You may recall the “robo-signing” scandal that erupted in 2010. Banks’ employees and contractors were improperly signing false mortgage or foreclosure documents and then executing them on homeowners. Apparently, some of these documents found their way into bankruptcy courts, meaning the lenders committed perjury as well. The U.S. Trustee Program, which among other responsibilities helps other federal departments investigate bankruptcy fraud cases, announced a $50 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase for filing 50,000 robo-signed documents—mostly payment change notices—in 25,000 bankruptcy cases.
About half of the payout will go 400 homeowners who received improper payment increase notices. They will receive mortgage credits and second loan forgiveness. The mean average payout will be $56,000 per homeowner.
Less significantly, JPMorgan Chase will pay 12,000 homeowners an average $900 for payment change notices that were not timely filed with bankruptcy courts. 18,000 homeowners will get $260 for receiving inaccurate or untimely escrow statements. Another $600 per loan will go to 8,000 homeowners who received payments to their escrow accounts that were inconsistent with the statements JPMorgan Chase submitted to them.
Finally, JPMorgan Chase will give $7.5 million to the American Bankruptcy Institute for its financial education activities.
JPMorgan Chase is also promising to alter its internal practices to ensure this robo-signing abuse doesn’t occur again. Whether that is meant to apply to its mortgagors who are in bankruptcy or all debtors in general is unclear. The lending giant will also acquiesce to a review by an independent auditor.
Additional information from the U.S. Trustee Program on the settlement can be found in its press release here.
Obviously homeowners who believe JPMorgan Chase acted wrongly in their bankruptcy proceedings can use separate means available to them. That can come in the form of a sanctions motion, for example. If you are a homeowner who went through bankruptcy and owed a mortgage to JPMorgan Chase, you should look into whether you are eligible for compensation. If you are facing foreclosure, then you should contact an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer, especially if you think an improperly generated document might be responsible.
For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced bankruptcy trustee actions Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.