Green Tree must Refund Consumers $48M For Array Of Deceptive Practices

The mortgage servicer failed to honor modifications for loans transferred from other servicers, demanded payments before providing loss mitigation options, delayed decisions on short sales, and harassed and threatened overdue borrowers. Green Tree has agreed to pay $48 million in restitution to victims, and a $15 million civil money penalty for its illegal actions.

“Green Tree failed consumers who were struggling by prioritizing collecting payments over helping homeowners,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “When homeowners in distress had their mortgages transferred to Green Tree, their previous foreclosure relief plans were not maintained. We are holding Green Tree accountable for its unlawful conduct.”

Specifically, the Bureau and the FTC allege that from 2010 to 2014, the company:

Demanded payments before providing loss mitigation options: Delinquent consumers who called Green Tree were automatically routed to a debt collector. The CFPB and FTC allege that consumers who wanted to speak with a customer service representative or loss mitigation specialist rather than a collector found that there was no way to do so and were sometimes told that they had to make a loan payment before they could be considered for a loan modification. In reality, consumers did not need to make payments on their loans before they could be considered for a loan modification. For example, the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”), which Green Tree participated in, does not allow participating servicers to require consumers to make payments before considering them for a loan modification.

Failed to honor in-process modifications: Because Green Tree was rapidly expanding its mortgage servicing business, it often acquired customers who already had an agreement with their previous servicer to modify their loans. The complaint alleges that Green Tree, in many instances, failed to honor these agreements and insisted that consumers pay their old higher mortgage payment.

Delayed short sales: Green Tree’s short sale department was frequently unreachable and unresponsive. The complaint alleges that in numerous instances, Green Tree took two to six months to respond to consumer requests for short sales. This could have cost consumers potential buyers, and it may also have cost them other loss mitigation alternatives while their short sale requests were pending.

Harassed and threatened overdue borrowers: The CFPB and FTC allege that if a consumer was two weeks or more past due, Green Tree consumers could receive seven to 20 phone calls a day. Some Green Tree representatives also told consumers that nonpayment of their mortgage loan could result in arrest or imprisonment. Or, representatives threatened seizure or garnishment of the consumer’s wages when Green Tree had no intention to take such actions. Such threats are illegal.

Used deceptive tactics to charge consumers convenience fees: The Bureau and the FTC allege that Green Tree deceived consumers to get them to pay $12 for its pay-by-phone service, called Speedpay. Green Tree representatives would pressure consumers to use the service by telling consumers that Speedpay was the only available payment method to ensure the payment would be received on time. In fact, Green Tree accepted other payment methods that do not involve a fee, such as checks and ACH payments, which consumers could have used to make a timely payment.

This enforcement action covers Green Tree’s illegal practices prior to the January 2014 effective date of the CFPB’s new mortgage servicing rules.

Hillary Clinton’s net worth is $31.3 million.
Our Hillary Clinton net worth number comes from analyzing her 2015 U.S. Public Financial Disclosure Reports.
Bill Clinton has an estimated net worth of $80 million.
That gives a combined Bill and Hillary Clinton net worth of $111 million dollars.

U.S. presidential candidates aren’t required to reveal their exact net worth, so Hillary Clinton’s net worth is only available within a range.
That means learning Hillary Clinton’s net worth can only be done by averaging out her reported min and max figures.

In May of 2015, Hillary Clinton reported net worth assets of at least $10,830,007 and at most $51.7 million.
Mrs. Clinton did not report any real estate or debts.
If the Clintons do own property or debts, it’s all in Bill Clinton’s name.
Placing assets and liabilities in Bill’s name would mean they wouldn’t be reported as part of Hillary Clinton’s net worth.

Hillary Clinton net worth vs Bernie Sanders net worth: 59 times larger.

Investigators with the State Department issued a subpoena to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation last fall seeking documents about the charity’s projects that may have required approval from the federal government during Hillary Clinton’s term as secretary of state, according to people familiar with the subpoena and written correspondence about it.

The subpoena also asked for records related to Huma Abedin, a longtime Clinton aide who for six months in 2012 was employed simultaneously by the State Department, the foundation, Clinton’s personal office, and a private consulting firm with ties to the Clintons.

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First, a Cleveland police officer shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice as he played with a toy pellet gun in a public park.

Then the city said the boy's death was his own fault.

And now Cleveland has charged the Rice family for his final ambulance ride.

That latest development, coming on Wednesday nearly 15 months after Tamir's death, stirred up fresh outrage -- not just from his family, but from the Cleveland police union that's fought them tooth and nail to clear the officers involved in the shooting.

"Subodh Chandra and I have never agreed on anything until now," police union President Steve Loomis told CNN affiliate WJW, referring to the Rice family's lawyer. "It is unconscionable that the city of Cleveland would send that bill to the Rice family.