 2018) –

A chapter 7 trustee sought to avoid a recorded mortgage with a defective acknowledgment using his strong arm powers. The bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the trustee, and the mortgagee appealed to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP).

The consequences of a defective acknowledgment are determined in the first instance by state law. Typically, if a mortgage does not comply with recording requirements (such as being properly acknowledged), it should not be recorded. In many states, if a mortgage is nevertheless accepted and actually recorded, it will still be treated as though it is unrecorded and thus there will be no constructive notice of the mortgage to a purchaser. This in turn means that a bankruptcy trustee will likely be able to avoid the mortgage using the powers of a hypothetical bona fide purchaser of real estate that has perfected its interest.

Mortgages were routinely avoided in Ohio using this approach until the state statutes were amended to provide that the recording of a document “shall be constructive notice to the whole world of the existence and contents of [the document] as a public record and of any transaction referred to in the public record, including, but not limited to, any transfer, conveyance, or assignment reflected in that record.” As a result, under Ohio law as revised (which governs this case) if a mortgage is actually recorded, a bona fide real estate purchaser is no longer able to avoid the mortgage solely because execution or acknowledgment was defective.

[Bankruptcy-RealEstate-Insights]

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Next steps for homeowners mistakenly foreclosed by Wells Fargo

Next steps for homeowners mistakenly foreclosed by Wells Fargo

Bankrate-

One thing worse than going through a foreclosure is finding out you never should’ve lost your home in the first place.

In a regulatory filing, Wells Fargo revealed that a technical error kept homeowners from qualifying for a mortgage loan modification. According to the bank, 625 customers were denied a loan modification they should have quailed for. About 400 of those borrowers had their homes foreclosed.

“During the course of an internal review, we determined that an automated calculation error may have affected the decision on whether or not to offer or approve some mortgage modifications between April 13, 2010 and Oct. 20, 2015, when the error was corrected,” the bank said in a statement. “We’re very sorry that this error occurred and are providing remediation to the approximately 625 customers who may have been impacted.”

[BANK RATE]

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PIJUAN V. BANK OF AMERICA | FL 3rd DCA – We reverse the trial court’s final foreclosure judgment for BOA and remand with instructions to enter an involuntary dismissal of BOA’s case.

PIJUAN V. BANK OF AMERICA | FL 3rd DCA – We reverse the trial court’s final foreclosure judgment for BOA and remand with instructions to enter an involuntary dismissal of BOA’s case.

3D16-1553 by DinSFLA on Scribd

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TFH 8/12/2018 | If Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment has Already Been Granted Against You, and Your Home Is About To Be Sold or Has Already Been Sold to the Foreclosing Plaintiff or to a Third Party, Do You Know The Ten Things You Can Still Try To Do To Save Your Home?

TFH 8/12/2018 | If Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment has Already Been Granted Against You, and Your Home Is About To Be Sold or Has Already Been Sold to the Foreclosing Plaintiff or to a Third Party, Do You Know The Ten Things You Can Still Try To Do To Save Your Home?

COMING TO YOU LIVE DIRECTLY FROM THE DUBIN LAW OFFICES AT HARBOR COURT, DOWNTOWN HONOLULU, HAWAII

LISTEN TO KHVH-AM (830 ON THE AM RADIO DIAL)

ALSO AVAILABLE ON KHVH-AM ON THE iHEART APP ON THE INTERNET

.

Sunday – August 12, 2018

If Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment has Already Been Granted Against You, and Your Home Is About To Be Sold or Has Already Been Sold to the Foreclosing Plaintiff or to a Third Party, Do You Know The Ten Things You Can Still Try To Do To Save Your Home?

.

 ———————

 

On April 8, 2018 we discussed the following topic: “Congratulations, You Defeated Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment, But Do You Know the Ten Things You Need To Do Next?”

After that show, John and I received numerous emails from listeners asking what if summary judgment was already granted, or worse, my home has already been sold in foreclosure?

On today’s show we discuss the strategy and tactics of saving your home despite losing summary judgment either in a judicial foreclosure or in an ejectment or unlawful detainer action, reviewing your following ten potential alternatives depending on what remedies may be available in your specific jurisdiction, for which information you need to consult with a local attorney:

1. Bankruptcy (Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13);

2. Auction bidding (defeating rigged credit bidding);

3. Rehearing/Reconsideration (recognized grounds);

4. Appeal (Federal versus State);

5. Stay pending appeal (mandatory versus discretionary);

6. Cash for keys, short sales, and deeds in lieu (eliminating deficiency judgments);

7. Writs of Mandamus and/or Prohibition;

8. New Lawsuit for Fraud on the Court;

9. Lis Pendens; and

10. Rights of Redemption.

Please join us this Sunday as we examine perhaps the most complex and confusing area of foreclosure law.

Gary Dubin

Please go to our website, www.foreclosurehour.com, and join your fellow homeowners in the Homeowners SuperPac today.

A Membership Application is posted there waiting for your support.

 

 

.
Host: Gary Dubin Co-Host: John Waihee

.

CALL IN AT (808) 521-8383 OR TOLL FREE (888) 565-8383

Have your questions answered on the air.

Submit questions to info@foreclosurehour.com

The Foreclosure Hour is a public service of the Dubin Law Offices

Past Broadcasts

EVERY SUNDAY
3:00 PM HAWAII 
6:00 PM PACIFIC
9:00 PM EASTERN
ON KHVH-AM
(830 ON THE DIAL)
AND ON
iHEART RADIO

The Foreclosure Hour 12

 

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The Trump Administration Just Found a New Way to Hand Big Banks Even More Money

The Trump Administration Just Found a New Way to Hand Big Banks Even More Money

Splinter-

Do “financial services” include banking? Not according to the Trump administration, whose new rule, issued Wednesday by the Treasury Department, argues there is a difference — and then cites the alleged difference as a means of extending lucrative tax breaks to the banking industry. The new rule represents more than semantic hairsplitting and hands a huge windfall to the banking industry.

At issue is the Trump tax bill’s treatment of so-called pass-through income — or income that is gleaned from partnerships, LLCs and S corporations. The 2017 Republican tax legislation dramatically slashed tax rates on income from such entities, generating a firestorm of criticism that it was a giveaway to real estate moguls like Trump, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and other Republican backers of the legislation who have such entities in their personal portfolios. (The criticism became known as the “Corker Kickback” scandal.)

To reduce some of the cost of the overall tax cut bill — and to mute some of the specific criticism of the pass-through sections — GOP lawmakers included provisions prohibiting certain kinds of businesses from qualifying for the pass-through tax cut. One such business was “financial services,” and its removal countered assertions that the bill could enrich big banks.

[SPLINTER]

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What troops can learn from this Marine veteran’s foreclosure fight

What troops can learn from this Marine veteran’s foreclosure fight

Military Times-

A Marine veteran fighting a 2010 foreclosure lost a round in court last month, as a panel of judges ruled he acted too late to invoke financial protections offered to active-duty service members.

Jacob McGreevey refinanced the loan on his Vancouver, Washington, home in 2006, according to documents from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and returned in 2010, when he requested another refinance; he told OregonLive.comthat he’d missed payments and was expecting the foreclosure procedures that began in August 2010.

He wasn’t aware of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which prohibits lenders from initiating foreclosure proceedings on military personnel serving on active duty without a court order. The current act extends this protection up to nine months after leaving active service, down from a year at the time of McGreevey’s foreclosure.

But regardless of the protection time, McGreevey didn’t know about the act until learning about it while in business school; he didn’t invoke the act until filing a complaint in 2016, after he’d left service.

 [MILITARY TIMES]

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County will yank $3.8M from Wells Fargo over ‘aggressive’ foreclosures

County will yank $3.8M from Wells Fargo over ‘aggressive’ foreclosures

NJ-

Essex County is severing its relationship with Wells Fargo and pulling $3.8 million from its accounts, citing the bank’s “malicious and insensitive” treatment of people and “aggressive” foreclosure practices.

“The predatory lending schemes and aggressive foreclosure proceedings practiced by Wells Fargo destabilizes neighborhoods and has a negative impact on families and the community,” County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the county began yanking its accounts with Wells Fargo in mid-June.

“We were surprised and disappointed to learn of the county’s decision in the press,” Wells Fargo said in a statement. “We have reached out to the county and look forward to discussing their concerns.”

[NJ]

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FULL DEPOSITION OF BANK OF AMERICA REP JESSICA WOODBRIDGE – DEFECTIVE BREACH LETTERS – PARAGRAPH 22

FULL DEPOSITION OF BANK OF AMERICA REP JESSICA WOODBRIDGE – DEFECTIVE BREACH LETTERS – PARAGRAPH 22

This testimony was taken in relation to defective paragraph 22 notices sent
to Alabama borrowers for non judicial foreclosures. Ms. Woodbridge’s
testimony reveals some of the internal workings of BANA, such as their
letter compliance team and committee.

080118 j Woodbridge 1 4PP BANA Corp Rep Para 22 (1) by DinSFLA on Scribd

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Eviction After Foreclosure: New Decisions Clairify the Game

Eviction After Foreclosure: New Decisions Clairify the Game

New York Law Journal-

Eviction after foreclosure is unexpectedly a far more obscure and thorny pursuit than might be imagined. It could certainly benefit from clarity and resolution, something recent cases have helpfully supplied. One elusive area had been (although it could be opined, inappropriately) the effect of a foreclosure upon a tenant not named in the foreclosure action. The other troublesome realm was the obligation to “exhibit” to the recalcitrant holdovers the referee’s deed to the new owners.

The Later Tenant

A new case—meaningfully at the Appellate Term level—lucidly reaffirms a vital principle relating to the right of possession after a foreclosure sale [BH 2628 LLC v. Zully’s Bubbles Laundromat, 57 Misc.3d 63, 61 N.Y.S. 3D 809 (App. Term 2017)].

In this case, the trial court got it wrong and it engendered the time and expense of an appeal to vindicate the foreclosure sale purchaser. This happened too in a recent unreported case (the trial court reversed itself, though) suggesting a too prevalent misconception—that a tenant not named in the action cannot be evicted.

[NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL]

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Forbes: Wilbur Ross Accused of Stealing Over $120 Million

Forbes: Wilbur Ross Accused of Stealing Over $120 Million

H/T Daily Beast

Forbes-

A multimillion-dollar lawsuit has been quietly making its way through the New York State court system over the last three years, pitting a private equity manager named David Storper against his former boss: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The pair worked side by side for more than a decade, eventually at the firm, WL Ross & Co.—where, Storper later alleged, Ross stole his interests in a private equity fund, transferred them to himself, then tried to cover it up with bogus paperwork. Two weeks ago, just before the start of a trial with $4 million on the line, Ross and Storper agreed to a confidential settlement, whose existence has never been reported and whose terms remain secret.

It is difficult to imagine the possibility that a man like Ross, who Forbes estimates is worth some $700 million, might steal a few million from one of his business partners. Unless you have heard enough stories about Ross. Two former WL Ross colleagues remember the commerce secretary taking handfuls of Sweet’N Low packets from a nearby restaurant, so he didn’t have to go out and buy some for himself. One says workers at his house in the Hamptons used to call the office, claiming Ross had not paid them for their work. Another two people said Ross once pledged $1 million to a charity, then never paid. A commerce official called the tales “petty nonsense,” and added that Ross does not put sweetener in his coffee.

There are bigger allegations. Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations—which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine—come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.

[FORBES]

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Whistleblower: Wells Fargo fraud “could have been stopped”

Whistleblower: Wells Fargo fraud “could have been stopped”

CBS-

When the Wells Fargo banking scandal erupted nationally in 2016, amid allegations that bank employees were encouraged to open credit card accounts for customers without their knowledge, leading to even larger, systemic fraud, Jessie Guitron was at home saying “I told you so.”

The scandal rocked the nation and cost the Wells Fargo CEO his job, along with more than 5,000 other company employees. For Guitron, it was too little, too late. She had been ringing the alarm over what she saw as fraud for years.

“It could have been stopped” she tells Alex Ferrer, host of the CBS series “Whistleblower,” airing Friday, Aug. 3 at 9/8c.

[CBS]

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Wells Fargo offers $20,000 to homeowners for improper foreclosures

Wells Fargo offers $20,000 to homeowners for improper foreclosures

AL-

Wells Fargo has admitted a calculation error may have led to the unnecessary foreclosure of as many as 400 homes.

The bank said a mistake allowed for lawyers’ fees to be included in a formula that determined if struggling homeowners qualified for federally backed assistance programs. The error led to 625 customers being incorrectly denied loan modification with 400 of them having their homes foreclosed upon, CNN reported.

The homeowners affected by the error were in the foreclosure process between April 13, 2010 and Oct. 20, 2015. According to financial filings submitted last week, Wells Fargo has set aside $8 million to remediate customer losses, a figure that equals about $20,000 per customer.

[AL]

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Wells Fargo: Mistake contributed to hundreds of foreclosures

Wells Fargo: Mistake contributed to hundreds of foreclosures

Hartford Courant-

Wells Fargo says a company mistake contributed to hundreds of foreclosures because it miscalculated customers’ eligibility for mortgage modifications.

The bank said in a filing Friday the error caused about 625 customers to be denied, or not offered, loan modifications they otherwise qualified for. Foreclosures were completed in about 400 of the cases.

The customers had been using federal programs that helped families at risk of losing homes. Spokesman Tom Goyda says there’s no breakdown of where the foreclosures occurred.

[HARTFORD COURANT]

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TFH 8/5/18 | Foreclosure Workshop #64: U.S. Bank v. Jewel Moore — Learn from Jewel Moore Live How She Was Victimized by the Foreclosure System in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and What Her Case Teaches Us About the Reforms in the Foreclosure System That Are Desperately Needed

TFH 8/5/18 | Foreclosure Workshop #64: U.S. Bank v. Jewel Moore — Learn from Jewel Moore Live How She Was Victimized by the Foreclosure System in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and What Her Case Teaches Us About the Reforms in the Foreclosure System That Are Desperately Needed

COMING TO YOU LIVE DIRECTLY FROM THE DUBIN LAW OFFICES AT HARBOR COURT, DOWNTOWN HONOLULU, HAWAII

LISTEN TO KHVH-AM (830 ON THE AM RADIO DIAL)

ALSO AVAILABLE ON KHVH-AM ON THE iHEART APP ON THE INTERNET

.

Sunday – August 5, 2018

Foreclosure Workshop #64: U.S. Bank v. Jewel Moore — Learn from Jewel Moore Live How She Was Victimized by the Foreclosure System in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and What Her Case Teaches Us About the Reforms in the Foreclosure System That Are Desperately Needed

.

 ———————

 

For years, following the Mortgage Crisis of 2008, lenders have been fined by regulators nearly one-half-trillion dollars, if not more, for admittedly submitting fraudulent loan documentation under oath in foreclosure cases in state and federal courts.

And more recently a growing number of state and federal judges have understandably denied lenders summary judgment where their supporting foreclosure documents have either been in violation of the rules of evidence, or suspiciously or outright fraudulent.

Yet, despite all such welcome, albeit belated, official leadership, the legal system, including its appellate courts, have woefully lacked adequate means of lower level supervision and enforcement of their decisions.

At the same time there have been no criminal prosecutions of those falsifying loan documentation, nor the sanctioning of foreclosure attorneys filing false documents and supporting declarations in court (only foreclosure defense attorneys apparently making pests of ourselves trying to enforce the rules of evidence and appellate decisions, combatting courtroom fraud).

As a result, numerous low visibility abuses of homeowners in foreclosure proceedings continue to escape notice today, despite, for instance, contrary enlightened appellate decisions, such as Reyes-Toledo, Mattos, and Behrendt in Hawaii discussed on previous shows.

The Foreclosure Hour in the past has highlighted the unjust ordeal of some individual homeowners being abused by the foreclosure system.

We intend to bring more such individual experiences nationwide to our listeners’ attention as one of the best ways to encourage needed reform as this is a national problem in the United States.

We are pleased therefore to have as our special guest with us on the telephone this Sunday, Jewel Moore, whose compelling story of abuse takes place in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Jewell’s original lender in 2003 was “Millenium Funding Group,” its name misspelled in the note and mortgage, which was a dba of another company, neither of whom at the time were apparently licensed to make loans in Hawaii, but did.

As an undisclosed dba Millennium furthermore had no capacity to even record mortgage documents in its name, and the securitized trust assignee supposedly was U.S. Bank, N.A. as Trustee, eventually Jewel’s foreclosing plaintiff.

First, the declaration supporting the summary judgment motion as usual was totally in violation of the evidentiary rules recently highlighted in Reyes-Toledo, Mattos, and Behrendt, containing completely inadmissible hearsay, grounds alone for denying summary judgment.

Second, Jewell secured an Affidavit from Millenium’s President (the correct spelling is “Millennium”), whose signature was on an unaffixed Allonge dated November 24, 2003, described thereon to be the President of Millennium, endorsing the Millennium note to U.S. Bank, as Trustee, whose Affidavit states that his purported signature on the Allonge is a complete forgery and that he was not even the President of Millennium, only a District Sales Manager.

Thus, that completely breaks the chain of ownership of the mortgage loan rendering foreclosure by U.S. Bank impossible whether it had possession of the note or not, not being the listed payee, and an earlier version of the note submitted in Bankruptcy Court proceedings did not even have the Allonge attached.

At the very least, there were sufficient contradictions and confusion for denying summary judgment. Right?

Wrong! Jewell lost summary judgment and was very recently evicted from her home by strong arm use of excessive force, her belongings stored with several of her substantial assets stolen, and she was physically assaulted she claims by the serving deputy sheriff while being removed from her home and arrested for criminal trespass, contempt and other charges, and now faces criminal prosecution.

Jewell explains that her foreclosure Judge accepted the argument of opposing counsel that since she was not a party to the Allonge she had no standing to object to the forgery, and that the MERS mortgage assignment is the only thing that matters.

Her opposing attorney was the same attorney who argued the Mattos case against me in the Hawaii Supreme Court using roughly the same script and lost.

It was a MERS loan, and he argued that the MERS assignment of the Mortgage [notes are not transferable by way of an assignment according to the UCC] to U.S. Bank trumps not being the payee on the note to Millennium and that the borrower had no standing to challenge standing because MERS transferred the mortgage (“even if Defendant’s theory that the Allonge was forged is true, however, it does not matter”).

Please join John Waihee, Jewell Moore, and me on this Sunday’s show, and invite your neighbors and friends to listen in, so that collectively through public education we can put a stop to such abuses that continue to turn our foreclosure courts mindlessly into collection agencies for crooks where conclusive even evidence of forgery does not matter.

Gary

Please go to our website, www.foreclosurehour.com, and join your fellow homeowners in the Homeowners SuperPac today.

A Membership Application is posted there waiting for your support.

 

 

.
Host: Gary Dubin Co-Host: John Waihee

.

CALL IN AT (808) 521-8383 OR TOLL FREE (888) 565-8383

Have your questions answered on the air.

Submit questions to info@foreclosurehour.com

The Foreclosure Hour is a public service of the Dubin Law Offices

Past Broadcasts

EVERY SUNDAY
3:00 PM HAWAII 
6:00 PM PACIFIC
9:00 PM EASTERN
ON KHVH-AM
(830 ON THE DIAL)
AND ON
iHEART RADIO

The Foreclosure Hour 12

 

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Two recession warning signs are here

Two recession warning signs are here

Money CNN-

Housing and rates are worrying some economists that a recession is looming.

“One of the biggest concerns is the housing market,” said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist for Stifel, on CNNMoney’s “Markets Now” live show Wednesday. “It’s throwing up a very large red flag and suggests maybe this 4% growth we saw in the second quarter is not sustainable.”

Home sales have declined in four of the past five months as housing prices have grown — but paychecks have remained stagnant. Many people can’t afford to buy homes, and those who can are taking on a lot of debt toget into them.

[MONEY CNN]

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Wells Fargo Agrees to Pay $2.09 Billion Penalty for Allegedly Misrepresenting Quality of Loans Used in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

Wells Fargo Agrees to Pay $2.09 Billion Penalty for Allegedly Misrepresenting Quality of Loans Used in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Wells Fargo Agrees to Pay $2.09 Billion Penalty for Allegedly Misrepresenting Quality of Loans Used in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

The Justice Department announced today that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and several of its affiliates (Wells Fargo) will pay a civil penalty of $2.09 billion under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) based on the bank’s alleged origination and sale of residential mortgage loans that it knew contained misstated income information and did not meet the quality that Wells Fargo represented. Investors, including federally insured financial institutions, suffered billions of dollars in losses from investing in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) containing loans originated by Wells Fargo.

“This settlement holds Wells Fargo accountable for actions that contributed to the financial crisis,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “It sends a strong message that the Department is committed to protecting the nation’s economy and financial markets against fraud.”

“Abuses in the mortgage-backed securities industry led to a financial crisis that devastated millions of Americans,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, Alex G. Tse. “Today’s agreement holds Wells Fargo responsible for originating and selling tens of thousands of loans that were packaged into securities and subsequently defaulted. Our office is steadfast in pursuing those who engage in wrongful conduct that hurts the public.”

FIRREA authorizes the federal government to seek civil penalties against financial institutions that violate various predicate criminal offenses, including wire and mail fraud. The United States alleged that, in 2005, Wells Fargo began an initiative to double its production of subprime and Alt-A loans. As part of that initative, Wells Fargo loosened its requirements for originating stated income loans – loans where a borrower simply states his or her income without providing any supporting income documentation.

To evaluate the integrity of its increasing volume of stated income loans, Wells Fargo subjected a sample of these loans to “4506-T testing.” A 4506-T form is a government document signed by the borrower during the loan approval process that allows the lender to obtain the borrower’s tax transcripts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 4506-T testing involves comparing the tax transcripts of the borrower with the income stated on the loan application. Wells Fargo implemented 4506-T testing on two of its programs. This testing revealed that more than 70% of the loans that Wells Fargo sampled had an “unacceptable” variance (greater than 20% discrepancy between the borrower’s stated income and the income information reflected in the borrower’s most recent tax returns filed with the IRS), and the average variance was approximately 65%. After receiving these results, Wells Fargo conducted further internal testing. This additional testing, performed by quality assurance analysts, was designed to determine if “plausible” explanations existed for the “unacceptable” variances over 20%. This additional step revealed that nearly half of the stated income loans that Wells Fargo tested had both an unacceptable variance and the absence of a plausible explanation for that variance.

The results of Wells Fargo’s 4506-T testing were disclosed in internal monthly reports, which were widely distributed among Wells Fargo employees. One Wells Fargo employee in risk management observed that the “4506-T results are astounding” yet “instead of reacting in a way consistent with what is being reported WF [Wells Fargo] is expanding stated [income loan] programs in all business lines.”

The United States alleged that, despite its knowledge that a substantial portion of its stated income loans contained misstated income, Wells Fargo failed to disclose this information, and instead reported to investors false debt-to-income ratios in connection with the loans it sold. Wells Fargo also allegedly heralded its fraud controls while failing to disclose the income discrepancies its controls had identified. The United States further alleged that Wells Fargo took steps to insulate itself from the risks of its stated income loans, by screening out many of these loans from its own loan portfolio held for investment and by limiting its liability to third parties for the accuracy of its stated income loans. Wells Fargo sold at least 73,539 stated income loans that were included in RMBS between 2005 to 2007, and nearly half of those loans have defaulted, resulting in billions of dollars in losses to investors.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with investigative support from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no admission of liability.

Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Mortgage Fraud
Securities, Commodities, & Investment Fraud
Press Release Number:
18-1004
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