Bank Fraud should never be tollerated, nor should anyone get away with breaking the law. Everything they have touched was emerged with FRAUD! They detroyed US and we ARE BROKEN!
These are addicts and they need serious REHAB not a BAILOUT!
Philly-
Delaware’s Attorney General Beau Biden is leading calls for renewed investigation and prosecution of giant US banks for their role in the home foreclosure mess.
But Delaware’s Governor Jack Markell, worried about thousands of bank jobs in Wilmington, wants to settle the “controversies” quickly so banks start lending again (and hiring his voters in recession-wracked Delaware).
Both are Democrats. The Attorney General is the son of former US Sen., now Vice President, Joe Biden. The senator’s role in shaping US banking policy includes his crucial support for the GOP- and credit card bank-backed US bankruptcy reform law of 2004 – which ended up boosting foreclosures, according to this report by a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia scholar.
As the housing market deteriorated in April 2007, Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd reported to Congress on his company’s health. The firm’s exposure to subprime loans, he told lawmakers, “remains minimal, less than 2.5 percent of our book.”
Within 18 months, U.S. regulators seized the government- sponsored mortgage firm and its smaller sibling, Freddie Mac, after losses on soured loans pushed them to the brink of insolvency. The two firms have drawn more than $150 billion in life support from the Treasury since then.
CHARLOTTE, N.C./NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — three of the biggest banks in the United States — said they could face fines from a regulatory probe into the industry’s foreclosure practices.
The statements, made in regulatory filings on Friday, are the most direct admission yet from major banks that they could have to pay significant amounts of money to settle probes and lawsuits alleging that they improperly foreclosed on homes.
Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the largest U.S. bank by assets, said the probe could lead to “material fines” and “significant” legal expenses in 2011.
Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said it is likely to face fines or sanctions, such as a foreclosure moratorium or suspension, imposed by federal or state regulators. It said some government agency enforcement action was likely and could include civil money penalties.
Citigroup Inc (C.N) said it could pay fines or set up principal reduction programs.
The biggest U.S. mortgage lenders are being investigated by 50 state attorneys general and U.S. regulators for foreclosing on homes without having proper paperwork in place or without having properly reviewed paperwork before signing it.
The bad documentation threatens to slow down the foreclosure process and invalidate some repossessions.
UPDATE: 49 ALL 50 State Attorney Generals…ALABAMA is signing up as well. CONFIRMED.
“What we have seen are not mere technicalities,” said Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. “This is about the private property rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudulent evidence.”
Officials in 49 states launch foreclosure probe
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer – 1 min ago
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WASHINGTON – Officials in 49 states and the District of Columbia have launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage companies mishandled documents and broke laws in foreclosing on hundreds of thousands of homeowners.
The states’ attorneys general and bank regulators will examine whether mortgage company employees made false statements or prepared documents improperly.
Alabama was the only state not to join the investigation.
Attorneys general have taken the lead in responding to a nationwide scandal that’s called into question the accuracy and legitimacy of documents that lenders relied on to evict people from the homes. Employees of four large lenders have acknowledged in depositions that they signed off on foreclosure documents without reading them.
More than 2.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since the recession started in December 2007, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Another 3.3 million homes could be lost to foreclosure or distressed sale over the next four years, according to Moody’s Analytics.
The officials said they intend to use their investigation to fix these problems in the mortgage industry.
“This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the probe. “It’s also about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes.”
Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage Unit, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. already have halted questionable foreclosures. Other banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. have not stopped processing foreclosures, saying they did nothing wrong.
In a joint statement, the officials said they would look into evidence that legal documents were signed by mortgage company employees who “did not have personal knowledge of the facts asserted in the documents. They also said that many of those documents appear to have been signed without a notary public witnessing that signature, a violation of most state laws.
“What we have seen are not mere technicalities,” said Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. “This is about the private property rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudulent evidence.”
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