The past few years have been lucrative for any regulator in the
United States looking to enrich the public coffer in return to A.
Impress voters or B. Spend proceeds on... say a new bridge over the
Hudson River instead of returning fines to consumers who may have been
hurt by unscrupulous mortgage lenders.
Putting the
editorializing aside, it is good to realize that the average American in
the judicial system is able to see the difference between actual
mortgage abuse and a lender doing business. Today, the United States
was set back by a jury when it tried to claim that Abacus Bank in New
York City was found not guilty of grand larceny and
conspiracy
Two executives at the bank were acquitted on all charges.
Yiu Wah Wong, the bank's chief credit officer, and Wai Hung
"Raymond" Tam, the loan origination supervisor, were found not
guilty of 80 counts each
Prosecutors claimed the defective loans falsely represented
applicants' credit worthiness, employment, income and source of
downpayments. They claimed the bank and its managers trained and
directed the routine falsification of documents.
However,
the bank's lawyer, Kevin
Puvalowski, called the state's case "a bizarro prosecution," . He
stated that Abacus's loans went to borrowers capable of paying them, as
shown by the fact that the borrowers who received loans from Abacus bank
are.... paying those loans. And, that the government is prosecuting a
case by saying that Fannie and Freddie, who did not lose money, were
harmed or would be harmed, in the future, by the loans - that are being
paid, on time, every month.
Which is why the jurors threw out the charges. All 80 of them
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