Blumenthal
Abbott
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced on Wednesday that he will be one of a dozen state attorneys general on a committee that will lead an inquiry into banks allegedly involved in defective foreclosure documents.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is also on the committee.
In recent weeks, banks, including GMAC/Ally, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, have admitted to possibly filing fraudulent paperwork in foreclosures across the country with the use of "robo-signers" who allegedly never verified the accuracy of foreclosure affidavits or had documents properly notarized.
"Our powerful multi-state investigation will hold big banks accountable, determining how and why they broke the law," Blumenthal said.
"At the best, banks engaged in careless negligence, at worst, outright fraud. We will fight to find out what happened, when and why, seeking fair and appropriate remedies for consumers."
By filing these foreclosure documents, it could be considered a fraud on the court, which can result in dismissal of foreclosure cases and underlying mortgages, Blumenthal said.
"Banks blatantly broke the law, papering the courts with defective documents to railroad consumers into fast, possibly fraudulent foreclosures," Blumenthal said.
"No consumers should lose their house through Big Finance fraud."
The executive committee also includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington as well as state banking regulators from the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the New York State Banking Department.
All other states in the nation are also participating in the investigation through their attorneys general offices and/or banking regulators.