On October 27, 2011 Attorney General Beau Biden filed a lawsuit against the mortgage registry MERS that is at the center of the housing crisis. The suit charges that MERS has repeatedly violated the Delaware’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
If you are a Delaware resident and believe you have been harmed by MERS, contact the Attorney General’s Office by e-mail at mortgage@state.de.us or call the Attorney General’s Mortgage Hotline at 800-220-5424.
What is MERS: In 1995, banks and others in the mortgage lending industry created the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (“MERS”) – a national registry to track ownership and servicing rights for residential mortgages. This system is designed to facilitate mortgage securitizations and circumvent the traditional county Recorders of Deeds offices. The rapid rise in popularity of mortgage backed securities and their subsequent decline in value is a major cause of the housing crisis that sent America’s economy into the largest collapse since the Great Depression.
Foreclosure crisis in Delaware: Delaware is experiencing a record rate of foreclosures. The foreclosure rate tripled from 2008 to 2009, rising from 2,000 homes annually to 6,000. A record 6,457 homes were foreclosed on in 2010.
Who owns/uses MERS: There are more than 5,500 members representing the most significant players in the mortgage industry, including: mortgage lenders and servicers (Bank of America, CitiMortgage, Inc., GMAC Residential Funding Corporation, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.); government-sponsored entities (e.g., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac); insurance and title companies and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MERS in Delaware: MERS purports to hold more than 30% of Delaware mortgages. Since January 1, 2008, MERS has filed more than 1,600 foreclosure actions in its own name against Delaware homeowners. Additionally, thousands of other homeowners whose mortgages have been tracked in the MERS system were foreclosed on by entities whose right to the property was unclear because of the unreliability of MERS’ records. Thousands more Delaware homeowners currently hold mortgages with MERS listed as the owner, but with no way to actually determine the true owner.
What is Attorney General Biden alleging: MERS violated Delaware’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by creating an unregulated shadowy registry that is unreliable and inaccurate and blocks homeowners from learning which entity truly owns their mortgage. The complaint highlights three major deficiencies:
• MERS obscures important information from borrowers and what is available to borrowers is frequently inaccurate. • MERS acts without authority • MERS is a “front” organization that does not enforce its own rules
How the mortgage industry works: A mortgage loan taken out by a homeowner is really two documents – the first is a promissory note requiring the borrower to repay the holder of the note. The second document (the mortgage instrument) allows the holder to foreclose on the property if the loan is not repaid. The person or entity holding the note receives the money from the borrower’s monthly mortgage payments.
How securitization works: Banks that make the mortgage loans to homeowners sell the mortgage notes to other financial institutions. Several times over, the loans are bundled into investments known as mortgage-backed securities and the notes are sold to large investment groups, such as pension funds.
Where MERS comes in: As the notes are sold in the securitization process, someone has to service the loans and hold legal title to the mortgage instrument. Servicers do all the work involved with a mortgage loan on the lender side – physically collecting and distributing payments, answering borrowers’ questions, etc. MERS acts as passive place-holder on the County Recorder of Deeds public registry. Additionally, MERS can also file foreclosure actions on behalf of the note-holders in foreclosure proceedings. MERS allows its members to sell mortgages many times over without recording the transactions at the local Recorders of Deeds offices, thereby avoiding fees, eliminating any official paper trail and creating significant confusion that has led to improper foreclosures.
What the lawsuit seeks: The suit asks the Court of Chancery to impose various sanctions on MERS, including requiring it to audit its records to ensure accuracy, stop foreclosing on homes without divulging the true owner of the mortgage, and correct records filed with county Recorder of Deeds that do not list the entity that owns the mortgage. The suit seeks a civil penalty against MERS of up to $10,000 for each willful violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as restitution to borrowers who were harmed by these violations. The exact amount will be determined during trial.
Delaware joined what is becoming a growing legal battle against the mortgage industry today, charging in a Chancery Court suit that consumers facing foreclosure were purposely misled and deceived by the company that supposedly kept track of their loans’ ownership.
By operating a shadowy and frequently inaccurate private database that obscured the mortgages’ true owners, Merscorp made it difficult for hundreds of Delaware homeowners to fight foreclosure actions in court or negotiate new terms on their loans, the suit filed by the Attorney General’s Office said.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he is working with Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to investigate possible criminal acts by financial institutions tied to the foreclosure crisis in an interview today on the cable news network MSNBC.
Tried to get the video clip off the Rachel Maddow show but it would never work. So until it’s fixed there won’t be a video of his interview.
Imagine that a group of arsonists was terrorizing your town. First they’d buy insurance on a stranger’s home, then they’d show up with a blowtorch and a tanker truck filled with gasoline and burn the place down. Imagine that they’ve burned down a thousand homes this way, ruining the lives of the homeowners — and everyone else’s, too, as real estate values plunged and the local economy collapsed.
Now let’s imagine that the Mayor, the DA, and the Chief of Police said they’ve come up with a great “settlement”: The arsonists will pay a small fine, and they’ll never be prosecuted for arson. Plus, if they’re asked very nicely, they’ll also agree to provide a little help to 27 out of the 1,000 families they made homeless — although they’d control the ‘help’ process and the town might wind up footing the bill anyway.
And one more thing: They get to keep the gasoline truck and the blowtorch. ____________________________
People NEED JOBS ..!! I don’t care if you refi or reduce the mortgage 50%… “people” need jobs.
Do all the math you want and all these mortgages will head back into default. Is anyone paying close attention to the economy? Just because AG’s have security and banker back ups, there are millions who can barely put food on the table. So this refinance plan WILL NOT WORK for all!
Again, if anyone does this… you will create new paper to correct any issues that may exist with the original paper trail.
It’s a trap and no wonder this world is failing.
LA Times-
California is reemerging as a central focus for state attorneys general hoping to reach a nationwide wrongful-foreclosure settlement with major banks, even though the Golden State walked away from talks three weeks ago.
Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of the states and federal agencies, met with representatives of the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers in Washington on Friday to discuss details of a new plan aimed at enticing California back into the fold.
Beau Biden, Attorney General for the State of Delaware, has made it his mission along to hold the banks accountable for their behavior in such a way that we can discipline and encourage our way into a system that actually resurrects a positive future for the people in this country. Here’s his interview.
It’s official now and it’s very clear that the AG’s behind this foreclosure fraud settlement are purposely doing something so insane that it does not surprise us. For example, take the Michael Hudson’s iWatch series that takes us behind the scenes of what really went down in Countrywide.
Now take a look at what Reuters is reporting the AG’s want to include in the settlement
In recent days, the state attorneys general agreed to release major banks from claims that they made legal errors when first originating the loans, such as approving loans for borrowers without verifying any income, according to two people familiar with the talks.
Is there any other reports out there of more fraudulent activity we can post so this also gets included in the settlement before it’s wrapped up in the coming few days?
Will add that by signing “new docs” you will create “new paper”… Banks and The “People” that work for them, doing what comes naturally and secretly going around cutting corners? The Fraudulent Twins – When we’re talking about reducing payments to Freddie and Fannie mortgage holders, we’re really talking about reducing payments to ourselves. Lets not forget the talks about the government rental program… inventions never end.
Like everything else they attempt, these too shall fail.
p.s. Flip Flop BS: What ever happened to “A key objection is the “moral hazard” created by the proposal to reduce homebuyers’ loans because it “rewards those who simply choose not to pay their mortgage”?
REUTERS-
The WSJ has the latest mortgage-settlement trial balloon, and it’s pretty weak tea: under the terms of the deal, if (a) you’re underwater on your mortgage, and (b) you’re current on your mortgage payments, and (c) your mortgage is owned by the bank outright, rather than having been securitized, then you would be given the opportunity to refinance your mortgage at prevailing market rates.
This can only mean one thing. Are your mark, get set, go! The settlement is about to be signed, sealed and delivered!
The new wave will also mean more fraud and more title defects America. You continue to get sold out and tossed for the bankers who are too big too fail. Get your money out of these banks immediately. Don’t complain, don’t explain when you continue to get screwed….now, you’re doing this to yourself.
REUTERS-
The paralyzed U.S. housing market is once again up against an obstacle it has seen before — mounting foreclosures.
And a fresh drop in home prices is likely to result.
Banks have stepped up the pace of home seizures after a year-long slowdown brought on by the “robo-signing” scandal in which banks were accused of seizing properties without a proper review of loan documents.
The Obama Administration has finally found something it can agree on with the nation’s big banks: The need for the 50 state attorneys general to finally reach a deal to end the year-long investigation into faulty mortgage foreclosure practices and reach a long-awaited settlement, the FOX Business Network has learned.
People at the big banks say the Obama Administration is prodding the state AGs, led by Iowa’s Tom Miller, to agree on a deal that is currently on the table that calls for fines and revised mortgage foreclosure practices — but also limits banks’ liability on legal action.
Excellent video clip. Watch this and tell me if he doesn’t get the fraud. Delaware, Mass., Nevada and NY should be very proud of their AG’s. We are waiting for the rest to show a bit more strength.
Not Done Until The Core of Mortgage Back Securities Is Investigated.
Bloomberg is reporting this breaking news, saying she “lost confidence” that they will present an agreement to adequately resolve foreclosure disputes.
As soon as more info develops, it shall be posted.
California, be sure you give her your support. This is big news.
LA TIMES-
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris will no longer take part in a national foreclosure probe of some of the nation’s biggest banks, which are accused of pervasive misconduct in dealing with troubled homeowners.
Harris removed herself from talks by a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies investigating abusive foreclosure practices because the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers were not offering California homeowners relief commensurate to what people in the state had suffered, a person familiar with the matter said.
The big banks were also demanding to be granted overly broad immunity from legal claims that could potentially derail further investigations into Wall Street’s role in the mortgage meltdown, the person said.
The removal of California from the discussions is a major blow to fraying efforts…
Lets make this perfectly clear, If one’s job is to enforce the law and make sure the people are protected but choose otherwise, than you must step down and give the power to another who will make sure justice and the rule of law is carried out. Not one person should try to convince the AG not do what they are there to do AND that is to Protect ThePeople. We see what’s going on in Florida and in other states and quite frankly this is deeply disturbing.
LA TIMES-
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is attracting increasing pressure from powerful Golden State players to reject a major settlement with U.S. banks accused of wrongful foreclosures.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has joined a group of California union leaders, activists and politicians in calling the direction of negotiations “a deeply flawed settlement proposal with the banks at the heart of the nation’s mortgage crisis.”
Harris has emerged as a key player in pursuing the nationwide settlement with major U.S. banks accused of wrongfully foreclosing on homeowners. She has been urged to take a hard line by consumer groups seeking help for homeowners devastated by the mortgage crisis.
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives – James Madison
WaPO-
State and federal officials on Friday were again to meet with representatives of the nation’s largest banks, trying to finalize a much-anticipated settlement over shoddy foreclosure practices that remains elusive a year after the abuses first garnered national attention.
People familiar with the negotiations said the session in Washington would center around how broad a release from future liability banks should receive in exchange for agreeing to overhaul their mortgage servicing practices and paying billions of dollars in penalties.
NEW YORK — Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has added his name to a list of state law enforcers who fear that a settlement being negotiated among government officials and big banks isn’t backed by a sufficient investigation into potential wrongdoing.
As law enforcers approach a deal with banks to settle allegations that the companies improperly foreclosed on American homeowners, the banks are pushing for a broad release from liability for actions that have not yet been fully investigated, Conway said in a Thursday email to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, obtained by The Huffington Post.
By raising these concerns, Conway has aligned himself with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and law enforcers from other states who have questioned the adequacy of the groundwork underlying the settlement talks.
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