Pilant’s Business Ethics CBS News
Way back in February, the President was talking about a foreclosure freeze in the hardest hit states.
When did this kind of talk disappear? What happened to the President?
Apparently foreclosure freezes was not a taboo subject just a few months ago.
My thanks to Angelinems’ Blog!
James Pilant
via Angelinem’s Blog
| Subject -Ohio Attorney Generaly Press Release | |
| Details: |
I don’t usually print press releases, but I REALLY like this one!
From the Ohio Attorney General Web Site –
COLUMBUS, Ohio) — In response to Wells Fargo’s statement acknowledging that it “made mistakes” and that affidavits in 55,000 foreclosures filed by the bank did not “adhere” to the law, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray offers the following statement:
“The big mortgage servicers and financial firms continue to demonstrate their belief that they do not need to play by the same rules as everyone else who uses our court system. The suggestion by Wells Fargo and its colleagues at several other national firms that they can cure fraudulent testimony by simply refiling new affidavits and continuing to proceed toward foreclosures shows they do not recognize the seriousness of the problem they have created. There is no simple ‘do-over’ for false testimony that will be likely to avoid sanctions and penalties imposed by the courts. Their brazen efforts to minimize their financial exposure by sweeping these problems under the rug are an insult to the justice system in this country. These disclosures by Wells Fargo will now become the focus for a new prong of our on-going investigation.”
Earlier this month, Cordray filed a lawsuit against GMAC for issuing false affidavits in many Ohio foreclosure cases. He has taken a hard-line approach with national loan servicers operating in Ohio in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. In July 2009, Ohio was the first state to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for violating the state’s consumer laws. Since then, two other cases have been filed in addition to the case against GMAC.
Okay, guys, there it is. I’ve been talking about it for weeks. This is fraud. It’s not mishandled paperwork. It’s not routine. It’s not something that “wouldn’t have changed the outcome in the vast majority of cases.” It’s illegal. It’s lying to the court. It’s telling Judges what you know to be untrue on oath.
The Ohio Attorney General has the guts to get out there and say it. The President won’t. The Wall Street Journal won’t. The Treasury department won’t.
But I have almost from the beginning.
It’s time for a foreclosure freeze, a moratorium until the industry gets its house in order. It’s time for action not just in Ohio but all over the fifty AND the federal government.
The American people have a right to believe that there is one type of law for all people be they in the banking industry or other citizens.
Let us go forward as a nation not just Ohio and punish these criminal acts.
James Pilant
This is a fine business ethics essay from my friends at “Your Daily Dose” in this case, Christine. (If you are reading this, Christine, I will be happy to use your whole name, should you desire it.)
The writing is clever. The information is interesting. The business ethical question dead on point.
Doesn’t get any better than that!
James Pilant
When Michael Gazzarato took a job that required him to sign hundreds of affidavits in a single day, he had one demand for his employer: a much better pen.
“They tried to get me to do it with a Bic, and I wasn’t going – I wasn’t having it,” he said. “It was bad when I had to use the plastic Papermate-type pen. It was a nightmare.”
The complaint could have come from any of the autograph marathoners in the recent mortgage foreclosure mess. But Gazzarato was speaking at a deposition in a 2007 lawsuit against Asset Acceptance, a company that buys consumer debts and then tries to collect.
His job was to sign affidavits, swearing that he had personally reviewed and verified the records of debtors – a time-consuming task when done correctly.
Sound familiar?
That’s right. This brilliant idea was thought up by debt collection agencies, the ones that buy up debts for pennies on the dollar and then sell them back and forth trying to make a buck.
Now, all we have to do is figure out what incredible genius thought you could use the same practice with mortgages.
Mortgages are a different ball park. In the United States property cannot change hands without a written contract. Further, land is surrounded by laws and guarantees dating back centuries. Robo signing on unsecured debts like credit cards is probably pretty stupid but robo signing on mortgages is just asking for hard core exciting trouble and they are getting it.
Hold on to your hats, this scandal just keeps getting better by the day!
James Pilant
