Madoff is sticking it to the banks. Madoff to FOX Business: ‘The banks knew’

Madoff is sticking it to the banks. Madoff to FOX Business: ‘The banks knew’

Jailed Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff plans to amplify his contention, possibly in testimony before Congress, that the big banks he did business with – J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of New York Mellon (BK THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP.), Citigroup (C CITIGROUP INC.) and HSBC Group (HBC), among others – knew what he was up to.

 The banks have repeatedly and vehemently denied this contention.

But in an e-mail to FOX Business reporter Adam Shapiro received Tuesday, Madoff said he plans to offer specific information to Congressional committees investigating both his crimes and possible complicity on the part of Madoff’s banking partners.

Madoff said he has offered Irving Picard, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee who has pored over Madoff’s finances since the scheme collapsed in late 2008, information that would prove his assertion, but the trustee has so far ignored Madoff’s efforts.

Madoff wrote to Shapiro: “From my first interview to the media I have said that ‘the banks must have known’, and were complicit and contributing to my crime. Although I have offered the bankruptcy TRUSTEE (sic) the information that I possessed that would demonstrate in detail their complicit behavior of banks like JP Morgan, Bank of N.Y., HSBC, Citicorp and others. The Trustee seems unwilling to act on my offer. Therefor (sic) I am offering this information to the appropriate governmental committees in the hope that this information will prove helpful in future regulation of the appropriate institutions.”

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2013/03/26/madoff-in-e-mail-to-fox-business-banks-knew/#ixzz2P5UVS2lQ

JPMorgan Chase Now Being Investigated By Eight Federal Agencies, One Case Concerns Whether The Bank Fully Alerted Authorities To Suspicious Madoff Trades

JPMorgan Chase Now Being Investigated By Eight Federal Agencies, One Case Concerns Whether The Bank Fully Alerted Authorities To Suspicious Madoff Trades

The number of federal agencies now investigating JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), the biggest U.S. bank by assets, has grown to eight, and one case involves suspicions the biggest U.S. bank by assets did not fully alert authorities to concerns about Bernard L. Madoff, now in prison for an $18 billion Ponzi scheme, the New York Times said Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase Beaten by Beaton, Pro Se! Hallelujah!

Deadly Clear

Pro Se Plaintiff Deborah Beaton filed a Complaint against JPMorgan Chase wherein Defendant Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. (“NWTS”) joined in a Motion to Dismiss with Chase. In her Second Amended Complaint (SAC), Beaton alleges three causes of action:

• (1) Violation of the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) against NWTS,
• (2) Incomplete Indorsement/Chain of Title, and
• (3) violations of the Washington Deed of Trust Act (“DTA”).

USDC Honorable Richard A. Jones gave Beaton her causes of action (1) and (2) against the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss… and the beat goes on!

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NY AG probes BofA over MBS

NY AG probes BofA over MBS

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Bank of America ($12.18 -0.05%) over the purchase, securitization and underwriting of mortgage-backed securities.

The bank said it was cooperating with the investigation, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. 

In its annual report filing with the SEC, the banking giant said it could sustain up to $3.1 billion in legal losses.

Merrill Sued for $309 Million by Trust Over Mortgages

Merrill Sued for $309 Million by Trust Over Mortgages

A unit of Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch was sued by a trust seeking more than $309 million in damages for alleged breaches of representations and warranties made in connection with the sale of more than 5,000 mortgage loans.

The trust filed the suit in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan today, accusing Merrill Lynch Mortgage Lending of failing to buy back loans as required by agreements reached in 2007, according to a court filing.

The trust also accused Merrill Lynch and H&R Block Inc. (HRB)’s Sand Canyon unit of breaching similar representations and warranties made about other mortgage loans. Sand Canyon, formerly known as Option One Mortgage Corp., stopped originating mortgage loans in December 2007, sold its servicing assets to American Home Mortgage Servicing, and discontinued remaining operations in April 2008.

Banks Win Dismissal of Substantial Portion of Libor Suits

Banks Win Dismissal of Substantial Portion of Libor Suits

Banks including Bank of America (BAC), Barclays and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) won dismissal of antitrust claims in lawsuits alleging they rigged the London interbank offered rate.

More than two dozen interrelated lawsuits are before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York alleging the banks conspired to depress Libor by understating their borrowing costs, thereby lowering their interest expenses on products tied to the rates. Potential damages were estimated to be in the billions of dollars.

Buchwald on Friday issued a 161-page ruling dismissing antitrust allegations against the banks while allowing some commodities-manipulations claims to proceed to a trial.

“We recognize that it might be unexpected that we are dismissing a substantial portion of plaintiffs’ claims, given that several of the defendants here have already paid penalties to government regulatory agencies reaching into the billions of dollars,” Buchwald wrote. “There are many requirements that private plaintiffs must satisfy but which government agencies need not.”

COMPLAINT: WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY, LLP v. OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY

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California AG beefs up legal task force for foreclosure cases

California AG beefs up legal task force for foreclosure cases

California’s top lawyer is constructing a legal task force to handle cases that could surface under the state’s new Homeowner Bill of Rights.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said the HBOR program issued a $1 million grant to the The National Housing Law Project. The funds will support a powerhouse team of lawyers to investigate and potentially prosecute cases under the homeowner-focused legislation.

The California HBOR became law on Jan. 1 and is known in the servicing industry as legislation that creates a private right of action for borrowers when certain foreclosure violations are alleged. It also codified dozens of legal risks for servicers who utilize the nonjudicial foreclosure process. 

Why Billionaire Sheldon Solow’s $450 Million Libor Case Is Likely To Be Followed By More

Why Billionaire Sheldon Solow’s $450 Million Libor Case Is Likely To Be Followed By More

Billionaire developer Sheldon Solow, who built the tony Nine West 57^th tower in New York City, appears to be the biggest individual loser in the Libor scandal in the U.S.—at least so far. He claims that bankers’ malfeasance in the scandal cost him half $1 billion.

But D.C. litigator Michael Hausfeld, who is representing investors in one of the leading Libor cases, says that Solow’s financial loss is just a hint of  what’s to come.

“It’s a drop in the bucket, unfortunately,” says the attorney, who is chairman of Hausfeld LLP. “You’re dealing in a market that’s in the hundreds of trillions.”

He expects more such suits–large money suits affecting high net worth people–to be filed. When asked if he knew of other cases like Solow’s, Hausfeld said “Not yet.”

“He lost half a billion. That’s real money,” says attorney Anthony Michael Sabino, of Sabino & Sabino in Mineola, New York. “I would think that if he’s out there, on the radar, there’s another nine affluent individuals or companies that had a similar problem, but did not sue because there was behind-the-scenes talks and settlements. There might have been threats.”

Solow sued Citibank, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Credit Suisse in February, alleging that their manipulation of the Libor rate resulted in the wrongful seizure of his bond portfolio. His is the largest case affecting an individual plaintiff, and also the first Libor case to put an exact dollar figure on the financial losses.

Washington law firm sues bank regulator over foreclosure reviews

Washington law firm sues bank regulator over foreclosure reviews

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Washington law firm is suing regulators to hand over information about how it selected consulting firms to participate in a multibillion-dollar review of banks’ past foreclosures.

The reviews, mandated by regulators in 2011 after widespread foreclosure shortcuts came to light, proved slow and expensive, and earlier this year 13 banks agreed to pay $9.3 billion to end them and compensate foreclosed borrowers.

But in a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., the law firm Williams & Connolly revisited the original reviews.

It is seeking documents explaining how the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency defined “independent” in its requirements for mortgage servicers to hire “independent consultants” to conduct the reviews.

The law firm declined to identify the client on behalf of which it filed the complaint.