[Occupymendocino] Fwd: Former Employess of BAC admit to lying

[Linda Jupiter]

> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> http://finance.yahoo.com/news/former-bank-america-workers-allege-214159027.html
>> Former Bank of America workers allege it lied to home owners
>> Reuters – 3 hours ago
>>
>>
>> By Michelle Conlin and Peter Rudegeair
>> (Reuters) - 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.
>> Rick Simon, a Bank of America Home Loans spokesman, said the bank  
>> had successfully completed more modifications than any other  
>> servicer under HAMP.
>> "We continue to demonstrate our commitment to assisting customers  
>> who are at risk of foreclosure and, at best, these attorneys are  
>> painting a false picture of the bank's practices and the dedication  
>> of our employees," Simon said in a email, adding the declarations  
>> were "rife with factual inaccuracies."
>> 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.
>> 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.
>> Once a HAMP application was delayed or rejected, Bank of America  
>> would offer an in-house alternative, charging as high as 5 percent  
>> when the loan could have been modified for 2 percent under HAMP,  
>> according to an affidavit by William Wilson, who worked at the  
>> bank's Charlotte, North Carolina office.
>> Wilson, who was a case management team manager, said he told his  
>> supervisors the practices were "ridiculous" and "immoral." He said  
>> he was fired in August 2012.
>> Bank of America said it was not at liberty to discuss personnel  
>> matters.
>> (Reporting By Michelle Conlin and Peter Rudegeair in New York;  
>> Editing by Paritosh Bansal)
>>
>>
>>
>
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