Illegal foreclosures against service members

That's the topic of this Dealbook article, which explains that banks have foreclosed on members of the military in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Here's an excerpt:

The nation’s biggest banks wrongfully foreclosed on more than 700 military members during the housing crisis and seized homes from roughly two dozen other borrowers who were current on their mortgage payments, findings that eclipse earlier estimates of the improper evictions. ... When regulators forced the [banks] to take a close look at their loans, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, the largest loan servicers, each discovered about 200 military members whose homes were wrongfully foreclosed on in 2009 and 2010, according to the people with direct knowledge of the findings. Citigroup had at least 100 such foreclosures. The foreclosures violate the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law requiring banks to obtain court orders before foreclosing on active-duty members. “It’s absolutely devastating to be 7,000 miles from your home fighting for this country and get a message that your family is being evicted,” said Col. John S. Odom Jr., a retired Air Force lawyer in Shreveport, La., who represents military members in foreclosure cases. “We have been sounding the alarms that the banks are illegally evicting the very men and women who are out there fighting for this country. This is a devastating confirmation of that.”

Read GAO study on compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act generally.

Comments

[injury lawyers new york city]

Thanks for your useful words.

[Charles L.]

Illegal foreclosures against service members!! Lender should do everything they can to help
service member. Are these V.A. loans?