Banks To Pay $311 million For Violating SCRA By Illegally Foreclosing On 2,413 Service Members 

The U.S, Department of Justice announced last week that SCRA violations by five major servicers now totals $311 million. The funds are also available to 2,413 members of the military who’s rights were violated under the SCRA. Five major banks violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act or SCRA when they illegally foreclosed on properties owned by service members who were deployed overseas from 2006 through 2012.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, and GMAC Mortgage have agreed to compensate individuals who suffered from foreclosures in violation of the SCRA. The five mortgage servicers agreed to the compensation as part of in the 2012 national mortgage settlement.

The five mortgage servicers have agreed to compensate each service member affected by the illegal foreclosure approximately $125,000 for violating SCRA, The compensation is also available both the service member and service member’s spouse or co-owner who lost property equity and interest in an illegal foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2006 and April 4, 2012.

Some of the service members will also be receiving compensation under the terms of the November 2011 settlement the DOJ signed with Bank of America for violating the SCRA, which at the time was valued at $20 million.

Under the terms of the SCRA, individuals who were serving or returning from active duty cannot be targeted for nonjudicial foreclosure. Many states require a mortgage servicers to file an affidavit with the court identifying the borrower’s military service status at the time of foreclosure.

Under the SCRA, borrowers facing a default judgment while serving in the military must be assigned an attorney, and are eligible for a delay of at least 90 days for the foreclosure proceedings. This only applies to mortgages originated before the borrower’s military service period began.

In February, the Justice Department announced a first round of compensation, totaling more than $123 million owed to 952 service members. Now, the agency has added to the rolls 1,461 service members, due a total of $186 million.