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Schneiderman in Driver’s Seat Once More in National Foreclosure Investigation By Rebecca E. Neely During his State of the Union address this week, Obama announced that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will co-chair a national mortgage crisis unit that will target the investigation of home lending by banks.
Obama said in his address: “Tonight, I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.” Schneiderman is interested in addressing the root causes of the mortgage crisis, versus the many abuses that occurred following the crisis, which is a distinction worth making, as one could very easily be confused with the other. Serving alongside Schneiderman will be officials from the Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schneiderman, who in August was removed from an executive committee that was in negotiations regarding a nationwide foreclosure settlement, was quoted as having said in a statement: “I would like to thank President Obama for his leadership in the creation of a coordinated investigation that marshals state and federal resources to bring justice for the victims of the misconduct that caused the mortgage crisis.” Leader of the committee from which Schneiderman was removed, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, described Schneiderman’s actions on the committee as undermining its effort. However, since that time, Schneiderman had joined forces with Attorneys General Kamala Harris, from California, and Catherine Cortez Masto, from Nevada, in their own investigation.
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Schneiderman was also quoted as saying following Obama’s address: “The American people deserve a robust and comprehensive investigation into the global financial meltdown to ensure nothing like it ever happens again, and today’s announcement is a major step in the right direction.” Five banks have been at the center of investigations regarding their mortgage foreclosure practices. These include Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Ally Financial Inc., and Bank of America Corp. Obama’s very public appointment of Schneiderman appears to put New York’s AG back squarely in the driver’s seat. Questionable foreclosure practices include so called ‘robosigning’, among others. Robosigning is when bank employees sign scores of documents and affidavits without verifying the information contained therein. Eric T. Schneiderman was elected the 65th Attorney General of New York Stat in 2010. As Attorney General, Schneiderman is the highest ranking law enforcement officer for the State. In this role, he is responsible for representing New York and its residents in legal matters. He has worked aggressively and tirelessly since being elected to restore the public’s faith in its public and private sector institutions, taking on heavy hitters on behalf of regular folks. These have included launching a new Taxpayer Protection Bureau, beefing up the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and taking on DOMA for New Yorkers.
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