Even for notoriously money-blinded financial behemoths, preying upon veterans and their families defies even the most cynical observer’s imagination.
In the sea of fraud and manipulation following the financial crisis, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have hit rock bottom (or at least let us hope so). In today’s New York Times—unfortunately buried within the Business section—lies the story of almost 200 military veterans whose homes were wrongly foreclosed upon by BofA and Morgan Stanley subsidiaries. Really, guys? Even for notoriously money-blinded financial behemoths, preying upon veterans and their families defies even the most cynical observer’s imagination.
The Justice Department achieved a total settlement of over $20 million for the victims; this amount is unlikely to make whole these veterans who had their mortgages foreclosed upon by Countrywide and Saxon, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. The settlement leaves just over $120k for each victim, likely a far cry from the value of their mortgage—and that is ignoring the hardship they likely went through as a result. (What’s more, this is not the Countrywide/BofA partnership’s first lapse in judgment—just ask whistleblower Michael G. Winston.)
This case cries out for punitive damages.