This story appeared in Bank Digest.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has announced the launch of a wide ranging investigation into increasingly widespread allegations of foreclosure fraud and abuse, seeking documents, audits, and investigations to provide the Committee with a more comprehensive understanding of these allegations and the national foreclosure picture. The requests include: document requests to mortgage and legal service companies; a request that the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program conduct an audit of reports by homeowners of servicer abuses; a request to the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to conduct an investigation into attorneys who specialize in handling foreclosures and working with servicers; and a letter to Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., thanking the Chairman for agreeing to his request for a hearing on mortgage servicer abuses.