Feds focus on military mortgage abuse

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WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. finance regulators said Thursday they are mounting a concerted effort to stop mortgage abuses involving military personnel.

"Those who serve our country deserve to be given the best service by their mortgage servicer," said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Washington Post reported the effort to crack down on various illegal mortgage practices was announced jointly by the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The illegal practices involve failing to tell military personnel of programs designed to provide financial advice or assistance and, conversely, convincing them to waive their rights to certain protections.

About a third of military personnel are reassigned, forcing them to move each year, making them particularly vulnerable to mortgage malfeasance, the Post said.

In 2011, JPMorgan Chase bank settled a class-action lawsuit on mortgage violations involving military personnel for $27 million.