New York State Sues Banks Over Foreclosures (BAC, WFC, JPM)

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By Paul Ausick Published

The state of New York has filed a lawsuit in the state’s Supreme Court charging Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) with filing “deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings in New York state and federal courts, harming homeowners and undermining the integrity of the judicial foreclosure process.” The lawsuit also names MERSCORP, Inc. and its subsidiary Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS).

In a press release announcing the suit, the banks are also said to “have repeatedly submitted court documents containing false and misleading information that made it appear that the foreclosing party had the authority to bring a case when in fact it may not have.” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said:

The banks created the MERS system as an end-run around the property recording system, to facilitate the rapid securitization and sale of mortgages. Once the mortgages went sour, these same banks brought foreclosure proceedings en masse based on deceptive and fraudulent court submissions, seeking to take homes away from people with little regard for basic legal requirements or the rule of law.

The press release is here and the court filing is here.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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