‘We were told to lie’ – Bank of America employees open up about foreclosure practices

Employees of Bank of America say they were encouraged to lie to customers and were even rewarded for foreclosing on homes, staffers of the financial giant claim in new court documents.

Sworn statements from several Bank of America employees contain a  number of damning allegations, the latest claims entered as  evidence in a multi-state class action lawsuit that challenges  the bank’s history with foreclosures.
According to testimonies obtained by journalists at ProPublica,  supervisors at various Bank of America branches across the United  States encouraged employees to regularly deny loan modification  applications with no reason. At times, they were told to make up  excuses to customers who risked losing their homes.
In one of the sworn statements, an ex-bank staffer said he would  be directed to deny upwards of 1,500 loan modification  applications at a single time with no apparent reason.
“To justify the denials, employees produced fictitious  reasons, for instance saying the homeowner had not sent in the  required documents, when in actuality, they had,” William  Wilson, Jr., a former underwriter for the bank, wrote in his  statement.
Elsewhere in his testimony, Wilson wrote that he was instructed  to deny any applications for the Obama administration-created  Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that were older than  60 days, even in instances in “which the homeowner had  provided all required financial documents and fully complied with  the terms of a Trial Period Plan.”
Simone Gordon, a senior collector at B of A from 2007 through  2012, said, “We were told to lie to customers and claim that  Bank of America had not received documents it had requested.”
“We were told that admitting that the Bank received documents   ‘would open a can of worms,’” Gordon said, since the bank was  regularly understaffed with regards to the process of reviewing  the applications.
An average underwriter at B of A could have 400 outstanding  applications awaiting review at any time, Gordon said in her  statement. She also said collectors “who placed ten or more  accounts into foreclosure in a given month received a $500  bonus.”
“Bank of America also gave employees gift cards to retail  stores like Target or Bed Bath and Beyond as rewards for placing  accounts into foreclosure,” she said.
Gordon also said that site leaders regularly instructed employees  to prolong the loan modification process for customers because  the longer proceedings were delayed, “the more fees Bank of  America would collect.”
The statements were filed in federal court in Boston,  Massachusetts last week, and the bank has already responded by  condemning the claims.
“We continue to demonstrate our commitment to assisting  customers who are at risk of foreclosure and, at best, these  attorneys are painting a false picture of the bank’s practices  and the dedication of our employees,” the bank said in an  official statement. “While we will address the declarations in  more depth when we file our opposition to plaintiffs’ motion next  month, suffice it is to say that each of the declarations is rife  with factual inaccuracies.”
Even outside of the bank, though, others in the industry say they  suspect these practices indeed occurred.
“I’ve seen all of those things that this lawsuit has  mentioned. Yes I have,” Jason McGrath a foreclosure attorney  in Charlotte, North Caroline, told WSOCTV News. “It’s one of  those things that it’s great for folks like me because we  experience this on a day-to-day basis and we are finally glad to  see it see the light of day,” he continued. “Some of my  clients say I’m so glad to hear you tell me other people are  going through this and it’s not just me. It’s weird since  they feel better that other people are going through this as  well.”
Christy Romero, the special inspector general of the Troubled  Asset Relief Program, told Bloomberg that “It goes without  saying that this is an outright abuse of consumers and government  mortgage-assistance programs.”
The statements are just some of the latest testimonies against  the bank, certainly not the first. Last year, Bank of America was  among five mortgage servicers that divvied out a $25 billion  settlement to state and federal regulators after coming under  fire for their foreclosing practices.

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