Mass AG Seeks Injunction Freezing 500 Fremont Foreclosures

In Massachusettts, The Boston Globe reports:

• The Massachusetts attorney general asked a state court yesterday to block Fremont Investment & Loan from commencing foreclosure actions against 500 borrowers in Massachusetts. Attorney General Martha Coakley had previously filed suit in October accusing Fremont of predatory and unfair lending practices, and yesterday attorneys from her office told a Suffolk Superior Court judge the state wants to review each mortgage that is subject to foreclosure and try to stop proceedings on any loans they believe were made fraudulently.

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• Many Fremont loans had lower teaser rates that rose after two years, often pushing borrowers' payments beyond their ability to pay. Fremont mortgages were "a recipe for disaster," and Fremont was aware its mortgages contained "multiple layers of risk" to borrowers, [assistant attorney general Jean] Healey said. In the request for an injunction, state lawyers argued the loans were "structurally unfair" and Fremont made them without regard to borrowers' ability to pay.

For more, see State asks court to halt 500 foreclosures by Fremont.

Go here for a West Tisbury, MA lawsuit against Fremont alleging predatory practices.