I watched the 60 Minutes show on CBS on Aoril 9th, and could not believe what was being shown. The combination of arrogance and irresponsibility on the part of the big banks should not go unpunished. Ordinary people are expected to follow the rules. Banks should follow the rules as well. Powerful organizations MUST be held to account and their officers should be punished. What do you think? Peter Burgess

Do you know who really owns your mortgage? As Scott Pelley reports on '60 Minutes' this week, that question has become a nightmare for many homeowners since the invention of mortgage-backed securities. Yes, those were the exotic investments that sparked the financial collapse in this country. And the're still causing problems.

As it turns out, Wall Street cut corners when it bundled homeowners' mortgages into securities that were traded from investor to investor. Now that banks are foreclosing on people, they're finding that the legal documents behind many mortgages are missing. So, what do the banks do? As Pelley explains in this video, some companies appear to be resorting to forgery and phony paperwork in what looks like a nationwide epidemic.

Even if you're not at risk of foreclosure, there could be legal ramifications for a homeowner if the chain of title has been lost. Watch the '60 Minutes' report and listen to Pelley's discussion with '60 Minutes Overtime' editor Ann Silvio about the findings of his reporting team.

Watch Scott Pelley's report.

Have you contacted your mortgage servicing company to find out whether your mortgage has been bundled and sold? Did you get a clear answer and a copy of your mortgage paperwork to back it up? Share your experience with other homeowners below.

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The Stunning Hypocrisy In Foreclosures: Scott Pelley Interviews Robo-Signers

In an eye-opening piece by 60 Minutes this week, Scott Pelley managed to actually interview robo-signers who had forged documents that allowed banks to foreclose on thousands of homes illegally. As we have discussed over the past few years, these document mills re-created the necessary documents that banks were too lazy to keep track of in the heyday of the housing bubble.

Signing 4000 documents a day for $10/hour

Pelley interviews Chris Pindley, a former robo-signer who estimates that he signed over 4,000 documents a day. Pindley signed the documents using a coworker’s name because her name was short and easy to write. This coworker, Linda Green, was given the title of “vice president” of about 20 different banks… at the same time. This “vice president” of multiple banks and her coworkers were paid 10 dollars an hour for their work. Pindley even remarked that as they sat around a table signing papers, he told the others that one day they would be on 60 Minutes: how prophetic.

Homeowner must have all paperwork perfect, while banks cheat and forge

While requiring thousands of everyday folks to have all of their paperwork perfect and wait in line for days just for the chance to beg for some sort of a reprieve, these banks felt that they could forge the documents they needed to throw people out of their homes. These kinds of double standards are endemic in the industry and are an unconscionable assault on the public. Scott Pelley’s work here is an invaluable insight behind the colossal corporate wall into the shenanigans of the banks and the everyday people caught up in the mess.

Banks are finally getting busted, will they ever be trusted? What next?

By Roy Oppenheim
From the trenches

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