News

$2.1 Billion Mortgage Settlement with Ocwen Loan Servicing

Published

12 years ago

December 23, 2013

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced a $2.1 billion multistate and federal settlement with Ocwen Financial Corporation and Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (Ocwen) over alleged mortgage servicing misconduct.

The settlement makes California homeowners eligible to receive up to $268 million in first lien principal reductions and nearly $23 million in cash payments to borrowers.

“This settlement will help homeowners who’ve been misled while trying to modify their Ocwen mortgages,” said Harris, “But our work isn’t done. Too many California families are still coping with uncooperative banks and mortgage service providers. My office will continue to fight on their behalf.”

The settlement resolves allegations that Ocwen engaged in robo-signing, “dual tracking” of borrowers seeking loan modifications, and other misconduct in the course of its mortgage servicing activities. The settlement also resolves similar allegations against Homeward Residential, Inc. and Litton Loan Servicing, LP, which Ocwen acquired.

Ocwen holds nearly 390,000 loans in California, of which 12% are underwater. Ocwen holds approximately 6% of all California underwater loans.

The national settlement requires Ocwen to pay $125 million to borrowers whose homes were foreclosed between 2009 and 2012 and commit to $2 billion in first lien principal reduction loan modifications over the next three years. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was the lead agency for the negotiations. The settlement was signed by 49 states and the District of Columbia, including California.

Joe Smith, who served as the Monitor for last year’s National Mortgage Settlement, will monitor the settlement nationally and Katie Porter, who heads the California Monitor’s office, will monitor the settlement in California.

The Ocwen settlement does not grant immunity from criminal offenses and would not affect criminal prosecutions. The agreement does not prevent homeowners or investors from pursuing individual, institutional or class action civil cases. The agreement also preserves the authority of state attorneys general and federal agencies to investigate and pursue other aspects of the mortgage crisis, including securities cases.

In some cases, Ocwen will contact borrowers directly regarding principal reductions. However, borrowers should contact Ocwen to obtain more information about principal reductions and whether they qualify under terms of this settlement. A settlement administrator will contact qualified borrowers associated with foreclosed loans regarding cash payments.

For more information about the settlement, CA Ocwen borrowers can call 1-800-337-6695 and email ConsumerRelief@Ocwen.com. The California Department of Justice also have more information at oag.ca.gov.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

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7 days ago

July 7, 2025

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.