According to Kramer Law, the bank is hopeful to settle for millions instead of billions and avoid criminal prosecution.
The Huffington Post is reporting that, “Federal and state prosecutors are in advanced negotiations with Bank of America in pursuit of a settlement that would forgive the bank for a broad range of past mortgage abuses in exchange for fines that would finance a significantly expanded relief program for struggling homeowners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.”
The Huffington Post goes on to say, “The agreement, if reached, could be used as a template for the other four banks. The state and federal prosecutors are operating on the assumption that if they could strike a deal with Bank of America — the nation’s largest mortgage servicer — that would compel the other large banks to go along or risk prosecution.Participants described the talks as fluid. Remaining issues include the scope of the release and the breadth of borrower relief, sources said.”
Philip A. Kramer, perennial recipient of the “Southern California Super Lawyer” award is disturbed by what he is hearing. “I represent thousands of homeowners across the country with claims against Bank of America and others.”
Philip Kramer alleges, “It looks to me like the banks are trying to skate out of their wrongdoing by agreeing to pay millions of dollars, not billions. In exchange, they get amnesty? For all their wrongdoing? That sounds terrifying to me. It sounds like officials want to sweep this under the rug so they don’t have to deal with it any more.”
The Huffington Post seems to be in agreement with Philip Kramer. They report that, “An accord would provide a sense of finality to BofA’s shareholders, who have seen the value of their holdings erode over the past year as the bank’s mortgage-related losses have mounted. Shares are down 34 percent over the past year. By comparison, the 24-company KBW Bank Index, which tracks large banks like BofA, is down just 11 percent over the same time period.”
“I smell such a rat!” Philip Kramer says, trying to contain his outrage. “In my opinion, these banks falsified documents. They conspired to create fraudulent loans, they then cooked the books on the underwriting, and went on from there to create bundles, which they then sold knowingly to pensions and other large institutions whose clients were depending on the “safety” of these financial instruments, and when the whole thing started to come apart they covered their tracks with fraudulent paperwork and testimony. The only reason we don’t know the entire extent of their malfeasance is that the money has not been spent to properly investigate. I think they’re trying to settle this with an amnesty before real money has to be paid in damages, and before bank executives have to go to jail.”
Mr. Kramer is admitted to practice before all courts in the State of California, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Military Appeals. Mr. Kramer has tried in excess of 200 cases. He has appeared on nationally televised programs regarding pre-trial procedure and trial strategy and has appeared as a guest lecturer on topics ranging from constitutional law to trial practice, and Mr. Kramer frequently lectures on a broad spectrum of various legal and business issues.
Mr. Kramer also serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court and as a Mediator.
Mr. Kramer is also a past president of the Los Angeles West Inns of Court, a national organization dedicated to bringing professionalism and civility back into the legal profession. He also serves on numerous Boards of Directors and serves as an officer in many companies. For more information call (818) 224-3900 or visit http://kramer-kaslow.com
The article referenced by Mr. Kramer can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/02/bank-of-america-justice-foreclosure-fraud-settlement_n_916490.html
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Posted On: August 15, 2011
