Veterans & Unlucky 13

Unlucky? No! As, “fraudulent” is more apt for the scheme, Veterans have once again been duped this time by the #13...

(CLEVELAND) - 13 banks and mortgage companies are charged with hiding illegal fees to military veterans in the process of refinancing their homes. Those paying even a little attention know that this is not the first time that the very companies being protested on Wall Street and all over the country right now, are the same who are pulling a fast one on the community that allow their business practices to take place at all.

Companies named in the new round include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and PNC Bank

Unable to charge certain fees on Veterans by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rules, the lenders reportedly just raised other fees without being clear to veterans that they were doing this, the suit alleges.

According to Big Mortgage Banks Dupe Veterans, by Women's Veterans, the suit alleges that the practice led to hundreds of thousands of cases where veterans tried to refinance their homes but ended up paying between $300 and $1,000 more than they were supposed to.

According to a Huffington Post article, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Accused Of Overcharging Military Veterans, the veterans' loans are some of many of misleading or fraudulent loans that banks made during the housing bubble that are only recently coming to light.

They report that, ...nearly 30,000 such cases were uncovered this past spring alone, a majority of them involving real estate deals made in 2007 or before. Several banks named in the new hidden-fees suit -- which was filed in 2006, but whose details were public this week -- have been accused in the past of taking advantage of military servicemembers.

In February, Wells Fargo agreed to refund some $10 million in fees to veterans after a similar lawsuit alleged that the bank charged improperly high fees to veterans undertaking the refinancing process.

Unlucky? No! As, “fraudulent” is more apt for the scheme,
Veterans have once again been duped this time by the #13,
Banks & mortgage companies aware of what not to charge,
Simply put, they increased other fees and were living large.

BoA, Wells Fargo, PNC Bank, a 2nd time JP Morgan Chase,
More hidden illegal fees to soldiers, lying right to their face,
Not only moral & criminal crimes it’s a downright disgrace,
By playing the wild card of refinancing to out trump the ace.

In law, not theory under U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
They were charging between $300 & $1,000 extra, who cares?
Hundreds of thousands of cases for our U.S. Military personnel,
30,000 such cases uncovered this past spring alone ok but how?

These improprieties getting deserved attention coming to light,
In dusty deserts, forsaken lands and at home engaged to fight?
The unemployment for veterans is well above the national rate,
Billion banking moguls routinely add fees to seal a soldiers fate?

Was it not JP Morgan Chase that improperly foreclosed on homes?
Of fighting men & women who were not, get this, behind on loans,
With low salaries there are few sources to assists GI Joe’s in debt,
In a war when bodies are needed are there enough guns, you bet.

Repossessing land in Afghanistan is not a job for the meek @ heart,
While here in the good-old U.S.A. no doubt foreclosure is, a-la-cart,
Red blood and guts overseas translates back home to, mucho green,
Many bank elevators skip the floor for, “Veterans & Unlucky 13.”

By Luke Easter

Luke Easter is a poet who writes about things that are very close to the heart of Salem-News.com. Another former U.S. Marine, Luke heals the world with an approach that reaches people on a different level, one known for centuries, yet too often forgotten in the one we live in.

We live in a world of social & economic injustice. The main reason for founding America in the first place was to relieve the oppression of the King of England. Patrick Henry said it best, “give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, all too often death seems to be the only way out. Why is there such a high suicide rate especially among teens, in the land of the free & the home of the brave? What makes headlines? Good news? Ha! More depressing stories than anything else. I feel poetry takes an edge off the hurt of bad news while still delivering it but in a, “glitzy” sort of way. Giving a different perspective. Kind of like slap in the face as opposed to a knife in the back. At least with the slap you’ll live to see another day and you will know whom it’s from. I wasn’t here for the beginning of the world but at 59, I just might be here for the end.

Even though it’s still a knife, rhyme poetry helps to dull the blade. And that’s my job. You can write to Luke Easter at: lyricsfromlucas@aol.com