The Department of Justice believes that it has worked out a good settlement with the nation’s biggest lenders to resolve allegations of foreclosure fraud and the robo-signer fiasco, and both parties are preparing to sign the agreement. Not, however, with the blessing of all 50 state attorneys general, which could create a major roadblock for the deal. Part of the $20 billion mortgage settlement deal requires the AGs to “release banks from legal claims in state investigations and law suits.” So far, multiple AGs, led by Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley, have announced that they will “oppose the inclusion of the issues surrounding MERS in any deal”[1]. Coakley does not believe that the MERS mess has been adequately addressed, even though MERS recently announced that it would no longer participate in the foreclosure process. “From predatory loans to ‘robo-signing’ to servicing fraud, the banks continue to go merrily on their way while the consumers, the real estate industry and the commonwealth of Massachusetts are being cheated,” Coakley has said, adding that until she has “fully investigated” the scope of the MERS problem, “Massachusetts will not sign onto any global agreement with the banks if it includes a comprehensive liability release regarding securitization and the MERS conduct.”
Currently, Coakley is involved in a large-scale investigation into MERS conduct, including asking county registers to provide information regarding MERS property seizures[2]. She fears that since MERS was designed to expedite transfer of notes and, ultimately, to help save money on government fees, it may have “impaired the integrity” of the state recording system thanks to a failure to document loan transfers. MERS has announced that it will cooperate with the probe and reminds the public that “the use of MERS has been litigated in Massachusetts courts and judges have upheld the legality of the MERS business model.”
Do you think that Coakley should resist pressure from the Justice Department on this matter?
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[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-zombeck/post_2212_b_910015.html
[2] http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-26/business/29817105_1_coakley-foreclosure-fraud-mers
NO State Attorney General should *sign off* on deal to release banks from culpability re: robo-signing fraud. Strangely, Florida AG recently fired two lead investigators – no reasons given.
It’s too easy for average people NOT with conspiracy inclinations to see velvet hammer tapping on banks/Wall Street/politicians.
No admission of wrong-doing?????
No prison for FRAUD?????
What the hell is going on?
Is this the blatant “in your face” brazen evidence from bankers that US really is an oligarchy…or plutocracy?
St. Pete (FL) attorney Matt Weidner has been fighting this foreclosure fraud for years. Years ago (before anyone knew the acronym “MERS”), Matt predicted legal fights over foreclosure fraud.
He predicted cases similar to one to which I’m privy involving a Bradenton (FL) property owner who recently purchased a bank foreclosure. She sank $40,000 into the house & then moved in. Few months later, she received (COURT) notice to be OUT OF THE HOUSE WITHIN 24 HOURS.
Bank had illegally repossessed property; previous owner fought & prevailed against bank foreclosure.
New owner’s attorney believes new owner’s title policy will pay for damages but not $40,000 or pain & suffering experienced by new owner.
Can you imagine being kicked out of your house illegally?
Can you imagine being forced out (within 24 hours) of your newly purchased home?
Fraudclosure is NOT dying off.
No state attorney general’s “signing off” will absolve MERS or banks or whomever from individual or class action lawsuits brought against the little people whose ox has been (is being) gored – this is unprecedented FRAUD.
Mike Payne
P.S. I am a Sarasota (FL) real estate agent who helps property owners avoid foreclosure. This FRAUD has become personal as I sit at kitchen tables with real people of all income brackets who face foreclosure.
Mike is too right. Bank Fraud…by the BANKS! Why can banks rob without repercussions? Why hasn’t anyone from the banks gone to jail? Could it be like Mike says that America is ruled by the corporations who control Congress? Take a look at the laws passed and ask yourself who benefits? The States Attorney Generals who sign off on this are controlled by the banks otherwise they would act for…the people!
Here is another case of our corrupt government letting their criminal buddies at the banks off scott free. What is a 20 billion dollar settlement to these banks? Not very much. They can reach into their coffers and pay this with pocket change.
All the AGs should resist this illegal whitewash. The two biggest criminal elements in this country are the banks and our government. They are inexorably
intertwined in a Mafioso-like enterprise.
Are we going to sit around and watch this unfold wothout a peep. We should be inundating our AGs with thousands of emails telling them to resist.
No Mike you are not correct, individuals like you are failing to see the bigger picture. Did the banks throw a few people out of their homes wrongly? Of course they did, and those people should get big checks for their trouble. Although the banks are certainly outside the law with paperwork processing, it does not change the fact that 99.9% of these people were NOT paying the mortgage. Until they are allowed to foreclose and sell the homes, the housing market will fail to find a bottom and the mess will continue. The states need to cash the check and move on!!!
I agree with MIKE..
How much money was lost by local counties by not filing the assignments?
How many of these assignments are to cover up shady synthetic RMBS deals that have robbed retirement accounts.(** Goldman Sachs ABACUS**)
Good grief..Most people can’t even read the PSA of their loan until Linda Green/DocX is done creating one.
While increasing the Cap for their Loan/Derivatives market in 2005/2006..At the same time these Bankster are found Lobbing for protection from the Very instruments they were creating.(H.R. 3997/1424)
Many words come to mind… Fraud-Collusion-Antitrust-Vexations-Bad Faith…etc
A good AG would investigate every deed office in the state to bring the facts and the penalties that they WILL imply..
Martha you are our champion !!! Do not give up. I believe you have seen enough of this fraud and seen what it has done to Americas families and most especially Baby Boomers.
People who have pensions that have lost everything to the fraud that was concealed in MERS.
Mortgages that were written and used just for the insurance that would be paid for at default.
Please do not give into the Bankers threats and bribes.
You are where you are because you were meant to be the one that will defend us.
The banks in collusion with the government have desicrated the savings of
a whole generation of working Americans by premeditated and illegal usury.
It is absolutely beyond me that we would give them amnesty when we should
be making them accountable for fudiciary crimes against the American people to include jail sentences for those in decision making positions.
If the state attorney generals fail to stand up to these banksters, I will have
totally lost any hope for fairness and justice within our country.
What they did was a travesty. This country needs to rethink our whole banking system and get rid of the federal reserve, crooked politicians. wall street money mongers and shady banks. Each and every American should be raising their voice against these corrupt corporate criminals who are taking our country to it’s knees and impoverishing the working people. We have been duped and need to wake up and speak up. Instead we are allowing these criminals to foreclose on properties at a profit. The write offs they continue to incur, the loan modification scam and hoarding of TARP monies to the profit of the banks continues to occur under our noses. They are criminals short and sweet and need to prosecuted as such. This evil element needs to purged or we will never have a country of the people, by the people or for the people. Folks we are losing our country to this evil element. Fight back where ever and how ever you can.
She should absolutely fight it. DOJ may have another agenda–and it doesn’t seem to be justice, but seems to be wanting to keep the truth from actually seeing daylight. We need to remind the DOJ that cover-ups are no good–and that the illegalities need to be exposed in order to prevent them from ever happening again. This country too often has thought of compensation as an “out” for criminal conduct on the part of banks/brokerage firms. This was an orchestrated, system-wide attempt for banks to strip wealth off its citizens and a complete usurption of contract laws and civil liberties in court rooms. MERS has to be eradicated–it is nothing more than a means to distort loan origination and to propogate the “sales” of mortgage bundles without having to record them-a way to strip individual property rights away. Every single person in the country should be behind an effort to hold these banks accountable in every state in the country
If I hear one more person say “people just stopped paying their mortgage,” I think..I don’t know…people didn’t stop paying their mortgages..they couldn’t afford them. Hello? Does a 14-20% unemployment mean anything? Does predatory lending with raising interest rates mean anything? Those loans, some of them, had payments literally doubling in a 2 year span–and by 2007–when those loans went up..people…listen really carefully–especially you Ms Bondi the Florida AG who wants to stop any investigations and just fired her 2 investigators—listen: people could not pay them. You can’t (listen carefully) get blood..from a stone! These banks screwed people to the wall, took bailouts, foreclosed illegally on loans they didn’t hold, collected default mortgage premiums from AIG–paid themselves millions and millions for failing..and now don’t want to be held accountable…? It is no big coincidence or “consumer-commie-plot” that people had to let go of their homes and be homeless—it was the end move in a nasty chess game led by very knowing, very savvy bankers.