The Truth About Foreclosure Abuses of the Banks

About one year previously Eric Schneiderman teamed up with other attorneys general of all the states to sue five mega banks for foreclosure abuses that became exposed with the robo-signing scandal. The target was to give relief to millions of house owners who had been wrongly foreclosed upon by reaching a settlement with the banks. But when the issue went beyond robo-signing to include a blanket clearance to the banks for all other transgressions of the law like playing around with toxic mortgage securities, Schneiderman raised objection. This led to his being thrown out of the executive committee. But Tom Miller the A.G. of Iowa leading the investigations contended that Schneiderman exited of his own accord. Whatever, Schneiderman started off his own investigations.New York State has in force Martin Act that empowers the top law enforcer powers relating to subpoena. The idea caught on leading to some other attorneys general to take independent action against the banks. Schneiderman has engaged about twelve lawyers to dig up the truth and according to Schneiderman the diggings are uprooting “really interesting evidence of misconduct”. Attorney Jeffrey Naimon who represents the banks, does not think that the stand taken by Schneiderman is mere posturing. Naimon feels that the evidence will relate to faulty judgment but not to fraud. Naimon said, “Yeah, there were loans that were made, that, right, now, I think we would look back and them and say ‘You know? It was a mistake to make those loans’. Was it wrongdoing to make those loans? No”. Despite Naimon’s tone of confidence the banking world is warily watching closely the activities of Schneiderman. He thinks that there is a common thread running between criminal and civil justice. Former attorney general Eliot Spitzer said that regarding mortgage matter Schneiderman has already compelled a change in attitudes on national scale. He said that although the outcome was uncertain he had made his point loudly that the stand most of the other attorneys general had taken “was not sufficiently rigorous”. The problem for Schneiderman is that if other attorneys general sign the settlement then the participating states will get cheques for disbursing to the wronged ex-homeowners but New York would be left out; Schneiderman would then have to do a lot of explaining to New Yorkers. They would like to know if further investigations were worth it.