Ohio reaches $45M settlement with mortgage lender

Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine speaks during a ceremony for VIPS and donors at The Boys and Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty Friday, Dec. 1 in West Chester Township. VIPs and donors got a chance to tour the facility before the doors open on Friday. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine speaks during a ceremony for VIPS and donors at The Boys and Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty Friday, Dec. 1 in West Chester Township. VIPs and donors got a chance to tour the facility before the doors open on Friday. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

The attorneys general of 49 states and Washington, D.C., reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with a mortgage lender accused of improperly servicing loans.

PHH Mortgage Corporation of New Jersey agreed to a $45-million settlement with the attorneys general of all but one state and more than 40 state mortgage regulators, according to a press release from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office.

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DeWine, who is running for the Republican nomination for Ohio governor, was one of the 49 attorneys general PHH settled with.

More than $30 million of the settlement has been designated for payments to affected borrowers, and about 2,000 Ohio borrowers are expected to qualify for payments totaling more than $1.2 million, according to DeWine’s office.

Borrowers who were subjected to PHH foreclosures during the eligible period will qualify for a minimum $840 payment, while eligible borrowers who faced PHH-initiated foreclosures but did not lose their home will qualify to receive a minimum $285 payment, according to the Ohio AG.

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Elligible recipients will be contacted by a settlement administrator.

“Mortgage servicing abuses harmed thousands of Ohioans and put numerous families into foreclosure,” DeWine said in a prepared statement. “This settlement continues our work to help affected borrowers receive compensation and to prevent further abusive conduct through new servicing standards.”

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