Widow Kicked Out of Her Home by Mnuchin’s Bank Featured in New Ad
Ad Targets Trump Treasury Secretary Nominee in DC, Nevada, Arizona, and Iowa – Sponsored by Allied Progress Action, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Demand Progress Action
“Steve Mnuchin ran the bank that committed fraud and took my home.” – Lisa Fraser
Other Versions: Phoenix & Tucson, AZ – Des Moines & Cedar Rapids, IA – Las Vegas & Reno, NV
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Allied Progress, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Demand Progress Action are jointly launching a TV ad featuring Lisa Fraser, a widow whose home was foreclosed on by Trump Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin’s bank, OneWest.
The ads target five Republican senators and begin running Wednesday on cable television in Nevada (Sen. Dean Heller), Arizona (Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain), and Iowa (Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst). It will also run in Washington, DC. Heller and Grassley are on the Senate Finance Committee which will hold confirmation hearings on Thursday, January 19 for Mnuchin.
The ad buy is part of a broader campaign to hold members of Congress across the country accountable for President-elect Trump’s actions that betray his working-class voters. Instead of “draining the swamp,” Trump is turning our economy over to giant corporations and Wall Street insiders at the expense of America’s working families. Local events are also being planned, and groups have been putting in thousands of calls to Congress opposing Trump’s agenda and Mnuchin’s nomination.
Stephanie Taylor, Co-Founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee: “Steven Mnuchin, the ‘Foreclosure King,’ made millions by taking people’s homes with no regard for anything but his own bottom line. Mnuchin is the poster child for how Trump is betraying America’s working families, including his own voters, by turning over our economy to Goldman Sachs bankers and giant corporations. Mnuchin represents corruption and he should not be running our economy, period.”
Karl Frisch, Executive Director, Allied Progress: “Lisa Fraser should be applauded for sharing her heartbreaking story. Unfortunately, she’s not alone. Tens-of-thousands of Americans just like her were wrongly foreclosed on by Steven Mnuchin’s bank. They lost their family homes while he lined his pockets with cash and bought expensive houses from Bel Air to the Hamptons. Mnuchin’s foreclosure mill of a bank has been accused of fraud and deception too often to count. A leaked state attorney general’s office memo accused his bank of ‘widespread misconduct’ while a judge said the bank committed ‘shocking and repulsive’ acts and its conduct was ‘unconscionable.’ This is not a man we should let anywhere near the economic policy of our nation.”
Kurt Walters, Campaign Director, Demand Progress: “Lisa’s story is a powerful reminder that the tens of thousands of foreclosures Steve Mnuchin and his bank aggressively pursued are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. There are countless families who painfully remember the damage they suffered at the hands of Steve Mnuchin and OneWest. Mnuchin has shown he has little to no concern for how his decisions affect Americans in the real world. He is not fit to have so much power over our economy, and Americans nationwide, who are outraged at big banks profiting at the expense of ordinary people, will remember how their senators vote on Steve Mnuchin.”
ABOUT THE AD:
- Features the story of Lisa Fraser, a widow whose home was aggressively foreclosed on by Trump Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin’s bank OneWest, while her husband was battling terminal cancer — despite a long history of on-time payments. Full transcript below.
- The ad will air on Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19 – the day before and the day of Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. It will air on MSNBC, CNN, and FOX in Washington, DC; Tucson and Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas and Reno, NV; and Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, IA.
- The ad will initially run more than 400 times and the buy will expand based on online fundraising.
- The ad will launch the same day that Senator Elizabeth Warren is hosting a forum to hear from victims of Mnuchin’s predatory foreclosure practices. The forum will be tomorrow at 2:15pm in Washington, D.C. The forum is open to the press. To RSVP, email kaitlins@boldprogressives.org.
- ‘Foreclosure King’ Steven Mnuchin made millions by foreclosing on more than 36,000 homes — including a 90-year-old woman who was evicted over a 27 cent payment error. His bank, OneWest, has been accused of “widespread misconduct,” including falsely backdating documents, unlawfully evading tax obligations, and foreclosing without valid legal authority.
- In 2009, a New York judge called OneWest’s actions “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive” and ruled against the bank in a civil case featuring the same foreclosure practices used against Fraser.
- Mnuchin has said that the purchase of OneWest was “one of the most proud aspects of [his] career” and said through a spokeswoman that he’s “proud of his record at OneWest.”
- The ad links to a joint grassroots petition at org, calling on every senator to join Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others who have opposed Mnuchin. Tens of thousands have signed on and growing.
- Allied Progress launched ads in Arizona and Nevada twelve days ago targeting Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Dean Heller (R-NV) to reject Mnuchin. The ads, entitled “Best,” highlighted how former Goldman Sachs banker Mnuchin made millions of dollars off the foreclosures of thousands of family homes — including in Arizona and Nevada where the foreclosure crisis during the Great Recession was particularly horrific.
- The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Allied Progress, Demand Progress combined have over three million members nationwide.
AD SCRIPT – “LISA” – 30 SECONDS (VIDEO)
Lisa Fraser to Camera: “We had lived in our house twenty-five years. John got sick with cancer. Then, the bank foreclosed on us. We did everything the bank asked. They lied to us and took our home anyway. John spent his last days terrified that I’d be homeless. And then they kicked me out right after the funeral. Steve Mnuchin ran the bank that committed fraud and took our home and now Donald Trump nominated him to run our economy as Treasury Secretary. We can’t let that happen.” [ON SCREEN: Tell *Senators Names,* Reject Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary, *Senators Phone Numbers,* RejectMnuchin.org]
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Allied Progress is a nationwide, progressive advocacy organization that uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold Wall Street and 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 those working to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
To speak with Allied Progress about this release, please contact Mike Czin, 202-286-7654.