Mortgage servicers subject to the National Mortgage Settlement will be paying out consumer relief to U.S. Armed Forces members whose who were illegally foreclosed on.

$123 Million Settlement for Non-Judicial Foreclosures

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, mortgage servicers Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and GMAC Mortgage will pay out $123 million total to 952 service members and their co-borrowers. This is all for conducting non-judicial foreclosures and thus violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

Non-judicial Foreclosure

Non-judicial foreclosures mean a lender does not have to go to court in order to foreclose on a home. Some states are nonjudicial foreclosure states, some are not. Even in states that allow non-judicial foreclosures, the SCRA prohibits servicers from doing so against protected Armed Forces members during not only their military service, but also applicable post-military service coverage periods.

These non-judicial foreclosures took place Jan. 1, 2006, and Apr. 4, 2012.

“These unlawful non-judicial foreclosures forced hundreds of service members and their families out of their homes,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery. “While this compensation will provide a measure of relief, the fact is that service members should never have to worry about losing their home to an illegal foreclosure while they are serving our country. The department will continue to actively protect our service members and their families from such unjust actions.”

Receiving Compensation for Foreclosures

“We are very pleased that the men and women of the armed forces who were subjected to unlawful non-judicial foreclosures while they were serving our country are now receiving compensation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division.

“We look forward, in the coming months, to facilitating the compensation of additional service members who were subjected to unlawful judicial foreclosures or excess interest charges,” Gupta continued. “We appreciate that JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, GMAC Mortgage and Bank of America have been working cooperatively with the Justice Department to compensate the service members whose rights were violated.”

Source: Housingwire.com, Military members to receive $123 million for unlawful foreclosures, February 10, 2015