Nothing against the military members who had their homes stolen. They deserve every penny they get. But how do they justify the mere $250 for the civilians that had their homes stolen too?
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Service Members to Receive $39 Million for Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
Under the first settlement, Bank of America is required to pay over $36.8 million to service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010. Each service member will receive a minimum of $116,785, plus compensation for any equity lost with interest. Bank of America has already begun compensating 142 service members whose homes were illegally foreclosed on between 2006 and the middle of 2009. Under the same agreement, Bank of America agreed to provide information about its foreclosures from mid-2009 through the end of 2010. As a result of that review, Bank of America will now pay 155 service members upon whose homes it illegally foreclosed. Borrowers receiving payment under this settlement may receive an additional payment under a settlement between Bank of America and federal banking regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — if the foreclosure occurred in 2009 or 2010. Payments provided under the federal banking regulators’ settlement will bring the total amount received by eligible borrowers to $125,000 plus equity where applicable.
Under the second settlement, Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. is in the process of paying out over $2.5 million to 19 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010. Each service member will receive a minimum of $130,555.56, plus compensation for any equity lost with interest.
Bank of America is one of five mortgage servicers that entered into a settlement, known as the National Mortgage Settlement, with the Justice Department in 2012 regarding its foreclosure practices. Pursuant to the National Mortgage Settlement, the Justice Department is overseeing ongoing audits of the five largest mortgage servicers in the country (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Ally) to identify violations of the SCRA’s foreclosure provisions between Jan. 1, 2006 and April 4, 2012 and its 6 percent interest rate cap provision between Jan. 1, 2008 and April 4, 2012. The $36.8 million currently being paid by Bank of America to 297 service members is pursuant to the 2011 consent decree (which predated the National Mortgage Settlement), and represents only the non-judicial foreclosures conducted by Bank of America. As the National Mortgage Settlement audits progress, the Justice Department will be requiring payments by Bank of America for judicial foreclosure and interest rate violations, and by the other four servicers for judicial and non-judicial foreclosure and interest rate violations. Under the National Mortgage Settlement most service members wrongly foreclosed on will receive $125,000 plus any lost equity. For the foreclosure violations that took place in 2009 and 2010, the Justice Department is coordinating closely with the Office of the Comptroller and the Federal Reserve Board, which are conducting separate reviews of 12 mortgage servicers under the Independent Foreclosure Review process.
“Our men and women in the military should not have to worry about a bank foreclosing on their home while they bravely serve our country,” said Eric Halperin, Special Counsel for Fair Lending in the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the laws that protect service members while they do their difficult and necessary work.”
The SCRA provides critical additional consumer and other protections to the men and women serving our nation in the military. For more information on the Justice Department’s work to enforce service members’ rights, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
SOURCE: http://www.justice.gov
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I applaud the DOJ. The reality is that less than 8% of all people alive have ever served in the military — that includes the active and retired people. Less than 8% of the people have volunteered to defend our way of life, (irrespective of whether or not you agree with it, by virtue of you living in here, you receive some benefit) and this segment of the population is not rewarded after service:
Less likely to find employment
Average lower salary than comparable peers
More likely to be homeless
This segment of the population was told that while they were being sent overseas to “protect American interests”, the DOJ would be protecting their interests. That didn’t happen. Instead, this segment saw their families kicked out in the streets.
How much luck will we have with future recruits if they know they won’t receive education, housing, medical care and that their families will be kicked out on the streets as soon as they deploy?
So, for those of you who feel you deserve the same protections as people who actually placed their lives on the line to defend your freedom, I just shake my head sadly. Continue to feel you are entitled to everything while doing so very little and continue to wonder why no one wants to help you.
[Note: Daughter of Navy vet/ Korea. Sister of Air Force vet. Wife of Air Force Academy/ Air Force vet. Former Navy civilian engineer. Aunt to two West Points grads and one West Point student. Consultant with Dorie Miller Memorial Foundation. — I would never compare my contributions as a civilian engineer to their sacrifices as being a member in the military.]
Do not get me wrong, I am for the Military as well and Praise God that he watch over our men and women as they continually fight for freedom. But, in the same breath it is the ones back home that work in the factories and invest in this country whose results from such manufacturing and trade are the key components to keeping our military going forward. During the last world war, it was the women and children and other family members back home that were praised as well as the men/women in uniform. Somehow, that we are ‘joined’ together seems to have disappeared from reality. If everyone were to join the forces, who would be left at home to keep things going? There would be the elderly, the sick, the mentally incapable, those incapacitated in one way or another and most of these people are not a working class but more or less living on social security, disability or some other form of government assistance. It is the working class that keeps this country moving and somehow the credit should be shared EQUALLY. Just my opinion and just sayin…….
Because laws are only for little people (to paraphrase Leona Helmsely)
Wow, when did the rest of us become 3rd class citizens? I applaud the successful efforts of the DOJ on behalf of our brave servicemen & women. Good job, they deserve that & soo much more. But, was I naïve to assume that the rest of us, mere tax paying, civilian, citizens were being as vigorously defended by the same government? My family didn’t have on base housing to fall back on when we lost our home – we were just homeless. I may have chosen a different way to defend my country, I chose college & healthcare, spending my career at the bedside of our country’s elderly and infirm. Somehow I got the impression that that was a significant contribution, an honorable way to contribute to our society. Until now I foolishly thought that the idea of our nation was that we were all necessary parts to make the whole.
Now though we learn that for some of us, our rights really count & for the rest not so much. I’m just curious when did the DOJ only represent a select few of our citizens, leaving the rest of us to just be greatful for what crumbs we may get & shut up. What a kick in the teeth.
I agree the service personel deserve this money and perhaps more. But I dont understand why all Americans are not protected by CPA and Deed of Trust law and get decent compensation also. Thank goodness the military are getting some help.