County in Illinois Sues Wells Fargo For Predatory Lending

December 3, 2014

The Cook County state’s attorney’s office in Illinois has filed a federal Fair Housing Act lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co. for alleged predatory and discriminatory mortgage lending.

In announcing the lawsuit Monday, county officials also alleged service and foreclosure activities by Wells Fargo and its subsidiaries. They say it’s continuing and has caused a foreclosure crisis.

Cook County officials contend Wells Fargo and its affiliates are responsible for more than 26,700 foreclosure filings on homeowners in Cook County from January 2000 through August 2014. About 18,900 of those filings are concentrated in minority neighborhoods even though only 22.6 percent of owner-occupied homes in Cook County are owned by minorities.

In a statement, Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda called the accusations “baseless.” He said the nation’s largest mortgage lender will defend itself.

Topics Lawsuits Illinois

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