Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Payment Agent For Crappy National Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Shortchanges 96,000 Screwed Over Borrowers On Paltry Payments
Bloomberg reports:
The Federal Reserve said some mortgage borrowers who were insufficiently paid as part of a settlement will be sent supplemental checks next week.
The borrowers, whose home loans were serviced by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley, will be sent an additional payment around May 17, the Fed said today in a statement in Washington. They were sent erroneous payments as part of the Independent Foreclosure Review agreement, the Fed said, citing an announcement by Rust Consulting Inc., which processed payments.
Rust said [] some borrowers were sent checks for less than the amount directed by the Fed and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Minneapolis-based company is distributing $3.6 billion that servicers agreed to pay to settle claims they improperly seized homes amid the subprime mortgage crisis.
“The new checks will make up the difference between what was in the original check sent by Rust and what should have been paid,” the Fed said in the statement. “Borrowers should cash both the original checks and the supplemental checks.”
A settlement with regulators in January deemed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (MS) responsible for $232 million in cash to borrowers and $325 million to help avert foreclosures, though the New York-based companies no longer own mortgage servicers. In all, the broader settlement compensated about 4.2 million borrowers with loans from 13 mortgage servicers.
96,000 Borrowers
About 96,000 borrowers whose loans were serviced by former Goldman Sachs subsidiary Litton Loan Servicing LP and Morgan Stanley’s Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. unit were sent checks for less than the amount that the Fed directed Rust to pay, Rust and the central bank both said in statements [].
The Fed said it learned of a possible discrepancy [] and contacted Rust to assess the problem. Rust was hired as the agent to distribute in payments to borrowers who faced foreclosure in 2009 and 2010.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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