Five Banks Pay 25 Billion Dollars in National Foreclosure Fraud Settlement – Some of that Money Might Be Yours

Unless you have not paid attention at all to what is happening to hundreds of thousands of homeowners in America, you know that big banks have been accused of fraudulently foreclosing on homes with fake paperwork. Yep, fake. Yep, banks. The courts, the banks, and the U.S. Government until now have allowed these foreclosures to happen unchallenged. One home after another, one family after another lost their homes to banks who forged documents to defraud unsuspecting homeowners and even judges who ruled repeatedly in their favor.

How did they get away with it? Well, usually the homeowner in foreclosure freaks out about not being able to pay their bills and doesn’t even fight the case. Many times they do not show up in court at all or they hire attorneys that have no idea how to defend against foreclosure actions. Justice only works if you show up AND  you know what you are doing.

Enter Lyn Syzmoniak, Esq. Syzmoniak, a Florida based fraud investigation attorney stopped making
mortgage payments after a battle with cancer and caring for her sick mother wiped out her life savings. Soon thereafter, Deutsche Bank moved to foreclosure on her home. The problem however was they claimed they lost the mortgage note. That meant they could not prove they owned the loan.   This prompted Syzmoniak to begin investigating all of the paperwork, which to her looked suspicious, and she quickly uncovered the widespread document fraud that led to the national foreclosure settlement of 95 million dollars of which she gets $18 million.

The banks involved are well-known to all of us: J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial Inc/GMAC. This 95 million is just one component of the $25 billion (with a b) mortgage settlement filed earlier this week. About a million homeowners will supposedly get significant loan reductions as a result of the settlement, but for another 750,000 borrowers, the payout will only be about $1,800 to $2,000.00 at best.  Could some of that money be yours? Follow this blog for further information about this settlement or contact your local Congressperson to find out what is happening in your state.

In the meantime, if you find yourself nearing or facing foreclosure here are the top 3 things you MUST do:

1.     Answer the Summons and Complaint. This is the paperwork the bank serves you to let you know you are being sued.  It requires that you respond in a specific time frame and you MUST respond within that time, no exceptions. If you do not, you can easily lose your case just on procedure alone. If you answer timely, you will have lots of defenses at your disposal, if you know how to handle your case correctly.

2.     Hire a foreclosure defense attorney. I know times are hard. I know money is tight. However this is one area where you should not penny pinch. A good lawyer can mean the difference between staying in your home or moving out.

3.     Research and stay on top of your case. Do everything you can to study on your own what is happening in the mortgage industry. It is changing so quickly, new things happen daily. Your attorney may miss something that you can bring to her attention. Follow the news, the President and the foreclosure blogs. The information you gain may save your home.

4.     Never quit. There is always another alternative, always something you can do to counter the action of the banks. So long as it is legal, do it. Save your home if you can and if you want to. Do not let your friends and family convince you to walk away.

5.     Pray. God is real and you need your faith, your strength and your God to help you through this and keep you sane at night. Pray and do not worry, know in your heart that however things turned out, you did your best and you are going to be OK.

Cathleen Williams, RN, Esq. is a licensed attorney and author in New York City. Her book Single Mother the New Father is available at Amazon.com or at cathleenwilliams.com

To learn more about the national mortgage settlement go to: http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/ and http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/02/08/49-state-foreclosure-fraud-settlement-will-be-finalized-thursday/