Banks Foreclosure Fraud: "Whoops You Caught Me! Take This Paperwork Instead"

A Wall Street Journal article recently reported how banks are attempting to correct the fraudulent affidavits regarding their foreclosures by replacing them with new ones.  Ohio's attorney general  Richard Cordray released two letters criticizing banks claiming they're trying to practically white out fraud committed in foreclosures as temporary fixes that don't address the real problems.

"It is not acceptable for a party who believes they submitted false court documents to merely replace those documents. Wells Fargo and any other banks are not simply allowed a 'do-over,'" he wrote in the letter to Wells. The other letter was sent to Ohio judges, who were asked to notify Mr. Cordray when banks file substitute affidavits."

The Wall Street Journal reported that "on Oct. 28, Wells Fargo announced it was resubmitting affidavits for 55,000 pending foreclosures, suggesting that some of the paperwork might be flawed. In March, a Wells Fargo employee said in a sworn deposition in a Florida foreclosure case that she signed between 300 and 500 foreclosure documents a day, without reviewing the numbers on the loan files for accuracy." 

General Cordray demanded banks vacate any court order or motion that was based on fraudulent paperwork while recommending banks would be "well-served to work out a settlement with the borrowers to modify the loans and work out payments."

Two weeks ago a 50 state probe of bank fraud regarding foreclosures began in response to reports of widespread errors in foreclosure filings. General Cordray's strategy provides clues as to the goals of such probe which is being led by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. 

"The banks are committing fraud on the court, essentially perjury, and then saying 'Whoops! You caught me! Here's some different evidence and use that instead,' " Mr. Cordray said in an interview Friday. "I know a lot of judges are not going to take kindly to that."- Attorney General Cordray, Ohio

 Foreclosure Crisis: Banks Told Not to just 'Fix Foreclosure Fraud