Banking Misconduct Blog

The owners of a home taken by Bank of America have accused the bank and its lawyers of “stonewalling” efforts to prosecute the bank for wrongful foreclosure. Catarina and Alejandro Francisco claim that the bank’s lawyer improperly instructed a Bank of America employee to not...

This case is one from the archives but the principles and law behind the decision are still valid today. In 2009, a Philadelphia jury awarded Donald Mente and his new and used car dealership, Mente Chevrolet, $4 million after finding that GMAC had used thinly disguised pretexts to declare the...

The Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer survey is due to be released tomorrow but already the news has leaked. For the fourth straight quarter, banks have toughened their underwriting criteria. That means it is getting harder to get or renew a loan. For those fortune to receive financing,...

Wells Fargo is no stranger to claims that it engages in shady residential lending and foreclosure practices. We regularly investigate and prosecute commercial claims involving America’s 3rd largest lender. Their behavior on the commercial side is no better.
In June of 2015, Latasha...

A long running battle between consumers and Zions First National Bank came one step closer to resolution this week. The bank and two of its subsidiaries agreed to pay $37.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The suit claimed that...

Rating agencies are sounding the alarm over the looming problems facing maturing CMBS loans. A large percentage of commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) financed loans were underwritten in 2006 and 2007 at the height of the real estate market. Those loans are coming due just as the...

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was originally intended as a criminal statute. Congress wanted to arm prosecutors with a new law to address criminal conspiracies involving gangs and organized crime. A last minute amendment allowed private litigants to use the law in...

A class action lawsuit filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) last month claims Marriott’s “Vacation Club” timeshare program is actually an illegal racketeering scheme. A couple from Shelbyville, Indiana say they were duped into thinking they...

We rarely write about residential foreclosure cases. Although we don’t typically handle cases for individual homeowners, we follow them closely. The same deceitful tricks banks use against helpless homeowners often find their way into commercial cases. Banks have deep pockets and know that...

A Vermont federal court judge refused to toss a RICO claim filed against the Chippewa Cree payday lender, Plain Green LLC. The court also refused to enforce a loan provision that prevented borrowers from filing lawsuits or making class action claims. The payday lender unsuccessfully argued that...