Ohio AG Cordray Reacts to Wells Fargo's Plan to Refile Affidavits in 55,000 Foreclosures

In response to Wells Fargo's statement acknowledging that it "made mistakes" and that affidavits in 55,000 foreclosures filed by the bank did not "adhere" to the law, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has issued the following statement ... "The big mortgage servicers and financial firms continue to demonstrate their belief that they do not need to play by the same rules as everyone else who uses our court system. The suggestion by Wells Fargo and its colleagues at several other national firms that they can cure fraudulent testimony by simply refiling new affidavits and continuing to proceed toward foreclosures shows they do not recognize the seriousness of the problem they have created. There is no simple 'do-over' for false testimony that will be likely to avoid sanctions and penalties imposed by the courts. Their brazen efforts to minimize their financial exposure by sweeping these problems under the rug are an insult to the justice system in this country. These disclosures by Wells Fargo will now become the focus for a new prong of our on-going investigation." Earlier this month, Cordray filed a lawsuit against GMAC for issuing false affidavits in many Ohio foreclosure cases. He has taken a hard-line approach with national loan servicers operating in Ohio in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. In July 2009, Ohio was the first state to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for violating the state's consumer laws. Since then, two other cases have been filed in addition to the case against GMAC. For more information, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.