Read
- Survivors pulled from Oklahoma tornado debris as toll falls
|
- Convicted U.S. killer Arias would join tiny death row group
- Drop in U.S. underground water levels has accelerated -USGS
- Analysis: Some Republicans see new scandal in Sebelius fundraising
- Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots at its troops
Sponsored Links
Exclusive: U.S. mortgage task force to act soon
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (L) is sworn in by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman during a ceremony at the Capitol in Albany, New York, January 1, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Mike Groll/Pool
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mortgage task force formed by President Barack Obama to probe misconduct that contributed to the financial crisis will soon take legal action, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Thursday.
Schneiderman, a co-chair of the task force, would not say whether cases would be brought against individuals or financial institutions. He also would not comment on whether criminal charges would be filed.
But he said his office would take action and that he expected his federal counterparts on the task force to do so as well.
"We'll see actions being taken sooner rather than later," said Schneiderman, speaking in an interview at his office in New York.
The Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group was formed in January, to probe the pooling and sale of risky mortgages in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. Obama said he was creating the group to "hold accountable those who broke the law" and "help turn the page on an era of recklessness."
Schneiderman said he believes it is still necessary to go after the "bad actors" to restore confidence in the financial markets.
"It's important to convey the sense that no one is above the law. There's a set of rules to which all will be held accountable, including big players on Wall Street," Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman noted that only days earlier protesters had gathered in a park nearby to mark the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Last year, Schneiderman fought to limit the scope of a $25 billion settlement with major banks over foreclosure abuses. He wanted authorities to retain the ability to probe misconduct in the securitization of mortgages, the area now being investigated by the task force.
The task force includes the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Internal Revenue Service.
Schneiderman said the group, which has been criticized for inaction, had taken a few months to staff up. He said he was optimistic resources would continue to expand.
"History will show the working group acted pretty quickly given the circumstances," he said. "The important thing is to see results and then continued results ... (that) we don't just have one or two cases and then this peters out."
Another law enforcement official involved with the task force told Reuters on Wednesday that any action from the task force was more likely to be civil than criminal.
In the interview on Thursday, Schneiderman said he could not comment on whether there would be criminal charges.
When the group was formed, Attorney General Eric Holder announced civil subpoenas had been sent to 11 financial institutions. But little information has been made public since then.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Additional reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by Eddie Evans, Gary Hill)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
As we found out yesterday HUD allowed $17 billion false claim to be given out to 20,000 borrowers, but this was 20,000 borrowers they could not foreclose on anyway, so HUD tricked them into selling their own properties.
Ginnie Mae has a over a trillion dollars in MBS that they have the blank Notes to the home mortgage loans that were placed into the pool that the debt is not held by Ginnie Mae because they did not purchase the debt.
A big Ponzi scheme is what you have over at HUD with Ginnie Mae as the head of the RICO operation. Al Capone would be proud that it going to take the same law that got him want against the Federal Government who is directing MERS and servicers like Wells Fargo to pretend that they are the “holder in due course” when in fact that position was given up at the time the loans where accepted by Ginnie Mae as part of the MBS.
Complicated but simple…show me the bill of sale? Ginnie Mae not produce a single sherd of evidence where they purchase any debt to had home mortgage loan borrowers be indebted to them, so they must character assassinate the borrowers, which was helped by President Obama preaching that “people wanted to live outside their means” lumping every single borrower as a subprime borrower then being allowed to do whatever they wanted as they have pulled over the eyes of everyone the actually legal way these Notes/Contract are to perform and to be title at local land recording offices in order to place a lien against the homes.
Ginnie Mae can NEVER place a lien against a home EVER. This Ponzi end because the curtain is pulled back and Ginnie Mae is not the owner of debt, so the MBS never had any underlying collateral so the Ponzi end as I am calling the MBS investors loan due. The no way to transfer the blank Note back the the lenders that have place the loans in Ginnie Mae’s pawn shop!
Follow Reuters