Advertisement

Journalist Matt Taibbi Describes Court Rubber Stamping Sketchy Foreclosures

15:09
Download Audio
Resume
Lawyer Peter Ticktin, of The Ticktin Law Group poses behind stacks of depositions from 150 robosigners, alleging that the court documents reveal an industry-wide banking scheme to defraud homeowners, in Deerfield Beach, Fla. (AP)
Lawyer Peter Ticktin, of The Ticktin Law Group poses behind stacks of depositions from 150 robosigners, alleging that the court documents reveal an industry-wide banking scheme to defraud homeowners, in Deerfield Beach, Fla. (AP)

A new watchdog report warns that flawed foreclosure documents could threaten major banks with billions of dollars in losses and hurt the government's efforts to keep people in their homes.  Employees and contractors of several major banks have testified in court cases that they robosigned, and in some cases backdated thousands of certifying documents for home seizures.  The banks say they want to get the debt off their books and sell the houses again with clean paperwork.  But reporter Matt Taibbi says it's all a part of the Wall Street scam that bundled sub-prime mortgages and sold them to investors in the guise of risk-free investments.  He writes about the scheming in his new book, "Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America."

This segment aired on November 16, 2010.

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close