What the heck is going on with our government leaders? Are they trying to stop Florida homeowners from suing banks and mortgage lenders for foreclosure fraud and other injuries that Florida property owners have experienced due to Foreclosure Fraud (robosigning, etc.)?
Yes. It looks like they are trying to do exactly that: block the homeowner lawsuits.
Immunity for the Banks Is Being Negotiated by the Attorneys General and the Feds
In today’s news, Reuters is reporting that immunity is on the table in the negotiations between the banks and the 50 attorneys general in the Foreclosure Fraud — and that the 5 largest banks in the country (Ally Financial, Bank of America, CitiGroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) are in talks to pay around $25 billion in penalties in exchange for getting immunity from civil lawsuits given to the them not only by the federal government, but by all 50 states. Oh, and the banks agree to conform to the new foreclosure rules and procedures ironed out in the negotiations, too.
Banks Just Keep On Robosigning and Filing Bad Documents – Even After They Signed Agreements with the Attorneys General to Stop
When the bank representatives were called to testify before Congress about the daily (almost hourly) stories of foreclosure fraud popping up across the country, they explained to everyone at the Congressional hearings (on the record, under oath) that these were just mistakes — nothing intentional — and that they were halting foreclosures to make sure the mistakes didn’t happen any longer. They actually signed something called “consent orders” to confirm their intention to fix everything.
Sounds responsible – to stop the process, and fix the mistake. Except, according to the Reuters “Special Report” that was published this week, robosigning continues even today not only by little banks in parts of the country, but by the big banks that are the ones setting at the negotiation table with the 50 attorneys general and the federal government representatives.
The Reuters investigation has revealed that at least 5 of the 14 mortgage loans servicers who signed those consent orders are violating them: Bank of America, HSBC, Bank USA, GMAC Mortgage, One West, and Wells Fargo.
What are they doing? They are still robo-signing (signing documents without bothering to read them, etc.) Plus, they are still filing documents in the public record as part of foreclosure proceedings that are false and phony. Reuters has uncovered “document fabrication” as well as robo-signing.
Some Members of Congress Are Taking Action – Get Involved! Call Your Congressman! Don’t Let Them Block Wrongful Foreclosure Lawsuits!
Already, some members of Congress are beginning to fight against the banks getting away with the continued wrongdoing — Representative Maxine Waters of California issued a press release today where she identifies members of both the House and Senate jointly calling for immediate action in light of the Reuters story. Representative Waters has also written to the heads of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency demanding their immediate involvement here.
What can you do? Contact those who represent you in Congress (both Senators, your Representative in the House) and let them know that you oppose immunity for these wrongdoers. Contact the members of Congress that signed Representative Waters’ letter, too, and give them your support.
You should do this because the federal government and the state attorneys general do have the power to grant immunity to these banks – and by them doing so, it will bar some kinds of civil lawsuits related to these wrongful foreclosures. Unfortunately, it looks like they just might do this, leaving the homeowner in Florida and elsewhere to bear the burden of the evil actions of these lenders.
