Cummings Applauds Action by CFPB and Maryland AG Against Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for Illegal Mortgage Kickbacks

Washington, D.C. (Jan. 22, 2015)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Maryland Attorney General required Wells Fargo and JPMorgan to pay $24 million and $600,000, respectively, in civil penalties for illegal mortgage kickbacks:

"I welcome this announcement from the CFPB and the Maryland Attorney General and commend their efforts to hold banks and title companies to account for illegal behavior that harms Maryland borrowers. The fact that this alleged scheme ended less than two years ago should serve as a stark reminder to Republicans in Congress that we cannot afford to roll back any hard-won consumer protections or weaken the CFPB's critical enforcement powers. With Maryland suffering from the second highest home foreclosure rate in the nation, I will continue to fight for measures essential to combating abusive and fraudulent mortgage practices."

Since 2011, Cummings has aggressively investigated abuses by mortgage servicing companies and worked with housing regulators to implement reforms that will help Americans stay in their homes.