At least, the biggest fraud exposed to date. And I have no doubt there will be more. Notice that as I concluded in yesterday’s column, it is the states, not the Feds, who are leading the charge on this:
The Texas Attorney General’s office called for a halt on all foreclosures today amid widespread scrutiny over the way foreclosures are processed nationwide. Notices to suspend foreclosures were sent to 27 loan servicers doing business in Texas, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co
Here’s hoping that they follow up with the appropriate prosecutions. Not only of the bankers, but their regulatory enablers such as Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner as well.
UPDATE: In which we are given a lesson in how the defenders of the banks are going to play this one:
“Judge Jack S. Cox of the 15th Judicial Circuit ruled that Attorney General Bill McCollum lacked standing to file his subpoena against Shapiro & Fishman law firm of Boca Raton, effectively blocking an investigation of that firm’s foreclosure practices.”
Notice what was ruled here – a Judge ruled that consumer protection laws do not apply if the person defrauding you is an attorney.
The Law of Rule is at work again. It’s become increasingly apparent how the courts are utilizing that “no standing” concept in order to throw out damaging lawsuits that threaten the favored classes. No doubt some court will discover that the laws don’t apply if the corporation defrauding you is a bank.