Posts Tagged ‘Citigroup’

Robosigning Exposed in HUD Audits

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

After you read the information in these audits, chances are you'll be screaming too!

Well what do you know.

Earlier this week I blogged about the mortgage settlement documents and their stunning lack of detail on the frauds committed by the banks during the days of robosigning.

I was frustrated because it seems like the complete recklessness of the banks was being whitewashed in order for the settlement to go through.

Turns out I was just looking in the wrong place.

Just as the Department of Justice announced that the mortgage settlement had been filed in court, Housing and Urban Development released the results of a series of stinging audits, one for each lender in the settlement.

It was HUD’s investigation that helped lead to the settlement in the first place.

The settlement is hundreds and hundreds of pages. Most of the audits were around 10 pages long. Yet there is more harsh truth about how far the banks went to rob people of their homes in those select pages than in the entire settlement.

So what’s in these audits that is so damning?

Facts. Numbers. Witness Statements. And just how far the banks went keep the lid on how pervasive robosigning was

In other words, plenty to make your skin crawl. There’s no whitewashing here.

In Bank of America’s case, their attorneys interfered with HUD’s investigation, refusing to allow some of their employees to answer questions, sometimes stopping them mid-sentence.

Ally Financial’s attorneys made 18 current employees plead the fifth and blocked them from talking to investigators.
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Homeowner’s Super Bowl — Clock Winding Down on Robo-Signing Settlement

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Courtesy: New York Giants

The clock may have run out on this year’s Super Bowl (Way to go Giants!!) but there’s still a few minutes left in this year’s REAL grudge match, the Banks vs. the Attorney Generals.

It’s 4th and Inches, the score is tied, and it would be nice to avoid overtime.

Today we could learn whether the much-discussed robo-signing settlement with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Ally Financial and CitiGroup will come to pass, and in what form.

With California AG Kamala Harris returning to the negotiating table, the deal looks closer than ever to being sealed. Harris, who represents the state with the largest amount of foreclosed homes, has rightfully been hesitant to sign off because her state has the most to gain, or lose, from this deal.

We were initially very hesitant to see this deal go through ourselves, but the time has come for it to put to bed.

Why?

Because we feel the deal in its current form does a lot. Does it help every single homeowner who’s underwater? Of course not. There is no deal that will.

But here is who it does help. The homeowners who have fought to keep their homes from day one, who were at the forefront of these legal challenges against the banks. Much of what we have learned about robo-signing and the lack of standing banks had to bring foreclosure, would not have come to light without these crusaders, and its time they got a reprieve.

In theory it also helps the responsible homeowners, the ones who paid their mortgages on-time and whose homes went underwater through no fault of their own. They too need to be rewarded.
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Rakoff to the Rescue: Judge Tosses Citigroup Settlement

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Let’s start with Roy Oppenheim’s bottom line first:

“The SEC runs a revolving door of crony capitalism where attorneys and enforcement officers come and go exchanging positions with Wall Street and the large banks as frequently as you and I change our underwear.”

Last month we told you about a federal judge pulling a not-so-fast on the Security Exchange Commission and demanding a closer look at a $285 settlement with Citigroup that Roy Oppenheim called a ‘get out jail free card’ for the banking giant.

South Florida Law Blog:Federal Judge to SEC:Stop Going Soft on Banks!

Well ladies and gentlemen this week Judge Jed Rakoff has stuck up for the homeowner once again and struck down the settlement, which would have allowed Citigroup to skate without having to admit any wrongdoing in a 2007 toxic mortgage deal.

In his written decision the judge said he spent hours going over the settlement, and ultimately concluded it was “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest.”

Florida foreclosure attorney Roy Oppenheim has been calling shenanigans on this settlement ever since it was first announced, and now we’re glad to see Judge Rackoff stand up and take action against the bank. He had previously called this settlement a ‘sweetheart deal’, and he was absolutely right. As Oppenheim has said on far too many occasions, there can be no changes to the banking industry without accountability, and Judge Rakoff has finally demanded it.

He also held the SEC to task yet again for their failure to hold the banks up to scrutiny and by failing to assess blame. By allowing these financial institutions to enter into these settlements without addressing the charges against them Rakoff added that the SEC “deprives the court of even the most minimal assurance that the substantial injunctive relief it is being asked to impose has any basis in fact.”
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Banks Go Straight to Jail? Defrauding Investors out of Millions gets Chance Card

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Banks continue to draw the lucky Get out of Jail Free card! South Florida Law Blog’sForeclosure Defense Attorney Roy Oppenheim asks: If the government is truly interested in reducing mortgage fraud, why not go after the ones who cause a larger impact on the economy and affect homeowners on a national scale? It seems the banks get the chance card and the little guys go directly to jail.

Last week Citigroup agreed to pay $285 million in a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.). Citigroup to Pay $285 Million to Settle S.E.C. Complaint – NYTimes.com. That’s pocket change for a giant bank that has made over $3.8 billion in profits just last quarter. The defrauded investors contributed to a $ 1 billion portfolio stuffed with high risk mortgage investments. What these unsuspecting investors didn’t know is that Citigroup bet against these investments in hopes that they would lose value. Not only did Citigroup bet against the portfolio, but it was responsible for selecting the mortgage investments that would make up the portfolio.

With all the questionable bank practices that have come to light since the housing market bubble bursts, the S.E.C. has done little to reprimand giants such as Citibank. Not only has the S.E.C or the Justice Department failed to go after the banks, they also have done little to prosecute banking executives who were no doubt involved in criminal activity stemming from the banking crisis. While a bank can’t be sent to jail, the high ranking executives directly responsible for these unethical banking practices should not be able to escape criminal liability. And yet, while the powerful banks and senior executives appear to be above the law, the government has not hesitated in going after individuals who lack powerful political influence on Washington.
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