Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/193670599/CFPB-COMPLAINT-AGAINST-OCWEN-WHICH-WAS-SETTLED-FOR-OVER-2-BILLION-DOLLARS-THE-VERY-FIRST-NONBANK-SETTLEMENT-FOR-SERVICER-ABUSES
Timestamp: 2017-09-21 08:53:56
Document Index: 561128242

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 5491', '§ 5511', '§ 5531', '§ 5565', '§ 1331', '§ 1345', '§ 1367', '§ 5531', '§ 1391', '§ 5564', '§ 5481', '§ 5531', '§ 5481', '§ 5531', '§ 5481', '§ 5531', '§ 5564']

CFPB COMPLAINT AGAINST OCWEN WHICH WAS SETTLED FOR OVER $2 BILLION DOLLARS= THE VERY FIRST NONBANK SETTLEMENT FOR SERVICER ABUSES | Ocwen | Mortgage Law
Description: On December 19, the CFPB and attorneys general for 49 states and the District of Columbia, and a nonbank mortgage servicer, filed a proposed consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Distric...
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, 1700 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20552 THE STATE OF ALABAMA, Alabama Attorney General’s Office 501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36130 THE STATE OF ALASKA, Alaska Attorney General’s Office 1031 W. 4th Avenue, Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99501 THE STATE OF ARIZONA, Arizona Attorney General’s Office 1275 W. Washington Phoenix, AZ 85007 THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, Office of the Attorney General 323 Center Street, Suite 200 Little Rock, AK 72201 THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, California Attorney General’s Office 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Ste. 11000 San Francisco, CA 94102-7007 THE STATE OF COLORADO, Colorado Attorney General’s Office Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center 1300 Broadway, 7th Floor Denver, CO 80203 THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Office of the Connecticut Attorney General 55 Elm Street, P.O. Box 120 Hartford, CT 06141-0120
THE STATE OF DELAWARE, Delaware Attorney General’s Office 820 N. French Street Wilmington, DE 19801 THE STATE OF FLORIDA, Department of Legal Affairs Office of the Attorney General 3507 E. Frontage Road, Suite 325 Tampa, FL 33607 THE STATE OF GEORGIA, Georgia Department of Law 40 Capitol Square, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30334 THE STATE OF HAWAII, Department of the Attorney General 425 Queen Street Honolulu, HI 96813 THE STATE OF IDAHO, Office of the Idaho Attorney General 700 W. Jefferson St. P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-0010 THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Office of the Illinois Attorney General 500 South Second Street Springfield, IL 62706 THE STATE OF INDIANA, Indiana Office of the Attorney General 302 West Washington St., IGCS 5th Fl. Indianapolis, IN 46204 THE STATE OF IOWA, Iowa Attorney General’s Office 1305 E. Walnut St. Des Moines, IA 50319 THE STATE OF KANSAS, Office of the Kansas Attorney General 120 SW 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor Topeka, KS 66612
THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, Office of the Attorney General of Kentucky State Capitol, Suite 118 700 Capital Avenue Frankfort, KY 40601-3449 THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, Louisiana Attorney General’s Office 1885 N. Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 THE STATE OF MAINE, Maine Attorney General’s Office Burton Cross Office Building, 6th Floor 111 Sewall Street Augusta, ME 04330 THE STATE OF MARYLAND, Office of the Attorney General of Maryland 200 Saint Paul Place Baltimore, MD 21202 THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Michigan Department of Attorney General 525 W. Ottawa Street PO Box 30755 Lansing, MI 48909 THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, Minnesota Attorney General’s Office 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1200 St. Paul, MN 55101-2130 THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Post Office Box 22947 Jackson, MS 39225-2947
THE STATE OF MISSOURI, Missouri Attorney General’s Office PO Box 899 Jefferson City, MO 65102 THE STATE OF MONTANA, Montana Department of Justice 215 N. Sanders Helena, MT 59624 THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, Office of the Attorney General 2115 State Capitol Lincoln, NE 68509-8920 THE STATE OF NEVADA, Nevada Office of the Attorney General 100 North Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, New Hampshire Department of Justice 33 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301 THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, New Jersey Attorney General’s Office 124 Halsey Street – 5th Floor P.O. Box 45029 Newark, NJ 07101 THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, Office of the New Mexico Attorney General PO Drawer 1508 Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508 THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Office of the New York State Attorney General 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, North Carolina Department of Justice P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602
THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, Office of the Attorney General Gateway Professional Center 1050 E Interstate Ave, Ste. 200 Bismarck, ND 58503-5574 THE STATE OF OHIO, Ohio Attorney General’s Office 30 E. Broad St., 15th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 THE STATE OF OREGON, Oregon Department of Justice 1515 SW 5th Avenue, Ste. 410 Portland, OR 97201 THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Office of the Attorney General 16th Floor, Strawberry Square Harrisburg, PA 17120 THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, Rhode Island Department of Attorney General 150 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903 THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, South Carolina Attorney General’s Office 1000 Assembly Street, Room 519 Columbia, SC 29201 THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, South Dakota Attorney General’s Office 1302 E. Highway 14, Suite 1 Pierre, SD 57501 THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General 425 Fifth Avenue North Nashville, TN 37243-3400
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Texas Attorney General’s Office 401 E. Franklin Avenue, Suite 530 El Paso, TX 79901 THE STATE OF UTAH, Division of Consumer Protection Utah Attorney General’s Office 350 North State Street, #230 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2320 THE STATE OF VERMONT, Office of the Attorney General 109 State Street Montpelier, VT 05609 THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Office of the Virginia Attorney General 900 East Main Street Richmond, VA 23219 THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, Washington State Attorney General’s Office 1250 Pacific Avenue, Suite 105 PO Box 2317 Tacoma, WA 98402-4411 THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, West Virginia Attorney General’s Office State Capitol, Room 26E Charleston, WV 25305-0220 THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, Wisconsin Department of Justice Post Office Box 7857 Madison, WI 53707-7857 THE STATE OF WYOMING, and Wyoming Attorney General’s Office 123 State Capitol Bldg. Cheyenne, WY 82002 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Office of the Attorney General 441 Fourth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
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OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION, and OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC, Defendants.
COMPLAINT Now comes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”), and the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the Commonwealths of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia (collectively, “Plaintiff States”) by and through their undersigned attorneys, and respectfully allege as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This is a civil action filed jointly by the Bureau and the Plaintiff States against
Ocwen Financial Corporation and Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (collectively, “Defendants” or “Ocwen”), for misconduct related to the servicing of single family residential mortgages, including by Homeward Residential, Inc. (“Homeward”) and Litton Loan Servicing, LP (“Litton”) before their acquisition by Ocwen Financial Corporation. Ocwen, Homeward, and 7
Litton are collectively referred to herein as the “Servicers.” 2. As described in the allegations below, the Servicers’ misconduct resulted in
premature and unauthorized foreclosures, violation of homeowners’ rights and protections, and the use of false and deceptive affidavits and other documents. THE PARTIES 3. This action is brought by the Bureau, an independent agency of the United States
created by the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. § 5491(a) et seq. The Bureau is authorized to take appropriate enforcement action to address violations of Federal consumer financial law, including the CFPA, and has independent litigating authority. See 12 U.S.C. §§ 5511(c)(4); 5512(a); 5531(a); and 5564(a). Sections 1031 and 1036(a) of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531 and 5536(a), prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, or other violations of Federal consumer financial law, by any covered person or service provider. 4. This action is also brought by the Plaintiff States pursuant to consumer protection
enforcement authority conferred on them by state law and pursuant to parens patriae and common law authority. The Attorneys General are authorized to seek injunctive relief, restitution for consumers, and civil penalties for violation of the consumer protection laws of their States. 5. Defendant Ocwen Financial Corporation is a publicly traded Florida corporation
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that provides residential mortgage servicing services. It engages in a variety of businesses related to residential mortgage servicing, and focuses on loan servicing, specialty servicing, and mortgage services. Ocwen Financial Corporation transacts or has transacted business in this district and throughout the United States. On December 27, 2012, Ocwen Financial Corporation acquired and became the successor in interest to Homeward, a 8
servicer of residential mortgages and a Delaware corporation. Ocwen Financial Corporation is a successor corporation to Homeward and is liable for the illegal practices, including those of Homeward, alleged in this Complaint. On September 1, 2011, Ocwen acquired and became the successor in interest to Litton, a servicer of residential mortgages and a Delaware limited partnership. Ocwen Financial Corporation is a successor corporation to Litton and is liable for the illegal practices, including those of Litton, alleged in this Complaint. 6. Defendant Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC is a limited liability company and wholly
owned subsidiary servicing company of Ocwen Financial Corporation. It is located in Palm Beach, Florida. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC transacts or has transacted business in this district and throughout the United States. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 7. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action because it is “brought
under Federal consumer financial law,” 12 U.S.C. § 5565(a)(1), presents a federal question, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and is brought by an agency of the United States, 28 U.S.C. § 1345. 8. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367, this Court has supplemental jurisdiction over the
subject matter of the claims asserted by the Plaintiff States in this action because those claims are so related to the claims asserted by the Bureau that they form part of the same case or controversy, and because those claims arise out of the same transactions or occurrences as the action brought by the Bureau under Sections 1031 and 1036(a) of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531 and 5536(a). 9. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and (c) and 12
U.S.C. § 5564(f).
THE MORTGAGE SERVICING INDUSTRY 10. The single family mortgage servicing industry consists of financial services and
other firms that service mortgages for residential properties designed to house one- to fourfamily dwellings. 11. For more than thirty years, mortgages typically have been “pooled” to create an
investment vehicle, often denominated as a trust, and interests in the trusts have been sold to investors that own interests in payment streams generated by principal and interest payments by the borrowers. 12. A “servicer” is responsible for mortgage administration activities, known as
servicing activities, which generally include collecting payments from mortgagors; applying payments made in an agreed-upon order to the mortgagor’s indebtedness; distributing payments after allowable deductions to the investment trust entities for distribution to investors; making advances to cover delinquent mortgage payments and other costs, such as the costs of protecting and maintaining properties that collateralize mortgage loans when mortgagors fail to do so; pursuing collections from delinquent mortgagors; and pursuing either loss mitigation or foreclosure, as appropriate, to minimize the loss to investors and others when mortgagors become delinquent on mortgage payments. 13. A servicer who does not originate a mortgage loan may become the servicer by
purchasing the “mortgage servicing rights” or by entering into a contract with the “master servicer” to act on its behalf as “subservicer.” Such transfers can occur at various stages of repayment of the mortgage, including where the borrower is delinquent in payments and may seek loss mitigation assistance from the servicer to avoid foreclosure on the loan.
THE SERVICERS’ MORTGAGE SERVICING MISCONDUCT 14. Ocwen services home mortgage loans secured by residential properties owned by
individual citizens of the Plaintiff States and of the United States. 15. Ocwen is a “covered person” engaged “in offering or providing a consumer
financial product or service,” as those terms are defined in the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. § 5481(6), and is subject to the CFPA’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531 and 5536(a). 16. Ocwen is engaged in trade or commerce in each of the Plaintiff States and is
subject to the consumer protection laws of the States in the conduct of their debt collection, mortgage servicing, loss mitigation and foreclosure activities. The consumer protection laws of the Plaintiff States include laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices. 17. Ocwen specializes in default servicing where borrowers are more likely to
encounter hardships or difficulties making payments. Ocwen also frequently acquires mortgage servicing rights through transfers, involving the acquisition of data, information, and documents retained by the prior servicer about borrowers’ loans. In 2011 and 2012, respectively, Ocwen acquired and became the successor in interest to Litton and Homeward, and is liable for their illegal mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing conduct. 18. Ocwen personnel frequently interact with borrowers who are delinquent or are at
risk of becoming delinquent on their mortgage loans, who have complaints or inquiries about their mortgages, or who require loss mitigation assistance. Ocwen personnel also frequently handle inquiries from borrowers whose loans have been transferred to Ocwen from another servicer. 19. Ocwen regularly reviews mortgage loans for potential loss mitigation or loan 11
modification options, and conducts or manages foreclosures. 20. In the course of their mortgage servicing activities, the Servicers have engaged in
the following acts and practices: a. failing to timely and accurately apply payments made by borrowers and
failing to maintain accurate account statements; b. c. charging unauthorized fees for default-related services; imposing force-placed insurance when the Servicers knew or should have
known that borrowers already had adequate coverage; d. complaints; e. providing false or misleading information to borrowers regarding loans providing false or misleading information in response to borrower
that have been transferred from other servicers; f. failing to provide accurate and timely information to borrowers who seek
information about loss mitigation services, including loan modifications; g. falsely advising borrowers that they must be at least 60 days delinquent in
loan payments to qualify for a loan modification; h. misrepresenting to borrowers that loss mitigation programs would provide
relief from the initiation of foreclosure or further foreclosure efforts; i. providing false or misleading information to consumers about the status of
the loss mitigation review, including while referring loans to foreclosure; j. providing false or misleading information to consumers about the status of
foreclosure proceedings where the borrower was in good-faith actively pursuing a loss mitigation alternative offered by the Servicers; 12
failing to properly calculate borrowers’ eligibility for loan modification
programs and improperly denying loan modification relief to eligible borrowers; l. failing to properly process borrowers’ applications for loan modifications,
including failing to account for documents submitted by borrowers and failing to respond to borrowers’ reasonable requests for information and assistance, and as a result, denying loan modifications to consumers who were eligible; m. n. providing false or misleading reasons for denial of loan modifications; with respect to transferred loans, failing to honor in-process trial
modifications agreed to by prior servicers; o. with respect to transferred loans with in-process trial and permanent
modifications, deceptively seeking to collect payments from the consumer under the mortgage’s original unmodified terms; p. preparing, executing, notarizing, and presenting false and misleading
documents, filing false and misleading documents with courts and government agencies, or otherwise using false or misleading documents as part of the foreclosure process (including, but not limited to, affidavits, declarations, certifications, substitutions of trustees, and assignments); and q. preparing, executing, notarizing, and filing affidavits in foreclosure
proceedings, whose affiants lacked personal knowledge of the assertions in the affidavits and did not review any information or documentation to verify the assertions in such affidavits. This practice of repeated false attestation of information in affidavits is popularly known as “robosigning.”
COUNT I VIOLATIONS OF STATE LAW PROHIBITING UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE CONSUMER PRACTICES WITH RESPECT TO LOAN SERVICING 21. reference. 22. The loan servicing conduct of the Servicers, as described above, constitutes unfair The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 20 above are incorporated herein by
or deceptive practices in violation of the consumer protection laws of each State. 23. The Servicers’ unlawful conduct has resulted in injury to the States and citizens of
the States who have had home loans serviced by the Servicers. The harm sustained by such citizens includes payment of improper fees and charges, unreasonable delays and expenses to obtain loss mitigation relief, improper denial of loss mitigation relief, and loss of homes due to improper, unlawful, or undocumented foreclosures. The harm to the States includes the subversion of their legal process and the sustained violations of their laws. The States have had to incur substantial expenses in their investigations and attempts to obtain remedies for the Servicers’ unlawful conduct. COUNT II VIOLATIONS OF STATE LAW PROHIBITING UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE CONSUMER PRACTICES WITH RESPECT TO FORECLOSURE PROCESSING 24. reference. 25. The foreclosure processing conduct of the Servicers, as described above, The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 20 above are incorporated herein by
constitutes unfair or deceptive practices in violation of the consumer protection laws of each State. 14
The Servicers’ unlawful conduct has resulted in injury to the States and citizens of
the States who have had home loans serviced by the Servicers. The harm sustained by such citizens includes payment of improper fees and charges, unreasonable delays and expenses to obtain loss mitigation relief, improper denial of loss mitigation relief, and loss of homes due to improper, unlawful, or undocumented foreclosures. The harm to the States includes the subversion of their legal process and the sustained violations of their laws. The States have had to incur substantial expenses in their investigations and attempts to obtain remedies for the Servicers’ unlawful conduct. COUNT III VIOLATIONS OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION ACT OF 2010 12 U.S.C. § 5481 ET SEQ. (CFPA) WITH RESPECT TO LOAN SERVICING 27. reference. 28. The loan servicing conduct of the Servicers, as described above, constitutes unfair The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 20 above are incorporated herein by
and deceptive acts or practices in violation of Sections 1031(a) and 1036 of the CFPA, 12 USC §§ 5531(a) and 5536. COUNT IV VIOLATIONS OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION ACT OF 2010 12 U.S.C. § 5481 ET SEQ. (CFPA) WITH RESPECT TO FORECLOSURE PROCESSING 29. reference. 30. The foreclosure processing conduct of the Servicers, as described above, The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 20 above are incorporated herein by
constitutes unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of Sections 1031(a) and 1036 of the 15
CFPA, 12 USC §§ 5531(a) and 5536. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Bureau, pursuant to Sections 1054 and 1055 of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5564 and 5565, and the Plaintiff States, pursuant to their consumer protection laws, respectfully request that judgment be entered in their favor and against Ocwen for each violation charged in the complaint, and request that the Court: A. Permanently enjoin Ocwen from committing future violations; B. Award such relief as the Court finds necessary to redress injury to consumers; C. Award such relief as the Court finds necessary to disgorge Ocwen of unlawful gains; D. Award the Bureau and the Plaintiff States the costs of bringing this action; and E. Award additional relief as the Court may determine to be just and proper.
Respectfully submitted, Attorneys for Plaintiff Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Lucy Morris Deputy Enforcement Director Consumer Financial Protection Bureau s/ Cara Petersen Cara Petersen Assistant Litigation Deputy Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1700 G Street NW Washington, DC 20552 cara.petersen@cfpb.gov 202-435-7493 DC Bar No. 476990 /s/ Kirsten Ivey-Colson Kirsten Ivey-Colson Enforcement Attorney Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1700 G Street NW Washington, DC 20552 kirsten.ivey-colson@cfpb.gov 202-435-7354 DC Bar No. 470102
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Senior Assistant Attorney General Georgia Department of Law 40 Capitol Square, S'W Atlanta, Georgia 30334 jstump@law.ga.gov (404) 6s6-3337
December 1 7. 2013 For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Glenn S. Kaplan Assistant Attorney General One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Glenn.Kaplan@state.ma.us 617-963-2453 D.C. Bar No. 429052
Ann M. Rice Deputy Attorney General
603-271-1238
out", l) ¿ er,nie
r lt,2{ 11
JOHN J. HOFFMAN ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY
alsey Street - 5th Floor P.O. Box 45029 Newark, New Jersey 07101 Lorraine.Rak@dol.lps.state.nj.us (973) 877-1280
Phillip K. 00 s Special Deputy Attorney 114 West Edenton Street Raleigh, NC 27602-0629 Email: pwoods@ncdoj.gov Telephone: (919) 716-6052
Date: December 10, 2013 On Behalf of the State of South Dakota: MARTY J. JACKLEY ATTORNEY GENERAL ________________________________ Bethanna M. Feist South Dakota Attorney General’s Office 1302 E. Highway 14, Suite 1 Pierre, SD 57501-8501 Telephone: (605) 773-3215 Facsimile: (605) 773-4106 Email: Bethanna.Feist@state.sd.us
Date: 12/13/13 1 For the State of Tennessee:
Rob bert E. Coope er, Jr. Atto orney Genera al and Repor rter orney Gener Offi ice of the Te ennessee Atto ral 425 Fifth Avenu ue North Nash hville, Tenn nessee 37243 3-3400 bob. .cooper@ag.tn.gov (615 5) 741-3491 DC Bar No. 398 8721 (inactiv ve)
Jai\ies A. Daross
R^ional Managing Attorney
401 E. Franklin Ave., Suite 530 El Paso, Texas 79901 iames.darQssrgy.lexasattornevaeneral.gov 915-834-5801 (Direct) 915-834-5800 (Main)
915-542-1546 (FAX)
Texas Bar No. 05391500
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