Attorney General Bondi’s Office and Other Attorneys General Investigate Ocwen

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – December 16, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office and other attorneys general on the National Mortgage Settlement Monitoring Committee have been investigating Ocwen ever since a whistleblower came forward earlier this year with significant issues about Ocwen’s internal compliance review. The investigation by the attorneys general is separate from that announced by NMS Monitor Joseph Smith, Jr. today, but it relates to the same issues brought to Mr. Smith’s attention in May. While Mr. Smith’s investigation focused on ways to improve the compliance monitoring process in his role as the National Monitor to address some of the concerns raised by the whistleblower, the states’ investigation, in their enforcement role, is directed at determining whether Ocwen provided false or misleading information during the course of its compliance reporting.

This announcement comes as Mr.Smith today released his Continued Oversight report, which is a summary of six compliance reports for the period Jan. 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014. The reports were filed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia as part of Mr. Smith’s continuing duties monitoring the NMS, and they include a compliance report on Ocwen. The other five reports detail compliance by Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Green Tree, and Wells Fargo with the NMS servicing rules from Jan. 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014.

“My office takes the allegations that Ocwen may not have operated in good faith in its efforts to comply with the settlement extremely seriously, and we will fully investigate these allegations until we have an answer,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Mr. Smith’s reports include updates on the six mortgage servicers’ compliance with the following: NMS servicing standards, Ocwen’s self-reported progress toward fulfilling its consumer relief requirement under the Ocwen National Servicing Settlement, and JP Morgan Chase’s progress toward fulfilling the consumer relief requirements of the Chase RMBS Settlement.

Media Contact: Jenn Meale
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