by Brian Mahany
Anyone reading this blog knows our opinion on big banks. Chase, Wells Fargo, BONY and especially Bank of America have become “to big to care” in our opinion. Treasury officials may say they are to big to fail but we think that they have outlived their usefulness. Although these banks still do offer some good products and employ some great people, there just doesn’t seem to be anyone in charge and fraud is apparently allowed to run rampant.
Take the case of former BOA executive Phillip Murphy. The feds say that he falsified bank records and defrauded the government, felonies that can land him in prison for a long time.
Prosecutors claim that Murphy helped orchestrate kickbacks to a company to rig bids on government contracts. Apparently Murphy did not act alone. Officials from Chase and Wells Fargo have also been implicated. The banks involved in this scandal have already paid $700 million to the government.
While its not unusual for a bank employee to sometimes embezzle money, the allegations in this case involve illegal kickbacks and bid rigging and were designed to help the bank. The criminal conduct within the banks also allegedly took place over several years.
Unfortunately, the corporate culture of many of the larger banks is such that illegal conduct is at best tolerated and at worst, encouraged. That such institutional arrogance continues years after taxpayers gave billions in bailout money (our tax dollars) to Wall Street is shocking.
Bank of America is cooperating with the Department of Justice according to press reports. They don’t have much choice. We hope that the continuing investigations, fines, lawsuits and indictments will finally get shareholders of these institutions to boot the current management teams of each of these banks.
Everyday we hear horror stories from individual homeowners with mortgages serviced by Bank of America and the other large lenders. At first, we couldn’t believe that these stories could be true. Now we know better. If you were wrongfully foreclosed, locked out or had a HAMP loan modification improperly denied, give us a call. Our fraud recovery lawyers have helped many people across the country get back their hard earned money and collect damages against big banks.
For more information, contact attorney Anthony Dietz at . The author of this post can also be reached at (414) 704-6731 (direct). All inquiries are kept in strict confidence.
Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers, Proudly Giving Homeowners A Voice. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine & Minneapolis, Minnesota.