Hagens Berman: Appeals Court Reverses RICO Fraud Class Action Against Bank of America, Allowing Homeowners’ Lawsuit to Proc...
August 15 2016 - 2:27PM
Business Wire
Massive consumer victory upholds claims that
BoA’s HAMP mortgage-modification program was a RICO enterprise
Today, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
held that Hagens Berman and their clients can proceed on their
claims that Bank of America’s massive Home Affordable Modification
Program (HAMP) was an unlawful racketeering enterprise. The court
allowed the case to proceed on behalf of all Bank of America
mortgage holders that the RICO enterprise wrongfully denied the
streamlined modification process mandated by Congress when it paid
Bank of America $45 billion in bailout funds.
Hagens Berman filed the pending class-action lawsuit against
Bank of America in the U.S. District Court in Colorado on July 10,
2013. The action alleged the bank and third-party administrators
including Urban Lending Solutions created and headed a racketeering
enterprise designed to mislead, delay and deny eligible homeowners
loan modifications as part of the government-mandated HAMP
program.
The Tenth Circuit’s decision followed other circuits in holding
that the HAMP trial-plan offers contain enforceable promises to the
bank’s customers, and upheld plaintiffs’ claims of racketeering,
stating: “Because the plaintiffs sufficiently allege the existence
of a RICO association-in-fact enterprise distinct from BOA, Urban
[Lending Solution]’s participation in the conduct of that
enterprise, and that both defendants engaged in a pattern of
racketeering activity, we reverse the district court’s dismissal of
the plaintiffs’ RICO claim and remand for further proceedings.”
“We are more than pleased the court has ruled our complaint has
sufficiently alleged that Bank of America’s massive HAMP
mortgage-modification program was in fact a RICO enterprise,” said
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “For years, we
have tirelessly fought this major Wall Street kingpin to right the
wrongs it committed against hundreds of thousands of homeowners and
taxpayers who footed the $45 billion government bailout BoA took
in, only to have it used to propagate a scheme to squeeze every
dollar from BoA customers and wrongfully foreclose thousands of
homes in the process.”
The complaint states that Bank of America repeatedly lied to
homeowners and masterminded a scheme to systematically fail to
grant loan modifications in a deliberate and coordinated plan
orchestrated by the bank. The lawsuit alleges that while BoA
promised it would work with homeowners to modify their mortgages
under the HAMP program in return for the bailout funds, the bank
instead fought to avoid granting modifications. Former employees,
according to the complaint, have confirmed that Bank of America
instructed its employees to delay modifications, assert that it had
not received paperwork and payments when it had received them, and
declined modifications en masse in periods known internally as
“blitzes.”
If you have witnessed the delaying of home loan modifications or
other behavior from Bank of America you believe to be fraudulent,
find out more about the lawsuit against BoA, and please contact
Hagens Berman with information about what you witnessed.
The lawsuit asks for damages to be awarded to a proposed class
defined as: “All individuals whose home mortgage loans have been
serviced by BOA and who, since April 13, 2009, (1) applied to BOA
for a HAMP loan modification, (2) fulfilled an FHA Trial Period
Plan Agreement or any other trial-payment agreement that was not
issued pursuant to SD-09 (form 3156), (3) sent documents to, or
received documents or other communications from, Urban employees in
connection with their attempts to modify their home mortgage, and
(4) did not receive, within 30 days after making all required trial
payments, a permanent loan modification that complied with HAMP
rules.”
Find out more about the lawsuit against Bank of America.
About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights
class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been
named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight
times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found
at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news
at @ClassActionLaw.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160815006035/en/
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLPAshley Klann,
206-268-9363ashleyk@hbsslaw.com
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