Countrywide SubCrime Mortgage Pusher Subpoenaed by Illinois

[...]

The inquiry follows an investigation by Ms. Madigan’s office into One Source Mortgage, a Chicago mortgage broker that recently closed its doors. Ms. Madigan sued One Source on Nov. 27, contending that the company misled borrowers by promising low rates on mortgages without advising them that their payments would jump sharply shortly after the loans were made. Countrywide was One Source’s primary lender, according to the lawsuit.

Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage lender and loan servicer, is coming under increased scrutiny as the home loan crisis deepens. In addition to the Illinois investigation, the company is also fielding inquiries from the Securities and Exchange Commission about significant stock trades made by Angelo R. Mozilo, the chief executive, before Countrywide’s stock plummeted this year.

[...]

The Illinois suit against One Source Mortgage said the company lured borrowers with misrepresentations about the interest rates on their loans. For example, one borrower was told that he would have an interest rate of less than 1 percent for the first year of his mortgage, but the rate rose to 7.5 percent after a month, according to the complaint.

One Source also used high-pressure tactics to rush borrowers through their loan closings, according to the suit. Most of the closings took less than 30 minutes, the attorney general said, with some only 10 to 15 minutes. One borrower was told that “it would take two days to explain everything,” and that the closing had to take place before that.

Some borrowers told Illinois investigators that they did not know One Source brokers had inflated their incomes to get them a larger mortgage. One consumer provided pay stubs and tax returns to One Source showing her income to be $2,200 a month, the suit said. Only later did she discover that One Source had listed her monthly income as $9,000.

The Illinois attorney general has been aggressive in moving against mortgage lending abuses. State officials were part of the executive committee that negotiated the settlement reached in January 2006 between Ameriquest, a big mortgage lender, and 49 state attorneys general. Under that deal, the company, without admitting or denying the accusations of loan improprieties, agreed to pay $295 million to consumers in 49 states and more than $30 million to cover costs of the investigation.

A recent analysis by The Chicago Reporter, an investigative newsmagazine, found that the Chicago area ranks first among United States metropolitan areas in the number of subprime loans issued to homeowners from 2004 through 2006.