Tag Archives: Justice Department

Federal officials jointly announced Tuesday the results of the Distressed Homeowner Initiative, which is the first nationwide effort focusing on fraud schemes that targets struggling homeowners. Their efforts so far have led to 530 criminal defendants (including 172 executives) being charged in 285 federal criminal indictments. The cases involved more than 73,000 homeowner victims, and losses are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion.

Wells Fargo faces federal charges for alleged misconduct and fraud related to its role as a direct endorsement lender for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) over a span of more than 10 years. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court and alleges Wells Fargo falsely certified the credit and underwriting quality of thousands of FHA loans it originated which later defaulted, costing the federal agency hundreds of millions of dollars.

Three men were arrested Monday for bank fraud connected to the fall of New York's Park Avenue Bank in 2010, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced. Wilbur Anthony Huff, Matthew L. Morris, and Allen Reichman were presented in federal court for their alleged roles in the collapse of the Manhattan bank. Huff, Morris, and former bank CEO Charles Antonucci--arrested in 2010--are accused of defrauding regulators to secure $11 million in TARP funds.