Many Arizona residents experienced foreclosure during the housing crisis of 2009 and a large number of homeowners were victims of bad foreclosure practices. As a result of a settlement reached with Ocwen Financial Corp., those Arizona residents affected will share in a 20.7 million dollar settlement, which was recently reached. Over 10,000 individuals throughout the state of Arizona possibly will receive $1000 in compensation.
The settlement was agreed upon after a suit alleging misconduct by Ocwen and their subsidy companies that caused premature foreclosure due to deceptive use of documents. “What we found in the Ocwen case is similar to a lot of the problems we saw in our other mortgage servicers enforcement cases,” said Attorney General Tom Horne. “This is part of our ongoing civil law enforcement effort to hold servicers, including Ocwen, accountable and ensure that they treat borrowers fairly.”
On a national level, Ocwen has agreed to pay out $2 billion in regards to first lien principle reductions and over $120 million for cash payments meant for borrowers affected by over 185,000 foreclosed loans. As a result of the settlement, Ocwen is also now required to follow new standards for mortgage servicing and foreclosure.
Borrowers whose loans are serviced by Ocwen may contact Ocwen at 1-800-337-6695 or by e-mail at ConsumerRelief@Ocwen.com. An outside settlement administrator will also be contacting borrowers who qualify for compensation from the settlement.