Those fine outstanding law abiding people at Wells Fargo are at it again! This time the fraud is against the United States Bankruptcy Court and as usual, their very own customers. Wells Fargo’s explanation……. The Covid-19 Pandemic!
Wells Fargo is using the Covid-19 virus as the excuse for placing borrowers currently under Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plans in forbearance. The borrowers never asked for the forbearance and Wells Fargo filed a claim with the Bankruptcy Courts halting mortgage payments for the borrowers without their knowledge. According to the NBC news article:
“On April 29, without Harlow’s knowledge or permission, Wells Fargo told the bankruptcy court overseeing his payment plan that he had asked the bank to pause his mortgage payments because he had been hurt by COVID-19. Harlow, 48, of Buchanan, Virginia, made no such request and had continued to forward the full amount owed on his mortgage to Wells Fargo, court documents show.”
Attorneys have discovered cases in Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas. Clearly this is not the actions of a lone player and another systematic policy from the top.
Back in 2017 Aappraisers Blogs published an article about all the ills Wells Fargo has been caught doing over the years. The article is very telling and shows a long history of abusive and illegal practices.How is this company still in operation? Where are the criminal prosecutions?
As Independent appraisers, could you be innocently involved with fraud by a lender? Would the use of an amc by the lender provide any protection to you, the appraiser? What about the consumer? A lawsuit by a homeowner. naming the appraiser who performed an appraisal for a lender doing something they should not be doing seems plausible.Just think of the nightmare that would be. Choose your clients wisely.
See the article and video story here.
Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay