Foreclosure mill
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Foreclosure mills are usually third-party businesses that exist solely to sign off on home foreclosures. They sprang up all around the United States in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. These organizations employ a process called "robo-signing," in which the legal documents are electronically signed to speed the process up. Naturally, this has led to a massive number of wrongful foreclosures. In the most egregious cases, banks simply sent out movers without notice to break in to people's houses, haul their stuff off, and leave a nice present, an eviction notice.[1] In many places, sloppiness and fraud were encouraged as employees received gifts for signing more documents and altering their contents.[2] Banks have been getting away with this without even having to produce documents proving they own the mortgage. Various states and municipalities have put moratoriums on foreclosure for these reasons,[3] but the practice still continues in many areas.
Two of Trump's cabinet secretaries ran foreclosure mills, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross,[4] which was possibly the primary qualification for their positions.
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- ↑ Suits claim break-ins by banks
- ↑ Foreclosure mill employees got gifts
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Wilbur Ross and Steve Mnuchin—Profiteers of the Great Foreclosure Machine—Go to Washington: Mnuchin and Ross led companies that committed fraud to foreclose on millions of homeowners. Now they will be in charge of the entire US economy. What could go wrong? by David Dayen (November 30, 2016) The Nation.