About time! New York Charges JPMorgan with Mortgage Fraud...by Michael Collins
...Schneiderman charged Bear Sterns and JPMorgan, which acquired Bear, with fraud under the state's Martin Act. Unique to New York, the act allows prosecutors the ability to vigorously pursue financial fraud with both civil and criminal charges. The investigative powers provided are broader than those found in any state or among regulators (e.g., the Securities and Exchange Commission).
EMC Mortgage, Bear's lending unit, "made material misrepresentations about the quality of the loans in the securities " and ignored evidence of broad defects among the loans that they pooled and sold to investors." EMC identified bad loans then demanded and received payments from originating lenders (firms they'd purchased the loans from). According to the indictment, the deception and fraud came when EMC failed to share any of the recovered fund with investors.
*snip*
The Martin Act - Broad authority to prosecute financial fraud
The Martin Act was passed in the 1930's to facilitate the prosecution of financial crimes against the general public. Specifically, "the only elements needed to establish a Martin Act violation are a misrepresentation or omission of material fact when engaged in to induce or promote the issuance, distribution, exchange, sale, negotiation or purchase of securities."
The act is a prosecutors dream. Schneiderman can "subpoena any document he wants from anyone doing business in the state; to keep an investigation totally secret or to make it totally public; and to choose between filing civil or criminal charges whenever he wants."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/About-time--New-York-Char-by-Michael-Collins-121002-512.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Glad to see this, and I hope it sweeps the nation.
