 Madigan said the settlement administrator will mail 29,795 checks
averaging $1,480 to eligible Illinois borrowers who had their home
loan serviced by one of the settlement's five mortgage servicers --
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and GMAC/Ally
-- and lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008, and
Dec. 31, 2011.
Nationally, the settlement administrator will mail valid claim
payments June 10-17 on 962,278 loans. Receiving a payment from the
national foreclosure settlement does not prevent a borrower from
seeking relief through a separate lawsuit or other claims.
"No amount of money will ever fully repair the damage done to
families and their communities as a result of the banks' fraudulent
practices," Madigan said. "But these payments are a critical part of
our work to hold banks accountable for unfairly foreclosing on
borrowers and bending the rules when they thought no one was
looking."
The funding stems from Madigan's role in securing a $25 billion
national settlement in 2012 between 49 states, the U.S. Department
of Justice, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, and
the nation's five largest bank mortgage servicers to address
allegations of widespread "robo-signing" of foreclosure documents
and other fraudulent practices bank servicers engaged in while
servicing loans of struggling homeowners. Already, Illinois
borrowers have received more than $1.8 billion in direct relief as a
result of the settlement through principal reductions and
refinancing for underwater loans.
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 According to the settlement administrator, every borrower who
filed a claim will receive a letter regarding their outcome.
Borrowers with questions about their settlement payment should call
the settlement administrator at 1-866-430-8358.
Madigan also warned borrowers to be on the lookout for potential
scams connected with the foreclosure settlement. She urged borrowers
to ignore any solicitations for upfront payments and not to provide
personal information to anyone who calls or emails claiming that
they are providing settlement-related assistance. If you believe
someone is conducting a settlement-related scam, contact Attorney
General Madigan's Homeowner Helpline at 1-866-544-7151 to report the
incident.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan]
 |
