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Wells Fargo Predatory Homes Loan Lawsuit:
- Who: Wells Fargo, Wachovia Mortgage, FSB, Golden West Savings Association and Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc have all been named in a California borrower’s lawsuit.
- What: Wells Fargo and other loan servicing bodies are accused of preying on first time home buyers with bad loans that were designed to fail.
- Where: The lawsuit was lodged in California court.
Wells Fargo and a group of affiliated mortgage lenders use deceptive tactics to push customers into a “complicated, risky and expensive” loan so they can sell as many loans as possible to third party investors while the customer defaults, a new lawsuit alleges.
Oakland resident John H. Ellis filed the lawsuit July 6 in a California Superior Court against Wells Fargo, along with its “alter egos” Wachovia Mortgage, FSB, Golden West Savings Association and Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc (MERS).
Ellis alleges he and tens of thousands of other borrowers were coaxed into adjustable rate mortgages that were “technically engineered” to end in default, foreclosure, and eviction.
The lenders ran a scheme in which they concealed the fact that ordinary homeowners obtained home loans “riddled with a timed-bomb”—such as adjustable rate, pick-a-pay, and negatively amortizing loans—designed to “systematically and dramatically increase monthly payments to the extent that the payment terms, conditions and provisions extended far beyond affordability,” the lawsuit says.
Ellis says, as a result of Wells Fargo’s actions, “literally millions” of unsuspecting new home buyers have become victims to a host of adjustable mortgage loan schemes.
“With revenue generated from down payments and monthly payments, and eventually foreclosure, the bank creates an endless stream of income for itself,” Ellis says.
“Defendants have not only bilked naive home buyers, but have deprived counties and the State of revenue to which they were legally entitled.”
Wells Fargo ‘Trapped’ Borrower With Predatory Home Loan
Ellis says he entered into a loan agreement with Wells Fargo. That loan was eventually transferred to multiple subsequent services through transactions facilitated by MERS.
Realizing that no financial institution would refinance the loan, and as his payments got higher, he contacted the lenders and asked for assistance under the Home Owners Loan Act and the Obama administration’s Federal Mortgage Assistance Program. However, while in negotiations, the lenders continued to foreclose on him.
Ellis says he was “maliciously trapped in a classically predatory loan contract,” after which Wells Fargo created false documents, including declarations of defaults and notices of sale to avoid its obligations.
He’s suing Wells Fargo for fraudulent concealment, originating falsified documents and foreclosing on homeowners in the Federal Making Home Affordable Plan.
“As a direct and proximate result of the deceptive and unfair loan lending practices tens of thousands of borrowers have been placed in an unaffordable loan engineered to self-destruct (foreclose).”
Ellis is suing under the False Claims Act and the California False Claims Act. He’s seeking restitution and damages of between $3.75 million and $6.25 million, plus interest, fees and costs.
In September, Wells Fargo made a deal with home loan customers who lost their homes in an $18.5 million settlement that, if approved by the court, will end a class action lawsuit alleging bank errors led to mortgage holders losing their homes to foreclosure.
A month earlier, the bank was accused in a class action of running a fraudulent mortgage servicing scheme, which saw Wells Fargo collect illegal fees for property inspections, resulting in bankrupted homeowners.
Did you get a home loan through Wells Fargo? Let us know your experience in the comments.
The Wells Fargo Home Loan Whistleblower Lawsuit is John H. Ellis., v. Wells Fargo et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-08042, in the Superior Court of the State of California County of Alameda
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61 thoughts onWells Fargo, ‘Alter Egos’ Sold Predatory Home Loans ‘Engineered’ to Foreclose, Claims Borrower’s Lawsuit
Please add me to the class action as well thank you.
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Wells Fargo did a preditory loan on my mom at NACA after she had a fraudulent loan done by Karen La fond of Argent and man from a Capitol funding. Our mom was schizophrenic since age 27 and did not understand what she was doing. She also was 71 at the time and it was elder fraud, they stole all the equity from the home and the money she thought was going to pay he bills. We attempted to sue when we found out but the attorney told us Karen left the country. They stole around 400K.! Our mom died on Christmas Eve in 2020 at age 85. She had been in pain and terrible anxiety for years. Earlier that year, I had an emergency surgery for a brain tumor and then got meningitis and a stroke. It is now 2022 and I am still learning to walk again. I want our home to be excused of all dept. I have already put my earnings of 36 years as a respiratory therapist + my retirement into the home. I have more than paid for the home. My brother has now exhausted all of his money as well. This is crazy as hardly any of the payment goes to principal. Wells Fargo is still the owner of the loan but is got sold to CitiMortgage and now sold to Cenlar. Cenlar put us on a delayed payment but they will not put my brother and I ‘s name on the home after Mom died even though she left us the home. this is all wrong! I am now permanently disabled and my brother s partially disabled and cares for me. We desperately need help to keep our home of 57 years. How can the banks be so fraudulent? We need help! We both live here and owe too much to have the bank sell the home. I need our home to heal and get better. My brother only has this home too. We want retribution against Wells Fargo. Please help! I hope you can understand me. it has taken me hours to type to you. which is part of my therapy.
Yes Oakwood homes and Wells Fargo scammed my husband and I when we purchased our first home. We already had land so we tried to get a loan to build a house that we already had drawn up, but we didn’t get approved, so we applied for a loan at oakwood homes for a modular house and got approved with a mortgage payment around $950-$1000/month. Long story short, they built the foundation and installed the modular home on our land a month prior to us agreeing and signing the FHA loan documents with Wells Fargo. When we finally say down with the wells Fargo loan officer to sign we couldn’t believe how much our monthly mortgage costs compared to the pre-approval amount since nothing for the loan had been changed. Wells Fargo scanned us with the fluctuating mortgage interest rate that we still are stuck with today and instead of 900-1000/ month it was 1700+ a month. We didn’t have a choice but to sign because they could try to take our land that we purchased years before this happened since the modular homes was already installed on our property. We also had to pay so many late fees because we couldn’t afford our mortgage, we had to get multiple collateral loans on our vehicles to pay our mortgage, withdrew Stocks and 401k to pay the mortgage, worked multiple jobs to try to make ends meet, we got multiple foreclosure notices, it’s been a nightmare! Our first timer home buying experience had been a long term struggle and caused a lot of stress, conflict, worry and exhaustion for 11+years. Wells Fargo and oakwood homes are crooks, cheats, liers, Scammers, Ripping Off people, commiting fraud and purposely trying to take peoples homes knowing that they can’t afford to pay the loan to begin with! You reep what you sow and what goes around, comes back around. Truth will set us Free, God wins!
My former spouse, (A US Military Veteran) and I had a mortgage through Wells Fargo, (WF). We refinanced and WF placed the, “New” loan under Wells Fargo Financial. We experienced a financial hardship and asked for a re-finance, it was denied. WF sold/transferred the loan and that company filed for foreclosure. We were not allowed legal representation, forms mailed to us had no signature/some ere back dated, (We thought it was fraud). The home was placed in foreclosure and we lost the residence after 20+ years.
My uncle and I bought a house and he died , so I went to my bank Wells Fargo to refinance, they told me I needed a Co- Signer , So I came back with CO – Signer with good credit and VA- loan on the table and still was turn down, in light of everything everything I LOST my HOME.. I am a Single Black Minority Woman ,who feels I was unjustified..Can you help me??!!
If this is for homes only, I am sorry and I will delete it. I had a four door jeep wrangler and wells fargo had my vehicle repossessed right from my work and left me standing there with no way home. It was shift change so my co workers watched as my vehicle was towed away. I went into a depression so deep I laid on my couch and cried to the point my children were going to have me committed. I quit my job and took my 401 K and moved out of state. I took my 401 K and leased a small piece of land and what I thoght would be an ok mobile home that I could get by with. It was winter and I had no heat, no water and no electric. I was to marry a man when he got out of prison. He got out and took me for everything I had. Being broke he convinced me to sell the vehicle that was paid for. He took that money and bought a truck which was most of the money from the one I sold. My depression got out of control. There was a train track behind this horrible mobile home so I was thinking of getting drunk and laying on the tracks. After he talked me into coming back and having Christmas with my family he took that truck and loaded everything he could fit into it and left. I was in bad shape so I came back and had to go to a shelter. Of course the car I had got repossessed because now I had no money, no home and no job. After all of that I spent a few months in the shelter I was finally able to get a small apartment with lots of help. I am very thankful for everyone who helped me through this and now I have heat etc. That does not even touch how thankful I am. I am now on medication for depression and several other medicines that I have to take every day…Oh and my good credit is no longer and you can’t do hardly anything if you have bad credit and this all started because they took my jeep.
I have a Wells Fargo pick a payment Loan in NC- currently in litigation.
Rushmore, SN SERVICING , Now FAY Servicer just to name a few.
Big plot it seems. Very damaging and tricky.
Yes I was trapped in this rip off scam they pulled on me and alot of other people
I bought my home in 2007 and it were closed in 2008. It was Aurora loan services. Is it too late to do anything about that now? Has it been passed like a statute of limitations?
I was sold a predatory loan in 2006 and lost my home as a result in 2017. I fought since 2009 in court,New York state. I could not afford a lawyer. Lawyers told me I was sold a predatory loan but they wanted 5 to 10,000 as a retainer to take the corrupt giant to court. They sold me a fake appraisal,title insurance,duplicated closing cost and charged me for services they never did. Of course I did not learn about this until months later after the loan closed. I tried to get them to make proper adjustments and make this a honest loan. They refused. I never missed a payment. In retaliation they refused my payments and forced me in default and foreclosure. I have been searching ever since on how to hold all those accountable for our loss.
I received a loan through wells fargo in 2009 they sold it to loan care servicing and then to lakeview servicing. I almost lost my home also and had to hire an attorney to get me a modification because they kept denying it. I got the mod in 2017 but now because they have all my documents screwed up I’m fighting with IRS in California to release a lien on my house and return my wages/ they have put my address sown as a California resident paying off a home in NYS. the past 2 weeks have been dreadful but I am still fighting. the 1098 from 2016 and from 2017 have the wrong addresses and the bank has no Idea why this has happened. sounds like fraud. consumer fraud!!