Remember the bank loan modification nightmare that cost millions their homes? BOMBSHELL:

[dixiegrrrrl]

BANK OF AMERICA'S SENIOR LOAN COLLECTOR ADMITS TO LYING BECAUSE HE WAS TOLD TO LIE

Attached is an affidavit of a senior loan collector for BOA that was filed in United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts under case number MDL 2193.

Simone Gordan stated the following under oath:

"Using the Bank of America computer systems I saw that hundreds of customers had made their required trial payments, sent the documents requested of them, but had not received permanent modifications.
I also saw records showing that Bank of America employees have told people that documents had not been received when, in fact, the computer system showed that Bank of America had received the documents.
This was consistent with the instructions my colleagues and I were given.
We were told to lie to customers and claim that Bank of America had not received documents it had requested, and that it had not received trial payments (when in fact it had).
We were told that admitting that the bank received documents would "open a can of worms" since the bank was required to underwrite a loan modification within 30 days of receiving those documents and it did not have sufficient underwriting staff to complete the underwriting in that time....
Site leaders regularly told us that the more we delayed the HAMP modification process, the more fees Bank of America would collect.
We were regularly drilled that it was our job to maximize fees for the bank by fostering and extending the lay of the ... modification process by any means we could --- this included lying to customers.
For example, we were instructed by our supervisors at Bank of America to delay modifications by telling homeowners who called in at their documents were "under review," when, in fact, there had been no review or any other work done on the file."

" Employees who were caught admitting that Bank of America had received financial documents or that the borrower was actually entitled to a permanent loan modification where discipline and often terminated without warning."

Bank of America did not merely lie to its customers.
Bank of America makes a practice of lying to its own staff.
While the use of a "nonperforming" loan are higher than the fees paid on a "performing" loan, the real reason for this outrageous behavior is that the banks are attempting to protect and maintain their receipt of outrageous sums of money that they have declared to be proprietary trading profits.
The banks are mere intermediaries.
They are not and never were principals or real parties in interest in any transaction between the homeowner and the investors who put up the money.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/bank-of-americas-senior-loan-collector-30147/

You can download a pdf file of this affadavit.

Keep all records of contact with BOA about your mortgage, and check out the lawsuit at the link.

[The Magistrate]

1. People Seriously Need To See the Inside Of a Jail Cell Over This Stuff, Ma'am

[MotherPetrie]

3. If anyone does, it'll just be low-level minions. The real crooks hobnob with Holder and Obama.

[The Magistrate]

9. You Will Get No Argument From Me On That, Ma'am

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. I would be happy if enough "little people" simply stop using the big banks.

It would be lovely to see protests at BOA offices, too.

Trouble is, one or 2 marches or demonstrations will not be at all effective.

I hope enough former homeowners are really really pissed enough to do something.

[pnwmom]

19. I have a relative who works for a competitor and she's never seen anything like this.

She'd quit before she'd purposely lie to her customers.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

38. The last time that a Democratic governor ordered Illinois govt agencies to stop doing business with

with the Bank of American on behalf of the "little people," the Federal government immediately stepped in.



True, he was corrupt (as many Illinois politicians are, in one degree or another), but they followed him for years before being motivated enough to arrest and prosecute him.

[bhikkhu]

59. I switched to a local credit union

...which refi'd my house as well, and closed all my accounts with big banks a few months ago. It takes some planning, but its well worthwhile. Reading things like the OP, I'm sooooo glad to not have to deal with the big banks.

If people didn't give their money and their business to them, they would be "big banks" anymore.

[lindysalsagal]

61. I just ditched HSBC for a credit union, and it's MORE convenient.

Much better rates, service, and everything.

I drive past my money, and smile. It feels good to like the place that holds my money.

FYI for anyone thinking about it: The credit unions created a system of free ATM's, coast to coast. So, you can use the regular atms and pay the fee, but the credit union atm's are free and they're freaking everywhere.

I'm visiting my daughter on the other coast, and they're atm's are on every block, no lie. All free.

[tavalon]

69. Today, I went into BECU

We in Seattle are pretty darn liberal and that place was swamped. Last year there was a push to dump banks in favor of credit unions. It's still happening here.

I didn't care that I had to wait a little.

[dixiegrrrrl]

82. Thank you for that tid bit of news. SO glad banks are still losing customers.

I banked for years at Washington Mutual when I lived in Seattle, back in the day.
My son lives in Seattle and left WaMU just before the meltdown, now has a credit union.
And glad Seattle is still liberal !!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

133. I never mind waiting at my community bank.. and they recognize my voice when I call them

Yes.. no "press 1..press 5...drop dead".. They have actual phone numbers at each branch that a real person answers

[Zorra]

85. We need another Bank Transfer Day, where folks switch from banks to credit unions.

On the last Bank Transfer Day, it was the same old story ~ only the people who really give a shit switched over.

For everyone else, it was just Business As Usual.

We can wail, and whine, and cry all we want, but at the end of the day, people actually have to tear themselves away from couch and TV and do something if they really want change.

How hard is it for someone to simply go down to their too big to fail, little people crushing uber-bank, close their account, and put their money in a a nice little people friendly credit union?

It's so frustrating. It really is

[dixiegrrrrl]

86. Please see my update to this post, here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023021734

[Zorra]

94. Awesome.

thanks.

[Hotler]

98. What we need is a fucking uprising by tens of thousands of people....

in every city demanding that senior heads of the banks roll. So many lamp post, so much rope and none of those fuckers on Wall St. are swinging from them.

[Zorra]

102. Sign me up. I'll be there, no excuses. nt

[lindysalsagal]

118. That will only happen if we all leave these banks. Find your local credit union.

They only understand one thing: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Hotler]

154. I've been with a credit union for years.

And yes they understand dollars, but they will understand a lot more if we rise uip and start fighting back like our founding fathers did against the british crown. There are people on Wall St. and in Wasington that need a punch in the mouth and a kick to the nuts.

[malaise]

26. +1,000 Sir

This is criminality on steroids

[The Wizard]

29. How about

guillotines and head baskets ?

[Half-Century Man]

37. Nope not funny enough

Just regular old prison, like Attica, Folsum, Sing Sing, or San Quentin. Imagine slightly overweight fifty year olds with soft girly hands thrown into a stone walled hell, they themselves helped stuff with scary people.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

40. Google Peterloo and you may change your mind.

Or Google Occupy Wall Street for a more recent, and small scale, take on Peterloo.

[Kablooie]

49. Sorry. Our government will decide that a fine of $3.30 will sufficiently penalize BofA.

That kind of penalty is all that our current form of government will apply as long as they are owned by the bankers and there is no sign of that changing within our lifetimes.

[russspeakeasy]

52. It is the only way anything will change.

[Dustlawyer]

88. The way it can change (although not likely til things hit bottom) is to demand,

COMPLETE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM (CCFR)!!! Let us publicly fund elections a remove the legal bribery known as "Fundraising!" We allow one very small segment of society to have influence so out of proportion to their numbers o the point that "We the People" have no Representation! The trick is to get people off of their ass to do it! Like in George Orwell's 1984, the lead character, Winston, muses that the Proles (poor people making up most of the population) could overthrow the government if they would all act together for the common good. While I am not advocating Revolution, I am advocating grooming and supporting candidates that are truly committed to reforming our campaign finance laws.
Maybe if OWS would recognize that this one issue would help correct all of the other issues they complain about, and focus only on that, we could start the process that would lead to us having Representative Democracy again!

[Enthusiast]

73. You should be a Magistrate.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[4dsc]

95. That would take leadership and we all know

there is a lack of that in the Democratic Party these days.

[Hissyspit]

130. So should have CIA torturers.

[The Magistrate]

131. True, Ma'am

"We all have our little list, of those who'd never be missed."

[Hissyspit]

137. "Sir"

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. I love you. Thanks for this! n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. We KNEW it, didn't we? All along we kept saying this is what they were doing.

Back atcha....

[Squinch]

5. This is truly a bombshell. But how much do you want to bet it sinks into oblivion and no one is

talking about it in a week?

I really hope I am wrong on this.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Millions of victims have a chance at suing the bank now.

and hopefully any victim will let their congress person know we want action.
Let them know over and over and over EVERY single day.
It won't sink if enough people keep it afloat.

[Squinch]

10. I know. I'll do my part. I'm a little demoralized about the banks though.

I hope this is the straw on the camel's back that makes everyone else jump on the bandwagon and demand a change.

[dixiegrrrrl]

89. See this for how to do your part:

Last edited Sat Jun 15, 2013, 11:50 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023021734

..

[Squinch]

96. I'm getting a "broken link" screen on that. Would you re-link?

[dixiegrrrrl]

99. Done. thanks for letting me know.

[Squinch]

101. Glad you fixed that. Great post.

I am in the process of switching my banking to a credit union. It is one of those changes where I am surprised how happy I am about it. As you say, it feels like I have stopped playing with the enemy. I need to do something about my mortgage, though. Working on it.

My congress people will hear from me. Thanks again.

[pnwmom]

20. Do they? Will this open things up again? I hope so. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Dozens of lawsuits are going on across the country, at State level.

A few google clicks should lead one to several places to contact to join a class action
or to start a class action suit.
Being the primary plaintiff in a class action suit is always better, cause plaintiffs get a large portion of any settlement.

[Auntie Bush]

21. This is OUTRAGEOUS!

You can count on me to do my share in not letting this sink.

[Hekate]

50. Friday news dump? Email Rachel Maddow and a few others

See if they pick up on it next week.

[dixiegrrrrl]

83. The link in the OP is to a lawyer's page, not a news page.

You can download the actual court documents in a pdf.
which I did, of course....

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Relax. Here's Eric Holder's plan to deal with this:

[bvar22]

13. I'm confident that Holder will deal with the Wall Street/Banking Criminals

Just as soon as he finishes Saving America from the Pot Smokers.

Priorities...PRIORITIES!!!!!

[Auntie Bush]

27. He'll do it just as soon as he puts Bush/Chaney/Rice/Rummy on trial as a war criminals.

[Dragonfli]

66. After Pot as been eradicated, he will get out his special tape measure to

decide if they are too big to jail. Remember, you must be shorter than this line to ride the kiddie "justice railroad to profit prison."



Adults above the line get to ride on "the above the law express."

[RainDog]

7. k&r n/t

[donnasgirl]

11. So where is

Our Justice system, if everybody knows about this why isn't the justice department doing something about it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Because Holder publicly stated the banks were too big to jail.

[bigtree]

23. this is a good area for the CPA to step in

. . . unfortunately, their decision-making and authority is undermined by the republicans' deliberate obstruction of appointment to the head of that agency by Richard Cordray (and, formerly, by nominee Elizabeth Warren).

There has to be a Housing Dept. lever, as well, to move Justice on to an investigation or prosecution . . . not to mention, Congress.

[Bluenorthwest]

80. Holder could act today if he gave a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut about anything

but pot and gay people. He's complicit simply by his inaction. The man is corrupt. He and Obama have a fake religiosity they substitute for ethics. Affectation and Preening For Gawd.

[bigtree]

123. funny

. . . how prosecutions by the U.S. government are presented by critics here as slam-dunks.

In the next breath, folks want to give lip service to civil liberties . . . amazing.

[Divernan]

146. Amazing that you presume to grant civil liberties to corporations/banks!

Last edited Sun Jun 16, 2013, 01:17 AM - Edit history (1)

You just love the Citizens United decision, right? Because you conflate prosecuting Big Banking with giving only lip service to civil liberties. Some might find your position amazing - but then they are not familiar with your long-standing, knee-jerk defense of any scintilla of criticism of Obama or his administration. Here's the deal and it's a very big deal, so try to keep up:

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND LAWS GRANT CIVIL LIBERTIES TO INDIVIDUALS, NOT CORPORATIONS.

Liberties of the United States are certain inalienable rights retained by (as opposed to privileges granted to) citizens of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, as interpreted and clarified by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts.

Civil liberties are simply defined as individual legal and constitutional protections from entities more powerful than an individual, for example, parts of the government, other individuals, or corporations. The liberties explicitly defined, make up the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to privacy. There are also many liberties of people not defined in the Constitution, as stated in the Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_liberties_in_the_United_States

And give an example where prosecution by the "U.S. government", i.e, Obama's Justice Department has or has not been a "slam dunk". I can think of problems the Justice Dept. has had with prosecuting medical marijuana growers, distributors and purchasers. Those pesky juries, state legislators and judges just won't get with Holder/Obama's program, will they? But let's talk about "too big to fail" interests - ya know - the ones with the lobbyists regularly bribing politicians with the big fat campaign contributions. What Holder was really thinking when he said "too big to fail" was "too big a contributor to the guy who appointed me to be prosecuted".

Of course, neither Holder nor Obama nor you can quote any section of any state or federal l law which excludes perpetrators on the grounds that they are "too big to fail" or recognizes a defense of "too big to fail".

Given the evidence detailed in the OP, and speaking as a retired government attorney and law professor, I say yes, prosecuting the Bank of America is a slam dunk.

[bigtree]

150. funny how you represent the individuals accused or culpable as corporations

are corporations people or not?

do we prosecute corporations or the people who run them?

[Divernan]

151. Employees are AGENTS of a corporation; the law prosecutes the corporations

The only universe in which corporations are regarded as people is found in the infamous and vile Citizens United decision. That decision is limited to political expenditures. It does not reinterpret the entire Constitution to grant civil rights to corporations.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a US constitutional law case, in which the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions.

Since you asked, here's what I learned in law school, and utilized in my practice. It comes under what is referred to as the Law of Agency. People whose actions are taken within the course and scope (a legal term of art) of their employment are not subject to civil suit or criminal prosecution as individuals, but only in their capacity as corporate agents. In that capacity, they are defended and indemnified by the corporation/employer. When a corporation's policies, whether formalized in writing or informally followed and enforced (which is what was documented in the OP) provoke legal action, the corporation is the prime defendant. Individual officers/employees may be named as co-defendants, but only in their capacities within the corporation.

As always you demonstrate your skill at ignoring challenges to your positions/viewpoints by picking out one aspect to respond to and taking it out of context at that. Look over there! A shiny mirror!

[bigtree]

153. but, we're talking about CEOs

. . . like 'Skilling,' for instance.

It's not as if we can sue the buildings they work in. Individuals are to be held culpable for criminal acts they commit. That's the bottom line. Any other breaches of law or regulation may fall to lesser agencies of the government to investigate and 'prosecute,' may times in partnership w/Justice.

Representing this as some faceless corp. is a misleading oversimplification of how we hold these owners, CEOs, and operators of these institutions accountable.

. . . and, you didn't nitpick MY response to suit YOUR own premise, just to throw some ridicule my way? Pshaw!

[SwankyXomb]

15. Liquidate the fuckers.

Then break up the bank.

[socialist_n_TN]

22. Nah, just nationalize them under workers' control......

And if they resist, THEN get nasty.

[Mr.Bill]

16. Maybe Daryl Issa will hold hearings and call for a complete investigation.

Yeah, right, just kidding.

[bigtree]

17. Huge story

. . . I hope this serves to unravel other illegal foot-dragging on the modifications by others like Wells Fargo, to name one.

My mortgage holder, GMAC, processed mine as smoothly as butter on warm toast. I saw my monthly payment reduced by over $300. and have had an interest rate at and below 2% for a year or so now, steadily increasing over a time to 4%, with all money paid during this period toward the principal. Amazing lifeline.

This is just the thing I've been waiting for to help jolt this meaningful and substantive initiative into more action for more homeowners.

I wonder about restitution for those who lost their home during the malfeasance by the bank? I hope they can recover something.

[dixiegrrrrl]

31. Many of our DU friends lost their homes over the past few years.

I esp. remember the ones that got screwed by HAMP, when the banks ( not just BOA) told them they had to NOT make payments for 3 months to qualify for HAMP, and then got foreclosed on for not making payments.

The site at the link I posted has what looks like a lot of up to date news on all the bank lawsuits.

[Fire Walk With Me]

44. "You must miss payments to qualify for loan adjustments." This was said across the country.

Friends of mine lost their home in this exact manner (search DU for Fort Hernandez) and a realtor in Florida to whom I'd communicated via email said many of her clients were also tricked out of their homes in this manner. My friends were immediately foreclosed upon. They fought, the did everything right, they even did a lengthy sit-in but eventually the bank sent some 100 sheriffs to evict them.

FUCK BofA.

[malaise]

132. There is no due process of law until people retrieve their homes or

restitution. This is madness

[Divernan]

147. Typical - you put the burden on individual homeowners, not Obama's Justice Department.

Last edited Sun Jun 16, 2013, 10:50 AM - Edit history (2)

"I wonder about restitution for those who lost their home during the malfeasance by the bank? I hope they can recover something."

And elsewhere, you try to place responsibility on the "Consumer Protection" office. No. No. No.
The responsibility is on Obama's Justice Department to both put a stop to these practices, and to get the courts to order restitution. Or do you prefer that each individual homeowner file their own civil case or join a civil class action, in either instance of which they end up paying in excess of 30% of their recoveries for legal costs and fees? This is exactly the kind of nationwide activity for which the Justice Department is designed to pursue prosecution.

[Progressive dog]

18. Meetings with 60 or so employees who were told to commit crimes

Quotas for foreclosures, terminations for not meeting quotas, bonuses for every foreclosure.
This lawsuit should win and if Holder won't do it, we've got a lot of states with attorney generals who could jump on this.

[pnwmom]

24. ***MORE CASE DOCUMENTS HERE***

Here is a link to Court documents in the Bank of America loan modification case:

http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/worcester/MDL2193/MDL2193.htm

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. Anyone who has lost home to BOA because of HAMP, should check out your link.

[pnwmom]

33. That's why I made the all caps.

Hoping someone would notice!



(But on second thought, maybe you could add the link to your OP. . . . )

[reformist2]

25. Corrupt from the top to the bottom.

[Ilsa]

28. BofA needs to be put out of business and

its managers need to be prohibited from ever being in banking again. The regulators need to blacklist them.

[The Wizard]

30. Seize thaer assets (NT)

[nineteen50]

34. another perfect reason to let them

regulate themselves.

[Control-Z]

35. Wells Fargo practiced

this same exact scam!

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. So did Chase.

They all did.
Which shows you the level of collusion.

collusion which our national leaders will not address.
A few state AGs will.
Any fines the banks pay is not real, it is all virtual numbers.

The rot goes to the core.
Once you get that, you start finding ways to avoid as much of the system as you can.

Just think what would happen if enough people stopped being mindless consumers.

[Control-Z]

57. I don't believe the president

knew, at the time, what the banks actually did with his efforts to help homeowners. Elizabeth Warren will have a mouthful to say about it, I would bet, and I expect President Obama will be behind her all the way.

[Skeeter Barnes]

39. We bail them out. They fuck us in the ass.

" Employees who were caught admitting that Bank of America had received financial documents or that the borrower was actually entitled to a permanent loan modification where discipline and often terminated without warning."

For example, we were instructed by our supervisors at Bank of America to delay modifications by telling homeowners who called in at their documents were "under review," when, in fact, there had been no review or any other work done on the file."

The CEOs that devise and implement these policies are the High Priests of our national religion, Capitalism. And they own and operate our government. God damn the United States.

[Marr]

42. Somebody's going to need a little emergy retroactive legislation!

I'm sure Congress will have BofA's back.

[marmar]

43. I sense a firm slap on the wrist coming.

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. This deserves more than a slap on the wrist...

It calls for a stern glare also.

[mbperrin]

63. A stern glare may be too much. How about a dirty look?

See? These are the times I wish there was a hell, really.

[lindysalsagal]

117. A strongly-worded letter to someone's mother, perhaps?

The banks own all of the politicians. I mean ALL.

That's why my money is in a community credit union.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

45. Has anyone looked back to see if BofA did a purge?

Did they eliminate people they couldn't trust to play along?

If they did, it would provide a clue as to how far back this was in the works.

If they were eliminating the honest people back in,....say,...the late 90's...

[hay rick]

46. It's Bankghazi! Full media outrage starting in 3, 2, 1...

0, -1, -2, -3...oh, never mind.

[glinda]

47. Kick for exposure.

[rhett o rick]

48. Does anyone else notice that the "Obama Club" doesnt show up for these types of threads? nm

[Control-Z]

58. You might refer to me

as one of the "Obama Club" members. I'm here. And I don't believe for a minute that the president was a part of this scam. I think he got scammed along with the rest of us.

[treestar]

92. Probably trying to find the facts first

I see we are expected to lockstep go into outrage mode just because a post was made.

[rhett o rick]

93. Oh plez. This post isnt about outrage and isnt critical of the president. nm

[treestar]

109. You were the one who brought up members of the Obama club

And why we were not yet here. Were you not attempting to imply that it was because there were no defenses to this latest outrage?

[rhett o rick]

111. I wasnt implying anything. Just an observation. nm

[reformist2]

100. I noticed. I think they only go into action when the polls show that an issue might hurt him. ;)

[Divernan]

152. Or to deflect & distract from criticisms of his BFF Holder.

I'm reposting a prime example from this very thread in which we are urged by a self-admitted Obama fan to believe that it's up to the CPA, or the Republicans or the "Housing Dept." or Congress to move Justice(Obama's BFF/appointee, Holder) to take action. In other words, he/she urges us to blame ABO - anybody but Obama.

As if the Justice Dept. cannot take action on its own initiative, or as if Obama could not direct Holder to take action. And one assumes that by "CPA", he/she was referring to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and by "Housing Department" to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. All of these agencies are under the control of Obama - they don't need permission of the Republicans or the direction of Congress to take action on this matter. It is and always has been Obama's call, simply because the President is in charge of the administrative branch of government and all the agencies therein. High school Civics 101.

When Holder refused to prosecute because these banks were "Too Big to Fail", what he really meant was these banks were Too Big (as campaign donors to Obama) to be Prosecuted."

bigtree (49,335 posts)
23. this is a good area for the CPA to step in

. . . unfortunately, their decision-making and authority is undermined by the republicans' deliberate obstruction of appointment to the head of that agency by Richard Cordray (and, formerly, by nominee Elizabeth Warren).

There has to be a Housing Dept. lever, as well, to move Justice on to an investigation or prosecution . . . not to mention, Congress.

[ellie]

51. Ahhh, this makes me extremely angry.

[ReRe]

53. K&R

This does not shock me. Didn't we all know that this kind of shit was going on? The man will be punished, no doubt, and BOA will walk away unscathed. SOP.

[Left Coast2020]

54. I'm sure Senator Warren is pissed too.

After all, this was in her state, or the court papers were filed there.

[LuckyLib]

55. It just never ends. I'd like to see thousands

take their money out of these criminal enterprises so they sink like stones. Support your local credit union!!!

[Volaris]

62. that's just it...

they wont be ALLOWED to sink, and now they (the banks) KNOW it.
But, yeah, this criminal by even the narrowest interpretation of Law, and Holder won't/can't do anything about it.

[TheKentuckian]

143. I don't believe consumer deposits are that critical to them at this point.

They have grown beyond needing to hide behind the likes of us.

[sabrina 1]

60. My friend was one of the people lied to about her loan modification request, not by BOA, by Wells

Fargo. They claimed to have reviewed her request and INCREASED her mortgage payment. Since then more and more people reported having he same thing happen to them. She lost her home and is now suing Wells Fargo. They offered here a 'settlement', the Government, not the Bank, of $800. She did not take it. They made a second offer telling there was a deadline, she refused it and thought that was the end of it. Just recently she received a check for $3,000 from the Office of the Currency telling her this is the last offer. She never asked THEM for money. She has not cashed the check and will use it as evidence of their admission of wrong doing in her case. Since then there are reports that those 'settlement' checks have been bouncing. This is from the agreement the Government made with the banks to pay off those they harmed. If the checks are bouncing, you have to wonder what they have done with the funds.

Now when will the prosecutions begin?

[CrispyQ]

122. "Now when will the prosecutions begin?"

When all the pot smokers are in jail?

My husband works with a couple of guys who have experienced the stalling & the lies. They both were finally evicted.

This country is corrupt through & through. I don't think there is one major institution that isn't corrupted by the influence of money & profit. Christian nation, my ass. Mammon is our god.

[ZRT2209]

64. This was all exposed by many, including ProPublica

http://www.propublica.org/article/homeowner-questionnaire-shows-banks-violating-govt-program-rules

Homeowner Questionnaire Shows Banks Violating Gov’t Program Rules

ProPublica, Aug. 16, 2010,

Mortgage servicers regularly make errors and break the rules of the government's mortgage modification program, according to hundreds of homeowners who responded to a ProPublica questionnaire.

For example, all homeowners who are rejected are supposed to receive a formal denial from their mortgage servicer, according to the program's rules. But 136 homeowners reported that they had been rejected from the program without receiving a formal denial. Additionally, homeowners reported more than 1,000 instances of mortgage servicer errors, including losing documents and giving false information.

ProPublica received detailed responses from 373 homeowners -- all of whom applied to get a modification through the administration's foreclosure prevention program -- and they tell a consistent story. Seeking a modification has been an infuriating, stressful nightmare: a black hole of time lost repeatedly calling an 800 number, faxing and mailing the same documents over and over, and coping with the ramifications of errors made by poorly trained bank employees.

Here's what those homeowners told us:

On average, they'd been seeking a modification for more than 14 months. The process is designed to last only a few months.
Homeowners seeking modifications reported having to send the same documents nearly six times on average.
175 homeowners say they were advised, incorrectly, to fall behind on their mortgage in order to qualify for a modification.

[ZRT2209]

65. fucking bastard banks

[dixiegrrrrl]

91. the affidavit, however, moves the bank's behavior

from charges of negligence to out right fraud.
Until now, all the banks defended violating HAMP as a "ooops, sorry, our mistake"
Now, there is evidence of intent to deliberately defraud.

[suffragette]

115. Outright fraud

This deserves highlighting.
Thanks for the OP and for your posts about what it means.

K&R

[OnyxCollie]

67. K&R. nt

[defacto7]

68. I'm speechless ...

[Sherman A1]

70. K&R

Thanks for posting.

[blkmusclmachine]

71. Savvy.

[Enthusiast]

72. I'm sure this doesn't constitute actual law breaking.

If it did the DOJ would be on it, baby!


[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[tomp]

74. what a surprise. nt

[liberalla]

75. J A I L !!!!!

NOW!

[KansDem]

76. Quick! Look over there!

Someone's smoking a doobie! Call the Department of Selective Justice, right f*cking now!

[PatSeg]

77. This is exactly what CitiMortgage did to me

I think all the big ones were operating from the same playbook.

But hey, that's okay. I got a check for $300.

[mzmolly]

105. They must have been on the same page.

There was collusion and I hope this is thoroughly investigated.

[PatSeg]

106. Its obvious now

that they knew exactly what they were doing, but the whole thing was unprecedented so home-owners believed that the remodification program was a win-win for everyone. Besides the federal government was involved, so we assumed the banks were legit.

I know I talked to some employees at CitiMortgage who really didn't understand what was going on though, and they were as shocked as I was. I think the banks relied heavily on the ignorance of the consumers, the government, and low level employees to pull off this massive scam.

They ruined lives as if people were just pawns on a game board. I would have never thought such a thing as possible in America.

[mzmolly]

156. It's criminal. I posted some HAMP advice in Oct of 2010 on DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9318881

In a nutshell I said ...

As a person who has worked in the financial industry for years, and who has gone through the HAMP process, I have a few bits of *advice for anyone going through the HAMP process, today:

1. Most importantly, make full payments vs. the reduced "trial payments" until your loan modification is finalized, in writing. ~ IMO, some banks use a "reduced trial payment" as a means to a nefarious end. If you're making a reduced monthly payment, you're not meeting the terms of your original, signed, mortgage agreement. As such, you can be a victim of foreclosure if/when the bank fails to finalize a modification.

When I insisted on making full payments until our lender finalized our modification, I was asked "if you can afford the full payments why are you applying for a modification?" I told them the truth, we rob from Peter to pay Paul. I went on to say that it wasn't any of their !@#* business, given technically, we qualified for a modification and have been honest about our financial situation.

2. Prepare to have your tax documentation lost. ~ For some reason, I've heard several stories about lost tax documentation. The bank we dealt with lost our documentation three or four times. Get a name and a fax number of a person who is responsible for handling such documentation, and demand that bank personnel call you when they receive faxed copies. Make sure that someone takes ownership and you follow up.

3. Correspond by email or mail vs. phone so you have legal documentation regarding what you're being told. ~ Keep all correspondence (emails) until your loan is finalized and beyond. Saying "I spoke to Bob and he said..." will not be enough. Get everything you're told, in writing.

4. If you're told delays in finalization are due to Fannie Mac or Freddie Mae, not the bank, get Fannie or Freddie involved ASAP. Make a three way phone call, if you have to. Or, email a rep from each company and ask that they properly coordinate to resolve your issue.

5. Follow up on your final modification for at least three months. Make sure your due date and payment amounts are correct etc. Our lender tried to change our due date, so we were a month behind after we finalized. I have no idea why. But I insisted they make it right and I monitor monthly.

*I'm not an attorney and not in a position to legally advise anyone. I am merely a person who worked in finance for years, who has completed a successful modification. Best of luck to anyone seeking relief through HAMP.

[PatSeg]

157. Interesting

You posted that a few weeks after I lost my house. I had been sending them trial payments for seven months and one day I got a knock on the door. Someone was checking out my house because it was going up for auction that day. I was never notified.

I ended up in the hospital twice in the next two weeks.

I had documented every phone call, fax, email, and letter. I even had a lawyer but at the time most lawyers were worthless because they had no idea what was going on either. I think they took advantage of the ignorance and vulnerability of so many stressed homeowners at the time, and clearly the government underestimated their criminal intent and capacity for greed. I'll never trust a large financial institution again.

That was good solid advice and I think I saw your post back then, though it was too late at the time. I know what all this did to me and my family, and I know there are people who probably had it much worse. Meanwhile, no one will ever really be held responsible for the cruel indifference.

[mzmolly]

159. I'm so very sorry.

It's terrible to consider that no one will pay a price, in what is obviously an orchestrated plan to bilk homeowners and the Government. I hope an attorney seeks class action remedies for people like yourself given this broken, corrupt congress will not act.

[PatSeg]

160. I was fortunate

to have options and caring family. I'm quite sure that wasn't the case for everyone. I can't help but think of the other sick people who didn't have family to help them out. Then there are the many stories of people in their 80's or 90's who had lived most of their adult lives in their homes and how traumatic foreclosure was for them.

The last ten to fifteen years have been one shock after another for most of us. Sometimes I think we may have been too complacent for too long and this is a waking up period.

[SamKnause]

78. Banks

Isn't it a shame that no one from the government was spying on the banks.

The threat of terrorism in this country is small.

The damage caused by these criminal organizations was felt around the globe.

The U.S. has its priorities.

'We the People' are at the bottom of that list.

Hell, the banks launder drug money.

How much more proof do the people of this country need to see, to know all of this was intentional ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The U.S. government has no intention, or interest in protecting the citizens of this country.

[dixiegrrrrl]

135. Indeed.

We are living in interesting times...I never thought it would get to this point.

[SamKnause]

79. Banks 2

Attorney General, Eric Holder will be all over this. NOT !!!!

The banks are too big to fail, too big to jail, too big to prosecute and too dangerous to regulate.

The rule of law is nonexistent in the U.S.

What a cruel fucking JOKE !!!!!!!

[VPStoltz]

81. This is par for the course; we are in year THREE of battling with Wells Fargo.

[DirkGently]

84. Fits with a lot of what I saw and heard. n/t

[Teamster Jeff]

87. Kick Rec

[lonestarnot]

90. These rat bastards need to pay!

[toby jo]

97. Eating the little people alive.

Switched over to a credit union last year. Longer drive, but happy with them.

[mick063]

103. Too big to prosecute

Now can I use the "Why is anyone surprised over common knowledge" meme (a DU favorite) relative to the NSA citizen spying issue and apply it here?

In other words, if you are not surprised, if you "knew it all along", then everything is just fine. Now just ignore that this is happening and go about your daily routine.

[mzmolly]

104. That's exactly what happened to us with US Bank. They kept losing our docs.

We made the FULL payment in the trial period because I did not trust the fargen bank.

[okaawhatever]

112. I'll bet you a million dollars they didn't lose s#@t. They threw them away. They don't

even care that frequently you fed exed them in and there will be proof. The banks know that enough people will give up so that the ones who don't and sue will cost less than it would have to modify the loans per requirements in the first place. Did they switch case workers on you? That's usually step 2. Since you sent in the full amount they may have finally agreed to the modification knowing they couldn't foreclose on you in court. Please look into any future lawsuit there may be against the bank. I was in the mortgage loan business. I promise, they did this to extort money from their customers. Ask yourself, how many times have they lost your payments? How many times have they lost applications for new loans? Exactly.

[mzmolly]

155. I agree. I worked in banking for years.

IMO, their losing docs, was more than coincidence.

[closeupready]

107. We seem to live in a lawless society - it's more of a plantation

than a democracy. Just really, this strikes a new low, IMO.

K&R

[Z_California]

108. And another thing....

I was a couple weeks away from auction on my house after trying to get documents to BofA for months. Bank of America finally steered me away from a HAMP modification by lying about the terms of an in-house modification. I was so desperate I took it. They are liars and thieves.

[wtmusic]

110. A fun moment

was when a teller at BofA asked why I was moving both my checking and savings accounts to a credit union, and I politely recited a two-minute-long list of grievances I had with them (loud enough for everyone in line to hear), politely announced to the line where the CU was located, then walked out the door for the last time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

120. I bet that felt GOOD!!!!

[GiveMeFreedom]

113. This is my favorite Dead Horse.

Every time I kick the dead beast, its eyes flick open for a moment. This makes my blood boil and is actually what happened to my family. My wife and I discussed the fact that we had actually FAXED documents requested to B of A using one of their own fax machines, located inside a B of A bank. B of A had stated they either never received or the documents were late. We made every trial payment.

and no one goes to jail? I lost my home and and now I have terminal kidney cancer.

I'll go kick that dead horse again and watch its eyes pop open one more time. Fuck!!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

121. I am SO sorry.

I do hope retribution arrives, and very soon.
I have no doubt that eventually it will, eventually. The pendulum always swings.

So not fair you had to go thru the pain of losing your home and now have critical medical issues on top of that.

[dkf]

114. Very very bad.

This is so obviously wrong. Where are people's moral compass nowadays?

[WillyT]

116. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

125. "We" didn't bail them out.

Congress did, over the objections of all of us.
In fact, the objections were so loud, and so many, that the first bail out attempt did not get enough votes.
The 2nd attempt did, tho, showing us that Congress does not work for us.

[Blue Owl]

124. Whaddup, Shock Doc?

[cantbeserious]

127. And Where Is Obama And His Justice Department Over This Continuing Scandal?

eom

[pacalo]

128. Take big-donor money out of campaigns to keep the corporate-sponsored candidates out of office.

Corporate-sponsored legislators are writing the laws that make this attitude possible &, of course, the lawmakers do nothing about it.

Eliminating Citizens United would be a good first step.

This is outrageous.

[dixiegrrrrl]

134. Hey Pacalo...

I am seeing a trend of pushback on Citizens United. Hopefully that can be done soon.

[pacalo]

136. Sherrod Brown is working on it --

the radical right pushed hard to prevent him from getting elected last year because he stands up for the people over the corporations.

Good to see you, dixiegrrrrl!

[Corruption Inc]

129. Like my name says...

it's not limited to Bank of America.

[Jack Rabbit]

138. Very interesting. What is Mr. Holder doing today?

Boy, am I glad Mr. Holder is protecting the public's interest against predatory institutions like BofA. He'll show those nay sayers what a real man he is when he puts those too-big-to-jail bastards he used to work for behind bars. Just you wait. And wait. And wait . . . .

[Phentex]

139. They did this to a friend of mine...

it's unreal the hell they put her through. I'm going to send her this link.

THANKS!

[truedelphi]

140. However, the Obama/Holder/Geithner Administration let us know some time ago

That Too Big To Fail Is Also To Big To Prosecute, or To Jail.

Doesn't matter what they do, they will frigging get away with it, as the One Percent owns Congress, The Justice Department and Supreme Court and also the Oval Office.

[Safetykitten]

141. Hi, Eric Holder here...need me for anything? No?...ok....

[mick063]

149. Many of us think Holder should go.....but

There are twenty other Holders waiting in line to take his spot.

Ultimately, this is on the President.

100% on the corporate puppet, Barak Obama.

Gawd...can his term end soon enough?

[Quantess]

142. Ths would be a good one to share on facebook.

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/bank-of-americas-senior-loan-collector-30147/

[lhooq]

144. PBS Frontline documentary

A while back, PBS Frontline did a show on the "Untouchables", the bankers whom the Justice Department will not indict.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/untouchables/

My guess is that the Obama Administration will not prosecute just as a well-trained dog won't bite the hand that feeds it. Talk about "Hope", change, and "Yes, we can" seem so distant now. As Pete Townsend once wrote, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss".

P.S. Thank you dixiegrrrrl for starting this thread.

[dixiegrrrrl]

145. I sure had mixed feelings when I decided to post this.

I could not find anything about it on MSM, turns out they did not report it until late Friday night ( news dump, indeed).
All of us here have something in common besides DU...we all have experienced the theft by the banks in many forms,
and all been slowly coming to the realization which you state so well...nothing has changed.

[PatSeg]

158. Bank of America Paid Bonuses to Foreclose

"A collector who placed 10 or more accounts into foreclosure in a given month received a $500 bonus," she said. "Bank of America also gave employees gift cards to retail stores like Target or Bed Bath & Beyond as rewards for placing accounts into foreclosure. Bank of America collectors and other employees who did not meet their quotas by not placing a sufficient number of accounts into foreclosure each month were subject to termination. Several of my colleagues were terminated on that basis."

snip

But, according to the former employees, while the bank was lying to borrowers, it was also falsifying its performance when reporting to the government the number of loans that had been modified.

"Often this involved double counting loans that were in different stages of the modification process," according to Steven Cupples, who supervised a team of Bank of America underwriters until June 2012. "It was well known among Bank of America employees that the numbers Bank of America was reporting to the government and to the public were simply not true."

—By CNBC's John W. Schoen

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100818866