Spokespeople Available
For Immediate Release: Oct 2, 2012
For more information contact: Kevin Whelan, Home Defenders League Campaign Director 612-414-9731, Kevin@homedefendersleague.org
Homeowners: JPM/Bear Stearns Filing Shows It’s Not Too Late To Hold Big Banks Accountable
Allegation of systemic fraud validates demand for across the board principal reduction
Oct 2, 2012 – Activists fighting for relief for underwater homeowners said that the sweeping civil case filed against JPMorgan/Bear Stearns by New York State Attorney General and Federal RMBS Working Group Co-Chair Eric Schneiderman highlights Wall Street’s culpability for the economic damage caused the 2008 economic crash. The case goes directly to the argument that Home Defenders League and other advocates have made for months -– that it was bad acts by big banks that left millions underwater and these same banks should now help pay to repair the damage.
“I think the fact that a major bank is being sued on this scale is wonderful—and long overdue,” said Meliva Bogan a spokesperson for the Home Defenders League and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). “These banks caused so much damage to homeowners and our communities through fraudulent practices.”
Bogan and other homeowners called for legal action against of other banks, including Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and more accountability for big banks and their executives. Bogan said: “The acts described in this lawsuit are criminal and I fail to see a good reason why there can’t be criminal prosecution. And until there is Wall Street accountability that gets principal reduction implemented you are not going to solve the economic problems caused by the huge number of properties whose values were over-inflated.”
Steven Baily an activist with the Colorado Progressive Coalition, CFRC, and Home Defenders League in Denver Colorado said he hopes the issues raised by this week’s lawsuit would be featured in the Presidential debates: “These Wall Street crimes had victims across the board. From people who lost money in their pension funds and investments to people who lost jobs and businesses to families who lost their homes. These crimes directly led to the foreclosure and foreclosure fraud crisis. Principal reduction would be one way to help homeowners recover from the crimes the big banks committed against us all. We need to hear from the Presidential candidates about this and what other actions they will take to make Americans and our economy whole.”
Learn more at www.homedefendersleague.org.
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