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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-13/attorneys-general-in-49-states-join-foreclosure-probe.html
(Updates with statement by Iowa attorney general starting in ninth paragraph
.)
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Top legal officers of 49 states opened a joint
investigation into home foreclosures, saying they will probe practices at
banks and mortgage companies.
The states, including Texas, Iowa and New Mexico will conduct a coordinated
inquiry into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and
signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures, Minnesota
Attorney General Lori Swanson said today in an e-mailed statement.
“Our multistate group has begun inquiring whether or not individual
mortgage servicers have improperly submitted affidavits or other documents
in support of foreclosures,” the attorneys said in a statement. “The facts
uncovered in our review will dictate the scope of our inquiry.”
Alabama is the only state that didn’t join the probe, according to a list
from the National Association of Attorneys General. Officials in at least 10
states including Florida and Ohio previously announced separate probes into
questionable foreclosure tactics.
States including California and Colorado asked lenders to stop foreclosures.
The attorney general of Ohio last week sued Ally Financial Inc., claiming
fraud in foreclosure practices.
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, extended a freeze on
foreclosures to all 50 states Oct. 8 as concern spread among federal and
state officials that homes were being seized based on faulty data.
Stopped Repossession
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally’s GMAC Mortgage unit stopped repossession
cases in 23 states where courts supervise home seizures. Litton Loan
Servicing LP, a mortgage-servicing business owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc
., said Oct. 8 that it was halting some foreclosures to review how they’re
handled.
As part of its probe, the group established an executive committee of top
legal officers from 12 states, including California, Iowa, New York,
Illinois and Texas, and the banking regulators of Maryland, New York and
Pennsylvania.
“This group has the backing of nearly every state in the nation to get to
the bottom of this foreclosure mess, and we plan to work together as
thoroughly and expeditiously as possible,” Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller
, who is leading the group, said in a statement.
“Since this issue affects people’s homes and has clear economic
implications, this probe and its outcome need to be fair both to homeowners
and also to lenders,” Miller said.
First Steps
The group’s initial goals include putting an immediate stop to improper
mortgage practices, reviewing past and present practices by mortgage
servicers, evaluating potential remedies and establishing a mechanism for
more effective independent monitoring of future mortgage foreclosure
practices, Miller’s office said in its statement.
“These are starting points, and it’s possible this group may limit, expand
or change its objective,” Miller said.
“This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork,” he said. “It’s also
about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes.”
Some lenders have acknowledged that employees may have completed court
affidavits without confirming their accuracy. In December, a GMAC employee
said in a deposition in a foreclosure case in West Palm Beach, Florida, that
his team of 13 people signed about 10,000 documents a month without
verifying them.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced last week that he sued Ally
in state court, claiming its GMAC unit committed fraud and violated state
consumer law by filing false affidavits in foreclosure proceedings.
Alabama Out
The list of state attorneys general participating distributed today by the
NAAG included all states but Alabama. An accompanying statement didn’t
mention that state or say why one wasn’t represented.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King didn’t immediately return a call for
comment.
“It appears affidavits and other documents have been signed by persons who
did not have personal knowledge of the facts asserted in the documents,”
the organization’s Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group said in the
statement.
“In addition, it appears that many affidavits were signed outside of the
presence of a notary public, contrary to state law. This process of signing
documents without confirming their accuracy has come to be known as ‘robo-
signing.’ We believe such a process may constitute a deceptive and and/or
an unfair practice or otherwise violate state laws.”
(Updates with statement by Iowa attorney general starting in ninth paragraph
.)
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Top legal officers of 49 states opened a joint
investigation into home foreclosures, saying they will probe practices at
banks and mortgage companies.
The states, including Texas, Iowa and New Mexico will conduct a coordinated
inquiry into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and
signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures, Minnesota
Attorney General Lori Swanson said today in an e-mailed statement.
“Our multistate group has begun inquiring whether or not individual
mortgage servicers have improperly submitted affidavits or other documents
in support of foreclosures,” the attorneys said in a statement. “The facts
uncovered in our review will dictate the scope of our inquiry.”
Alabama is the only state that didn’t join the probe, according to a list
from the National Association of Attorneys General. Officials in at least 10
states including Florida and Ohio previously announced separate probes into
questionable foreclosure tactics.
States including California and Colorado asked lenders to stop foreclosures.
The attorney general of Ohio last week sued Ally Financial Inc., claiming
fraud in foreclosure practices.
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, extended a freeze on
foreclosures to all 50 states Oct. 8 as concern spread among federal and
state officials that homes were being seized based on faulty data.
Stopped Repossession
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally’s GMAC Mortgage unit stopped repossession
cases in 23 states where courts supervise home seizures. Litton Loan
Servicing LP, a mortgage-servicing business owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc
., said Oct. 8 that it was halting some foreclosures to review how they’re
handled.
As part of its probe, the group established an executive committee of top
legal officers from 12 states, including California, Iowa, New York,
Illinois and Texas, and the banking regulators of Maryland, New York and
Pennsylvania.
“This group has the backing of nearly every state in the nation to get to
the bottom of this foreclosure mess, and we plan to work together as
thoroughly and expeditiously as possible,” Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller
, who is leading the group, said in a statement.
“Since this issue affects people’s homes and has clear economic
implications, this probe and its outcome need to be fair both to homeowners
and also to lenders,” Miller said.
First Steps
The group’s initial goals include putting an immediate stop to improper
mortgage practices, reviewing past and present practices by mortgage
servicers, evaluating potential remedies and establishing a mechanism for
more effective independent monitoring of future mortgage foreclosure
practices, Miller’s office said in its statement.
“These are starting points, and it’s possible this group may limit, expand
or change its objective,” Miller said.
“This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork,” he said. “It’s also
about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes.”
Some lenders have acknowledged that employees may have completed court
affidavits without confirming their accuracy. In December, a GMAC employee
said in a deposition in a foreclosure case in West Palm Beach, Florida, that
his team of 13 people signed about 10,000 documents a month without
verifying them.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced last week that he sued Ally
in state court, claiming its GMAC unit committed fraud and violated state
consumer law by filing false affidavits in foreclosure proceedings.
Alabama Out
The list of state attorneys general participating distributed today by the
NAAG included all states but Alabama. An accompanying statement didn’t
mention that state or say why one wasn’t represented.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King didn’t immediately return a call for
comment.
“It appears affidavits and other documents have been signed by persons who
did not have personal knowledge of the facts asserted in the documents,”
the organization’s Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group said in the
statement.
“In addition, it appears that many affidavits were signed outside of the
presence of a notary public, contrary to state law. This process of signing
documents without confirming their accuracy has come to be known as ‘robo-
signing.’ We believe such a process may constitute a deceptive and and/or
an unfair practice or otherwise violate state laws.”