"Rampant, Pervasive Fraud"
Maryland's AG, Doug Gansler, gives a quick overview of the national mortgage settlement, noting that "this is just a down payment by the national banks," not the end of the story.
As foreclosures mounted in recent years, the mortgage servicing industry often responded with illegal shortcuts, illegal fees and incompetent management. The situation became so bad that our nation's attorneys general (AGs) joined forces with federal agencies to take action against "robo-signing" and other loan servicing abuses by the nation's largest banks. The result is a legal settlement that is likely to end massive robo-signing practices and keep more families in their homes.
Help for Homeowners
Wondering if you qualify for help under the National Mortgage Settlement? The AGs provide information and resources for homeowners here.
The "robo-signing" scandal first surfaced in the media during the fall of 2010 when a lawsuit filed in Maine highlighted that many big banks and other loan servicers don't actually review foreclosure documents they submit to courts. Instead they simply rubber-stamp key documents or have employees blindly sign hundreds or even thousands of documents a day.
Resources
- Summary of the settlement
- Are you eligible for mortgage relief?
- CRL's press statement on the national mortgage settlement.
- Resources for litigators and the Maine case that first drew attention to robo-signing.
- Robo-signing isn't the only problem. See our quick guide to the Top Ten Servicing Abuses.
- Foreclosure Fraud for Dummies(Rortybomb blog series)
- States can stabilize the housing market by preventing unnecessary foreclosures. Read Foreclosure as a Last Resort: Practical Guidance for Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis.