Abigail Field Finds Smoking Gun on BofA Securitization Fraud

[kpete]

Abigail Field Finds Smoking Gun on BofA Securitization Fraud
By: David Dayen Friday June 3, 2011 12:58 pm

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Court testimony by a former Countrywide employee added to the intrigue last fall, because she confessed that many loans there weren’t properly handled, bringing into doubt the validity of Countrywide’s securitization process. Bank of America, which owns Countrywide, quickly silenced the discussion with firm denials.

But Fortune has examined dozens of court records that corroborate the employee’s testimony. And if Countrywide’s mortgage securitizations systematically failed as it appears they did, Bank of America’s potential liability dwarfs its shareholder equity, as the Congressional Oversight Panel points out.
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/03/at-bank-of-america-more-incomplete-mortgage-docs-and-more-questions/

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Field is referencing Countrywide v. Kemp, and the sworn testimony of Linda DeMartini, a top official at BofA. She acknowledged on the record in a deposition that Countrywide never conveyed the mortgages to the trusts, and that Countrywide notes “weren’t endorsed except on a case-by-case basis generally long after securitization ostensibly occurred.” This would mean that the mortgage-backed securities composed of Countrywide loans are, in fact, non-mortgage-backed securities. And Field did the grunt work of looking at the court records, which back up DeMartini’s claim. None of the 104 Countrywide notes she looked at in two New York counties were endorsed originally.

This is a bombshell. If the regulators were in any way competent, DeMartini’s testimony would have stopped them cold. They would have engaged in the same analysis as Field, and presented to BofA the stark truth that they have no ability to foreclose on Countrywide loans that were securitized, which would lead to all kinds of charges from both homeowners facing foreclosure, and from investors who were scammed when they purchased the securities. They would have signaled to the other banks, who did little different during the bubble, that they had the goods on them as well. The underlying exposure is massive. That would be the kind of ammunition needed to force compliance from BofA. But none of this has been done.


more:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/06/03/abigail-field-finds-smoking-gun-on-bofa-securitization-fraud/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/foreclosure-settlement-to-come-in-matter-of-weeks-hud-secretary-says.html

[aquart]

1. JAIL. JAIL. JAIL.

Hundreds of bankers participated in these illegal acts and every one of them needs to do time. As for the CEOs and the beauties with the bonuses, RICO. Seize all assets purchased with the profits of criminal enterprise.

[indepat]

2. Hear, hear!

:thumbsup:

[3waygeek]

3. It's more likely that Ms. Field will face jail time

than it is for any of the banksters.

[7wo7rees]

4. Banksters

[Autumn Colors]

5. My house is one of them - and they are dumping my mortgage

I've written about this before. Long story short, I got a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage from a local bank after my divorce four years ago. They sold it to Countrywide after ONE PAYMENT and it's now with BofA. My business is hanging by a thread and I tried doing a Deed in Lieu of foreclosure, but BofA refused. I can no longer afford the mortgage or the house (repairs, heat, maintenance) and my income is now so low that no modification would be enough (confirmed by GreenPath - mortgage counseling nonprofit). I've accepted that I'm going to become a renter again and my credit will be crap for the next 7-10 years.

Anyhow, I had gotten the Notice of Intent to Accelerate and that expired on April 20th. I assumed the Notice of Default with a court date would be coming shortly after that. The calls from BofA are less and less frequent now (surprisingly), but I keep trying to get info from whatever person calls.

Two calls ago, the person told me they normally wait one or two more months to see if payments start arriving again. I told her they wouldn't. I've been saying to all of them who call that the house will be going to foreclosure and they should just move ahead with filing the papers. At this point, I just want it to be over so I can move on and make a fresh start on downsizing everything in my life.

This LATEST person who called told me that my mortgage was set to be sold off to another company on July 29th (huh????) and when I asked if this company would file for foreclosure immediately or if the clock was going to reset to zero as far as "late payments" go, she told me that I was "nowhere near being evicted" from the house.

I don't know what possessed me to do this (maybe the fact that I've already found a place to move to when the time comes, so I'm not as stressed), but I started laughing and said, "Why isn't BofA just going to foreclose? I've already made it clear that I'm not going to fight the foreclosure. Didn't they get the original note from Countrywide? Do they not have the right to foreclose since my mortgage is just one among a bundle of securities owned by someone else?" The girl said nothing, but SHE was laughing, too. I just said, "Oh, I know you probably can't answer that." So I just answered the questions they have to ask ... Yes, I'm living in the property and I will be until someone comes to change the locks. No, my income situation hasn't changed.

The house next to me has had a foreclosure sign posted in front of it for about 9 months now (I looked up the address and they went into default almost a year and a half ago). There were people renting the house who left at the end of 2010 and the house has been abandoned since then. I work from my home and am here all day. No sheriff has shown up yet to change the locks on the house next door.

The house on the other side of me was abandoned for about 9 months before someone put stickers on the front door that asked if the house was abandoned. Then someone bought it to flip it and after that, it sat on the market for over a year. Someone just bought it and moved in about a month ago.

Why do I get the feeling that no one will be kicking me out of here anytime soon? I know I won't get my house given to me (nor am I hoping for this because frankly, I can't even afford the repairs, heat, and upkeep of the house) and I hate that this has happened, but I tried to do the right thing and contacted BofA before I was even late with the first payment to see what the options were. I went through the mortgage counseling with the organization on whitehouse.gov and all of that. BofA flat out refused. At this point, I hope BofA gets sued to hell and I hope they get stuck with this house because with the condition of the house next door, no one's going to buy mine anytime soon (and it's way underwater so any sale would have to be a short sale).

Sorry for the rant ....If anyone out there is in mortgage trouble or credit card trouble, though, I can't recommend GreenPath highly enough. The counselors there were great and they are NONPROFIT. I found them by starting from whitehouse.gov. Their website is: http://www.greenpath.com