Breaking: Leaked AG Memo Accuses Trump Treasury Pick Mnuchin’s Bank of “Widespread Misconduct”
Trump Nominee Steven Mnuchin’s Bank Made Billions During Housing Crisis, Foreclosing on Thousands of Homeowners
WASHINGTON, DC – A memo from the office of the California Attorney General leaked to The Intercept alleges that OneWest committed “widespread misconduct” in foreclosures. The bank in question was previously run by Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary.
According to The Intercept, “OneWest rushed delinquent homeowners out of their homes by violating notice and waiting period statutes, illegally backdated key documents, and effectively gamed foreclosure auctions.” The practice resulted in residents being wrongly foreclosed on and evicted in California, and potentially other states.
“The system is rigged. It’s rigged by people like Steven Mnuchin who made millions while his bank wrongly foreclosed on working families. Wall Street insiders like Mnuchin helped create the financial crisis and then made a killing from it. Instead of holding Mnuchin and others like him accountable for their actions, President-elect Trump wants to put them in charge of our economy,” said Allied Progress executive director Karl Frisch. He continued, “We call on all members of the Senate Finance committee to thoroughly investigate and question Mnuchin about his bank’s dishonest and potentially illegal practices that threw families out on to the street. The American people deserve answers.”
Steven Mnuchin is a longtime Wall Street insider, formerly a second-generation executive at Goldman Sachs. At the height of the Great Recession, Mnuchin purchased IndyMac, later renamed OneWest Bank. Under his leadership, OneWest foreclosed on thousands of homeowners with the federal government absorbing the losses while the bank made billions in profits for Mnuchin and his colleagues.
The foreclosure practices of Mnuchin’s bank came under intense fire, with one judge finding that OneWest committed “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive” acts, characterizing the bank’s conduct as “inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious.” In another case, OneWest foreclosed on a 90-year-old woman over a payment that was short by 27 cents.
For background on Mnuchin’s record profiting off the backs of working Americans, visit: TrumpTransparency.org/StevenMnuchin
ABOUT ALLIED PROGRESS
Allied Progress is a nationwide, progressive, advocacy organization that uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold Wall Street and other powerful special interests accountable. Since launching in 2015, the organization has led high-profile campaigns on several issues including reforming the payday lending industry and exposing the special interests working to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
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To speak with Allied Progress about this release, please contact Mike Czin, 202-286-7654 mczin@skdknick.com.
Allied Progress uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold powerful special interests accountable and empower hardworking Americans.