Banking Law

Wells Fargo to pay $1B penalty for consumer law violations

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a $1 billion penalty for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the penalty Friday, report the Wall Street Journal, the National Law Journal and Bloomberg News. The…

Apr 20, 2018 9:56 AM CDT

Foreclosure law firm is accused of overbilling Fannie Mae through affiliates’ ‘exponential markups’

A foreclosure law firm in New York is accused in a federal lawsuit of overbilling Fannie Mae by inflating costs for mortgage-related services offered by its wholly owned affiliates. The Plainview-based law firm Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates is accused of violating the False Claims Act in a March 27 complaint…

Mar 29, 2018 2:06 PM CDT

Whistleblower’s $33M award sets an SEC record

Three whistleblowers will receive $83 million for their whistleblowing that led to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a $415 million settlement.

Mar 20, 2018 7:30 AM CDT

Nearly 300 former students at shuttered law school are eligible for discharge of student loans

Nearly a dozen additional students who were enrolled at the now-shuttered Charlotte School of Law will be eligible for discharge of their federal student loans as a result of an extension granted by the U.S. Department of Education. Nearly 300 former students in total are eligible for forgiveness of the…

Mar 12, 2018 12:53 PM CDT

Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleads guilty in special counsel probe

Updated: Rick Gates, a former campaign aide to Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges related to Ukrainian work he did with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Gates will cooperate in the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller as a result of a plea deal, the Washington Post reports.

Feb 23, 2018 9:18 AM CST

Special counsel files new charging document in Manafort case; bail filing alleges bank fraud

Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a new, sealed charging document in the money laundering case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his onetime business associate Rick Gates. A one-page document included in a court binder indicates that the new charging document has been filed, but doesn’t indicate…

Feb 21, 2018 2:51 PM CST

Trump’s interim CFPB chief shifts enforcement power in lending bias cases

President Donald Trump’s interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has shifted enforcement power away from the office that had pursued cases alleging interest rate discrimination. The Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity is being moved within the director’s office and will now be focused on advocacy, coordination…

Feb 1, 2018 12:38 PM CST

$20M windfall for UC law schools in wrongful foreclosure suit shrinks to $150K

A federal judge has vacated a punitive damages award against Bank of America that gave $20 million to the University of California’s five law schools in a wrongful foreclosure case. The five law schools will now receive $150,000 as a result of a bank settlement with the plaintiffs, Erik and…

Jan 24, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Mueller reportedly subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for information on its business dealings with Trump

Updated: Special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for information on accounts related to its business with President Donald Trump and his family. The subpoena was issued several weeks ago, report Reuters, Bloomberg (reg. req.) and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) in stories relying on an unnamed source.…

Dec 5, 2017 10:46 AM CST

Lawyer and the payday lender he advised are convicted

A corporate and banking lawyer has been convicted of racketeering conspiracy along with the payday lender he advised on how to avoid state caps on loan interest rates. Federal jurors in Pennsylvania on Monday convicted 69-year-old Delaware lawyer Wheeler Neff and 76-year-old payday lending pioneer Charles Hallinan, report Philly.com, Reuters…

Nov 28, 2017 12:16 PM CST

Congress overturns consumer bureau rule limiting mandatory arbitration in bank contracts

Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaker vote in the Senate on Tuesday to overturn a rule to limit mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts between consumers and financial institutions.

Oct 25, 2017 8:52 AM CDT

Federal judge refuses to toss shareholder suit against Wells Fargo executives

A federal judge in San Francisco has refused to toss a shareholder lawsuit against executives and directors of Wells Fargo over sales pressures that led employees to open millions of unauthorized accounts for bank customers. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar ruled (PDF) on Wednesday, report Reuters and Bloomberg Quint. The…

Oct 5, 2017 1:12 PM CDT

800,000 student loans to be audited under proposed settlement; lender would pay at least $19M

The largest holder of private student loans has agreed to an audit of all of its 800,000 loans in a proposed settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Sep 20, 2017 10:30 AM CDT

Federal judge calls out law firm for ‘cleverly’ using ellipses

A California law firm was unable to persuade a federal judge in Santa Ana that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had gone on an “impermissible fishing expedition” in seeking the firm’s debt-relief records. U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton called out Seila Law for using ellipses in trying to persuade the…

Aug 30, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Lawyers would have to provide more trust account information in measure passed by ABA House

Lawyers would have to provide more information about trust accounts in which they hold the funds of other people according to model rule changes approved by the House of Delegates on Monday.

Aug 14, 2017 1:04 PM CDT