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Document-Traffic-Rings A Felony Except When Banks Steal Our Homes With Falsified Docs Illegal residents sent to prison for counterfeit documents in Grand Rapids, Holland. A leader of a family-based document-trafficking ring was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 20, to five years in federal prison. Jacinto Morales-Martinez, 48, a previously deported citizen of Mexico, received a concurrent five-year term for returning to the U.S. after being convicted of an aggravated felony. Morales-Martinez had a leading role in the scheme to produce high-quality Permanent Resident cards, or green cards, and Social Security cards for those illegally in the U.S., the government said....

Banks Use Punishment to Ditch Troubled Loans: Mortgages Banks that agreed to help troubled borrowers as part of a settlement with regulators over foreclosure misdeeds are spending most of the promised aid on sales that displace homeowners and forgiveness that erases home equity loans from their books. Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), and three other banks in last years $25 billion.

Financial Reform's Triple "F" Rating The lawsuit gets at a major problem at the heart of the credit-rating business: Rather than investors paying rating agencies to assess the value of securities it is the issuers of the securities themselves who pick up the tab. It is naturally in the interest of issuerstypically big banksfor rating agencies to rate their products highly, which increases the chances investors will buy them.

DA's office looks into a possible foreclosure scam The Santa Barbara County District Attorneys Office is investigating a case of alleged loan modification/foreclosure consultant fraud in the Santa Maria area. According to a press release sent out on Jan. 25, the business in question operates primarily out of Los Angeles County, but has allegedly victimized many homeowners in Northern Santa Barbara County.

RI: AG Kilmartin still hasn't distributed most of foreclosure-prevention funds Close to a year after a historic, $25-billion foreclosure-abuses settlement was reached between 49 state attorneys general and five of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, less than $2 million of the $8.9 million Rhode Island received for foreclosure-prevention efforts has been committed for distribution. The $8.9 million for foreclosure-prevention work, which is just part.

LPS settles outstanding Attorneys General foreclosure issues for $127 million "Today's settlements are another major step toward putting issues related to past business practices behind us," said LPS President and Chief Executive Officer Hugh Harris. "As LPS continues to grow and exercise its leadership in the mortgage industry, we remain committed to enhanced regulatory compliance and operational excellence, which are crucial in our changing industry."

Oregon nets $3M in another foreclosure settlement Oregon, along with 45 other states and the District of Columbia, has agreed to settle a case related to the "robo-signing" of legal documents. Lender Processing Services has agreed to pay $120.6 million to settle the case. Oregon will receive $3 million.LPS provided mortgage loan processing and other services to banks, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, and generated revenue of $2 billion in 2011.

Foreclosure Settlement Shuts Down Reviews: Banks Will Continue Business As Usual The harm categories on the published OCC/Fed matrix also proscribed non-financial remedies in all cases. Correcting a credit report is one of the mandated remedies banks were supposed to be on the hook for and its not clear if anyone will be making sure banks do this at all, let alone well or consistently. Credit report correction, a non-financial remedy, is the remedy everyone is asking me about. Everyone knows that a bad or incorrect credit report can haunt you forever and if fraudulent or illegal actions by the banks caused a bad credit report the bank should be responsible for wiping the slate clean for injured borrowers.