BankThink

HUD Reportedly Refers ‘Veritable Indictments’ of Top Servicers to DOJ

Confidential audits by HUD’s inspector general accuse the top five mortgage servicers of “defrauding taxpayers” in their handling of foreclosures on FHA loans, the Huffington Post reported Monday, citing four anonymous sources.

“The audits accuse the five major lenders of violating the False Claims Act, a Civil War-era law crafted as a weapon against firms that swindle the government,” the story said. The inspector general’s office “referred its findings to the Department of Justice, which must now decide whether to file charges.”

The reports “read like veritable indictments” of Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Ally Financial Inc., the website reported, and they “have armed state officials with a powerful new weapon as they seek to extract what they describe as punitive fines from lawbreaking mortgage companies.”

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