by Jade Isaacs, St Petersblog
Twenty homeowners are suing Bank of America for fraud after the bank denied them a program that would lower mortgage payments.
Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was designed to help homeowners affected by the market crash in 2008. The program would reduce monthly mortgage payments to 31 percent of the borrower’s pretax monthly income.
Eligibility for the program is based on five factors:
— You struggle to make mortgage payments due to financial hardship
— You are delinquent or in danger of missing payments
— Your mortgage was set before 2009
— Your property isn’t condemned
— You owe less than $729,750 on the property
Mortgage companies across the nation took part in the HAMP program.
In April 2009, HAMP was adopted by Bank of America. In exchange, the government provided the bank with hundreds of millions of dollars, says the suit.
Bank of America never trained its employees on the proper procedure for handling HAMP applications. The company contracted Urban Lending Solutions to help sort through the thousands of HAMP applications received.
According to multiple sworn declarations from past Bank of America and Urban Lending employees, a fraudulent scheme was enacted by the institution.
Employees were instructed to delay HAMP applications by telling customers they were still under review even if they were not. The company then began a procedure they called a “blitz.” Blitz’s occurred nearly twice a month. During a blitz, employees would deny all files over 60 days old. These “old” files were caused by employees not submitting them promptly and had nothing to do with borrowers slacking on turning in forms. Forms that were filed correctly went through Urban Lending. Underwriters looking over cases wouldn’t know to check Urban Lending’s database to find the forms and would presume that the application wasn’t ever completed.
One declaration said employees had quotas to meet for placing homes into foreclosure. They could be terminated if they did not meet the quota. Incentives, like gift cards and bonuses, were given to those who met the quota.
Many homeowners who did not receive the modification lost their homes to foreclosure.
A plaintiff in the suit, Rafael Paz, lost his home after his HAMP application was denied. Paz attempted to file the application and subsequent documents to the bank four times. Each time, he would be told the documents were either not received or were incomplete.
On one occasion, Paz was informed by a Bank of America employee that to be approved, he should default on his payments. He did as he was told, and later the employee verbally informed Paz that he was approved to begin making trial payments. Paz was never actually approved, and the trial payments he made went to other fees the bank claimed he had to pay.
By 2012, Bank of America foreclosed on his home. Each of the 19 other plaintiffs have similar stories.
In its March 2011 HAMP Performance Report, Bank of America had a conversion rate of about 30 percent. A conversion rate it the percentage of borrowers who converted from Trial Payment Period modifications to permanent modifications. Other lenders, like Wachovia Mortgage, had an 89 percent conversion rate.
In a 2013 class action against Bank of America, the Massachusetts District Court deemed it should be up to individuals to sue the institution.
Filed under: foreclosure |
is your question why did they pay no taxes ???…I’m not being rude…just want to make sure what you are asking
This is the “modus oderandie” for nasty old Bank of America and crooked attorneys like the Janeway lawfirm that got fined $650,000 for improper behavior on foreclosure in Colorado in late 2014. I even had an appraisal from nasty old B of A for over a $120,000 more than Janeway bid initially as they wanted to insure they did NOT get a property they were not entitled to based upon the wrongful foreclosure with forged, fabricated, and phony documents. They have been getting away with this for so long that it appears to be their common practice and remember they make claim that Fannie Mae is the “investor” of loans. The dirty bs are our own government operating as GSE since 2008 when they took over Freddie and Fannie and are making a great profit at OUR expense!!! Since they are part of the government conveniently they can get away with this as they are all crooks in my humble opine and too big to fail with this huge racketeering scam!!! Semper Fi
I wish to hell someone would answer my question ?
My Investment Security (promissory note) was $82,900, before foreclosure BOA/ReCon Trust lowered the auction price to $32,500.
REMIC never filed with US S and E Commission. DOT and Note never any good. BOA owe $4,300,000 tax. All money paid into BOAtaxed at 100%, 84-payments at $50,000-IRS Code 856.
BOA NEVER PAID ANY TAXES.
Need help, I am putting together some case documentation against Wells Fargo and US Bank as Trustee. Can someone tell me how I can find all of the illegal DOT’s that are in public records. Looking specifically for Securitized Trust DOT’s. You can reach me at 443-677-2799 or jsmith5915@msn.com
Anyone have info on this class action? Appreciate case, state, etc…applies to a few people I know!
Dear Rogerrinaldi,
You have no comments being held by the moderator.
Happy Thanksgiving!
James: the crime is that the banks ARE trying to STEAL your home.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
my comment was moderated. look for it later.
To be forced into this foreclosure trap is very demeaning. I have traditional values of being responsible and striving to do what is right. When I faced a financial hardship and proactively sought to modify my mortgage I expected banks to act responsibly and do what is right, Wells Fargo engaged in the same racketeering that the 10th circuit court noted in it’s August 15 2016 ruling. It is a class action and individuals having to file a case on every count is simply ignoring the greatest racketeering scheme of modern times.
What is the case citation? This happened to me! Thank you Bridget Gruzdis
Reblogged this on California Freelance Paralegal.
hummmm class action??? why not TORT…they have harmed many many people….
This is my exact story EXCEPT with Wells Fargo. Denied 8 times !!!! Anyone want to start a lawsuit against the criminals at WF.
Thanks for the
Post Neil. Now that my local court denied the foreclosure I wasn’t sure how to get a ruling on the fraud claims I raised in my defense. I have to sue Wells Fargo.
There were as many as 800,000 Ginnie Mae pooled loan not underwritten for a HAMP, FHA HAMP or VA HAMP in 2009-2010.
Once again Wells Fargo Bank is the poster child of this abuse with 104,000 Federal Government insured loans (FHA, VA, USDA) as it did and does service parts of the 1.3 million Fed Gov loans it been servicing since Jul 31, 2006.
BOA is getting around the UCC9 deal because it was the originator of the loans placed in the BOA Ginnie Mae Mortgage Back Securities (MBS)! However what BOA and other lenders did was to endorse the Notes in blank and relinquishing to Ginnie with BOA acting as custodian of records.
You cannot expect to win when you lost as to how they got to point A-Z!
it is even deeper then that…not just freede mac more peeps no…n its discusting
Boy does this story ever sound familiar. I had FIVE initial, alleged loans supposedly originated and funded by Countrywide Home loans from the years 2002 to the last loan in early 2009. I have been fighting them for five years now.
My case is just like the 2016 racketeering case in Colorado that has now been allowed to proceed per the 10th Circuit Court Ruling on August 15, 2016 that is allegedly a “Class Action Case” but supposedly limited to the actual number of people involved.
My very sad discovery that I deem to be very true is that Fannie Mae (operating under our very own government as GSE -Government Services Enterprise along with Freddie Mac since 2008) is fully aware and actually a participant as a “co-conspirator” in this huge mess.
Sure too bad borrowers, title companies, government agencies, congress people, and attorneys apparently refuse to join in the battle against this too big to fail organization nasty old Bank of America AND all its co-conspirators. Especially in view of the fact that so many cases have already proven the existence of ALL the plethora of fabricated, forged, and phony documents involved and actually robo signed and robo notarized— go figure!!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone and Semper Fi
I have fought off Bank of America for the past NINE years…now I have to deal with Bank of New York…I refuse to leave my home when I was NOT the one who committed a CRIME