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View Full Version : Gov't report: Fannie Mae knew of 'robo-signing' in '03




bobbyw24
10-04-2011, 05:30 AM
Max Gardner, a nationally renowned consumer bankruptcy attorney, has written an article on the mortgage mess--and it's impact on taxpayers thanks to Freddie Max and Fannie Mae.

The article says "Whether or not you agree with Ron Paul on most things you should agree with him with respect to his concerns about our liability for the operations of Fannie and Freddie."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae knew about allegations of improper foreclosure practices by law firms in 2003 but did not act to stop them, a government watchdog says.

Similar allegations are the subject of a probe by state attorneys general into how lenders and law firms ignored proper procedures to handle a crush of foreclosure paperwork.

An unnamed shareholder warned Fannie Mae of alleged foreclosure abuses in 2003, the inspector general for the agency that regulates Fannie says in a report being released Tuesday.

Fannie Mae responded by hiring a law firm to investigate the claims in 2005. The law firm reported in 2006 that it had found foreclosure attorneys in Florida "routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits."

Fannie officials said they told a government official about the law firm's findings in 2006. That unnamed official, who now works for Fannie's regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said he couldn't recall the conversation, the report says.
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1190459673147&id=2ae92730ed5721eb010bd36f640b8acd&url=http%3a%2f%2fforeclosurenewswire.net%2fcms%2ft humbnail.php%3ffile%3drobo_signer_727556046.jpg%26 size%3darticle_large

Fannie began using a network of attorneys in 1997 to help handle foreclosures, evictions and bankruptcies. In 2008, the network grew to 140 law firms. And the number of foreclosures in Fannie's portfolio reached historic highs. Foreclosures more than doubled from 2007 to 2008. They grew 50 percent in 2009.

More:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Govt-report-Fannie-knew-of-apf-3965362442.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

acptulsa
10-04-2011, 06:28 AM
BoA, Chase and others using TARP money to buy up small banks and kill competition. Fannie using TARP money to bury homeowners in paperwork so they get foreclosed on even when it could have been avoided. GM using TARP money to build up an OnStar network that spies on us.

We're building up an interesting list of things that was done with TARP money, aren't we?

bobbyw24
10-04-2011, 08:19 AM
BoA, Chase and others using TARP money to buy up small banks and kill competition. Fannie using TARP money to bury homeowners in paperwork so they get foreclosed on even when it could have been avoided. GM using TARP money to build up an OnStar network that spies on us.

We're building up an interesting list of things that was done with TARP money, aren't we?

Yep--and the libs keep saying that we made $$ off of TARP so who cares.

bobbyw24
10-04-2011, 09:12 AM
Fannie Mae Knew Early of Abuses, Report Says
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, learned as early as 2003 of extensive foreclosure abuses among the law firms it had hired to remove troubled borrowers from their homes. But the company did little to correct the firms’ practices, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Only after news reports in mid-2010 began to describe the dubious practices, like the routine filing of false pleadings in bankruptcy courts, did Fannie Mae’s overseer start to scrutinize the conduct. The report was critical of that overseer, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and was prepared by the agency’s inspector general.

In one notable lapse, even after the agency reported problems to Fannie Mae in late 2010 about some of the approved law firms, it did not request a response from the company, the report said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/business/fannie-mae-ignored-foreclosure-misdeeds-report-says.html?_r=1

AuH20
10-04-2011, 09:18 AM
But it's all the banks' fault.

oyarde
10-04-2011, 11:09 AM
The disturbing thing about Fannie & Freddie is how many people were aware of problems for such a long time and still , nothing was done .....

bobbyw24
10-06-2011, 08:19 AM
The concerns were backed up in a 2006 report commissioned by Fannie that found “foreclosure attorneys in Florida are routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits.”

“It is axiomatic that the practice is improper and should be stopped,” the 2006 report said. “Fannie Mae has not authorized this unlawful conduct.”

But, if it’s too expensive to fix…

Well, we all know how that turned out…

~
Fannie Mae sticking with fired Florida law firm

Federal mortgage backer Freddie Mac fired a Florida law firm this year for “foreclosure processing abuses,” but sister company Fannie Mae continues to use the firm because it’s too expensive to transfer files to new attorneys.

A Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General report released Tuesday criticized the two entities for, among other things, a lack of communication about problems within law firms used to take people’s homes.

But, even when Freddie Mac told Fannie Mae why it was firing the Florida firm, Fannie decided to retain the law firm’s services, noting that the cost of moving cases “would be substantial.”

According to the report, Fannie Mae is expecting a $5.5 million bill for transferring files from the Law Offices of David J. Stern to new attorneys. Both Fannie and Freddie fired the Plantation-based Stern firm in November.

http://bit.ly/px3HZY