SIX FORMER BOA EMPLOYEES TESTIFY THAT BOA MODIFICATION AND FORECLOSURE SPECIALISTS WERE PAID AND INSTRUCTED TO LIE TO HOMEOWNERS, PAID WITH GIFT CARDS IF THEY SUCCESSFULLY THREW THE HOMEOWNER INTO FORECLOSURE AND WERE DISCIPLINED OR FIRED IF THEY FAILED TO TURN OVER THE REQUESTS FOR MODIFICATION INTO THE RIGHT NUMBER OF FORECLOSURES.
IF YOU WANT A MODIFICATION, YOU NEED A LAWYER TO CHALLENGE THE REPRESENTATIONS OF LOST DOCUMENTS AND INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS FOR MODIFICATION. AND YOU ESPECIALLY NEED A LAWYER OR HUD COUNSELOR TO SUBMIT THE COVER LETTER AND THE SPECIFIC PROPOSAL FOR MODIFICATION WITH AFFIDAVITS FROM EXPERTS — (usually absent because the bank doesn’t request it). LIVINGLIES PROVIDES SUPPORT TO ANY ATTORNEY NEEDING ASSISTANCE IN DRAFTING THE COVER LETTER, AFFIDAVITS AND PROPOSAL. CALL CUSTOMER SUPPORT EAST COAST 954-495-9867 OR CUSTOMER SERVICE WEST COAST 520-405-1688 FOR PRICE QUOTES AND REQUIREMENTS. GGKW PROVIDES LEGAL SERVICES ONLY IN FLORIDA.
If you are seeking legal representation or other services call our South Florida customer service number at 954-495-9867 and for the West coast the number remains 520-405-1688. In Northern Florida and the Panhandle call 850-765-1236. Customer service for the livinglies store with workbooks, services and analysis remains the same at 520-405-1688. The people who answer the phone are NOT attorneys and NOT permitted to provide any legal advice, but they can guide you toward some of our products and services.
SEE ALSO:
http://WWW.LIVINGLIES-STORE.COM
The selection of an attorney is an important decision and should only be made after you have interviewed licensed attorneys familiar with investment banking, securities, property law, consumer law, mortgages, foreclosures, and collection procedures. This site is dedicated to providing those services directly or indirectly through attorneys seeking guidance or assistance in representing consumers and homeowners. We are available TO PROVIDE ACTIVE LITIGATION SUPPORT to any lawyer seeking assistance anywhere in the country, U.S. possessions and territories. Neil Garfield is a licensed member of the Florida Bar and is qualified to appear as an expert witness or litigator in in several states including the district of Columbia. The information on this blog is general information and should NEVER be considered to be advice on one specific case. Consultation with a licensed attorney is required in this highly complex field. Garfield is a partner of Garfield, Gwaltney, Kelley and White
Danielle Kelley, Esq. is a partner in the firm of Garfield, Gwaltney, Kelley and White (GGKW) in Tallahassee, Florida 850-765-1236
Our very own Danielle Kelley was quoted in a Reuters article yesterday that laid out in exquisite detail the endemic practice of lying, layering, laddering and forcing homeowners into foreclosure when a modification was better for both the homeowner and the investor. The article is by Michelle Conlin and Peter Rudegeair, Reuters, News Agency. Article carried in New York Times and other periodicals. Story picked up by several investigative reporters for in depth reports on TV, radio and other news media.
Since BOA might be successful in killing story, we produce most of it here:
The full article can be found at: FORMER BANK OF AMERICA WORKERS ALLEGE IT LIED TO HOMEOWNERS
EDITOR’S NOTE: As we have been saying for 6 years, sometimes alone in the wilderness, this is not a conspiracy theory, it is a fact. The entire securitization scheme was a lie, a Ponzi scheme to steal trillions of dollars from the U.S. Economy, and trillions of dollars from other countries around the world.
In order to make it work, the big banks had to set up an infrastructure in which they would lie, cheat and steal, sending the profits off to other jurisdictions and covering up the crimes by using companies at each layer of the scheme who channeled a large portion of investor funds and most of the recovery from insurance, credit default swaps, and government bailouts away from the investors and away from the borrowers.
The essential capstone of the strategy was the foreclosure sale and the expiration of the right of redemption. Without it, the banks could owe as much as $25 trillion back to insurers, credit default swap counterparties, government agencies, government sponsored entities (Fannie and Freddie) and the investors who provided all the money that was used to create the largest liquidity boom in history. And then there were the extra fees for servicing a loan that was deemed non-performing (even though it was the bank who lied to homeowners telling them to stop paying). So far it has been the perfect crime.
And the underpinning of the strategy was that the banks could control the narrative — that it was about borrowers who were intentionally getting into deals they could not afford — when it was just the opposite, to wit: it was the banks acting through many layers of nominees, conduits and intermediaries whose goal was to rid themselves of the money on deposit from investors (money that should have been entirely into a REMIC trust account and never was). Much of the money successfully stolen was in the form of a second tier yield spread premium that was created in the spread between the loans that were promised to investors and the actual loans made to borrowers.
It was all a lie. The borrowers believed the lender was the lender and that the lender would not assume a high risk on a loan that was doomed to fail. The investors believed that since most of them were managed funds who were required to invest only in triple A rated securities that were insured and guaranteed that industry standard underwriting was under way. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
The Banks were lying and paying for others to lie about the property valuation, the safety of the collateral, the existence of the collateral for investors, and the existence of insurance and hedge products for the investors. They lied to investors, they lied to the press, they lied to the government agencies, they lied to the two presidents that were caught in the web of deceit, and they lied to the secretaries of the treasury.
And now, as predicted the tsunami is going the other way as the truth sloshes over all the lies they told. We start with the story of modification of loans which could have resulted on most of the foreclosed homes being modified. Now we have strong evidence from the actual people who worked for BOA and other large financial institutions that their strategy was to use the promise of modification to lure homeowners into default on loans owned by unidentified parties, and stretch out the time so that the hole dug for the homeowner was too deep to get out of, and eventually put a cap on the well that could spray liability all over the mega banks and end their existence.
PRACTICE HINT: WITHOUT EXPERTS IN E-DISCOVERY, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO WIN YOUR CASES OR GET ENOUGH TRACTION TO FORCE MODIFICATION ON THE TERMS OFFERED BY THE BORROWER. GGKW, IN WHICH DANIELLE KELLEY IS PARTNER, IS DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS AND FORENSIC COMPUTER SPECIALISTS WHO ASSIST US ON MOST OF OUR CASES. WHEN YOUR GOAL IS TO WIN RATHER THAN DELAY, IT COSTS MONEY. ANTI-FORECLOSURE MILLS CHARGING LOW MONTHLY PAYMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE AT DELAYING THE FORECLOSURE BUT USUALLY INEFFECTIVE AT STOPPING IT OR EVEN WINNING THE CASE. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
FOLLOW DANIELLE KELLEY, ESQ. ON HER BLOG
Significant quotes from Reuters article:
Borrowers filed the civil case against Bank of America in 2010 and are now seeking class certification. The affidavits, dated June 7, are the latest accusations over the mishandling of mortgage modifications by some top U.S. banks.
Six former Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) employees have alleged that the bank deliberately denied eligible home owners loan modifications and lied to them about the status of their mortgage payments and documents.
The bank allegedly used these tactics to shepherd homeowners into foreclosure, as well as in-house loan modifications. Both yielded the bank more profits than the government-sponsored Home Affordable Modification Program, according to documents recently filed as part of a lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court.
The former employees, who worked at Bank of America centers throughout the United States, said the bank rewarded customer service representatives who foreclosed on homes with cash bonuses and gift cards to retail stores such as Target Corp (TGT.N) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O).
For example, an employee who placed 10 or more accounts into foreclosure a month could get a $500 bonus. At the same time, the bank punished those who did not make the numbers or objected to its tactics with discipline, including firing.
About twice a month, the bank cleaned out its HAMP backlog in an operation called “blitz,” where it declined thousands of loan modification requests just because the documents were more than 60 months old, the court documents say.
The testimony from the former employees also alleges the bank falsified information it gave the government, saying it had given out HAMP loan modifications when it had not.
Mortgage problems have dogged Bank of America since its disastrous purchase of Countrywide Financial in 2008. The bank paid $42 billion to settle credit crisis and mortgage-related litigation between 2010 and 2012, according to SNL Financial.
Bank of America and four other banks reached a $25 billion landmark settlement with regulators in 2012, following a scandal in late 2010 when it was revealed employees “robo signed” documents without verifying them as is required by law.
But problems have persisted. Since 2012, more than 18,000 homeowners have filed complaints about Bank of America with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new agency created to help protect consumers. Recently, the attorney generals of New York and Florida accused Bank of America of violating the terms of last year’s settlement.
The government created HAMP in 2009 in response to the foreclosure epidemic and to encourage banks to give homeowners loan modifications, allowing some borrowers to stay in their homes.
THE BLITZ
The court documents paint a picture of customer service operations where managers roamed the floor with headsets, able to listen into any call without warning. Service representatives were told to lie to homeowners, telling them their paperwork and payments had not been received, when in reality they had.
“This is exactly what’s been happening to homeowners for years,” said Danielle Kelley, a foreclosure defense lawyer in Florida. “No matter how many times they send in their paperwork, or how often they make their payments, they simply can’t get loan modifications. They wind up in foreclosure instead.”
The former employees said they were told to falsify electronic records and string homeowners along in foreclosure as long as possible. The problem was exacerbated because the bank did not have enough employees handling modifications, adding to the backlog of cases purged during the “blitz” operations.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Filed under: CDO, CORRUPTION, Eviction, evidence, expert witness, Fannie MAe, foreclosure, GARFIELD GWALTNEY KELLEY AND WHITE, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud, Servicer | Tagged: Bed bath and beyond Gift Cards, BOA, Danielle Kelley, Garfield, Gwaltney, Kelley and White (GGKW), lying, Michelle Conlin and Peter Rudegeair, modifications, perjury, Reuters, reviews, Target gift cards, U.S. Economy, World Economy | 241 Comments »
Become a Member of LivingLies Blog - FREE access to LivingLies Experts through member only conferences, FREE webinars, get member only discounts on seminars, products, and more!
