Blog posts with "banking"

“European banking giant Credit Suisse has pleaded guilty to helping American clients avoid paying taxes by concealing assets in illegal, undeclared bank accounts — becoming the largest bank to plead guilty to a criminal charge in 20 years,” as reported by Democracy Now, which described the plea deal as follows: Credit Suisse will pay about $2.6 billion in penalties and hire an independent monitor. But the bank will not be required to turn over the names of the Americans who used the ba...

Explosive new allegations have emerged in the ongoing litigation against Bank of America (BoA) in relation to intentionally botched loss mitigation procedures, most especially in relation to the government-sponsored Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  Several whistleblower former employees from BoA’s loss mitigation department have come forward asserting a laundry list of egregious abuses of both their borrower and the U.S. taxpayer. Some of the highlights of this scheme include ...

From right to left, Attorney General Eric Holder, former Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, and former SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. (AP PHOTO/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS) Two recent Obama-appointees, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, have decided to cash out through the revolving door. As explained in a National Journal article: As...

In a not-so-shocking turn of events, the previously botched OCC foreclosure fraud settlement has reached a new level of absurdity. As reported in the blogosphere, OCC Independent Foreclosure Review checks, sent by a paying agent of the name Rust Consulting, are being rejected by banks due to insufficient funds. To make matters worse, Rust Consulting is sending the checks out in scammy-looking envelopes, which bear a striking resemblance to a debt collection letter or bulk spam mail, have a lo...

In a report that surfaced today, members of the Anonymous collective report to have obtained information regarding surveillance efforts by Bank of America against activists. Sources report that activists of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Anonymous collective, and other private citizens were targeted by efforts of Bank of America and at least one other IT contractor by the name of TEKSystems. One of the most interesting details of this story is that no servers were hacked to obtain this ...

Recently leaked information indicating that a replacement to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) “Independent Foreclosure Review” has now been confirmed by the OCC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As the Huffington Post noted, there is clearly no longer a need for concern over the independence of the review, because it is now being managed by the very same entities who were supposed to be punished by the settlement. Lenders and servicers will now...

As the December 31, 2012 deadline for submission of foreclosure review claims under the OCC program has passed, more and more people are seeing the consultant-driven audit as “a ruse and a waste of time and money,” just as described by the former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Sheila Bair. According to sources at the NY Times, the OCC review has already cost banks $1.5 billion, and yet aggrieved homeowners have yet to see any meaningful recovery under thi...

Congratulations to our friends at Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto for securing the largest whistleblower award to an individual in history. On September 11, 2012, the National Whistleblowers Center announced the IRS award of $104,000,000 to Bradley Birkenfeld – the whistleblower who exposed a massive tax evasion scheme involving Swiss bank accounts. At the recorded press conference, Attorney Stephen M. Kohn declared: Today, the IRS sent 104 million messages to whistleblowers around the world...

  A recent article from Reuters illuminated an interesting dilemma that the IRS is currently facing in reference to what may be the largest example of tax fraud in US history. The alleged fraud involves the improper handling of the transfer of mortgages into and out of a legal entity known as a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC), investments which totaled $3 billion in 2010 alone. The IRS allows for special tax treatment of REMICs, exempting the securities created by the REMIC f...

  In an Orlando Sentinel article by Susan Jacobson entitled Elderly who trusted high- living couple now face nightmares, former clients spoke out about Ross and Linda Littlefield, who were “charged with 10 counts of fraudulently using the Lentzes' credit cards, one count of fraudulently using their personal-identification information and one count of engaging in a scheme to defraud for at least $20,000 but less than $50,000.” Following are excerpts from the article: When her husband's Al...