File claims now to share in Ocwen settlement, AG Cooper urges

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolinians who suffered wrongful foreclosures by Ocwen Financial Corporation still have time to get money back under a $125 million national settlement, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Friday.

Consumers eligible to get money back from the Ocwen settlement have until September 15 to return their paperwork.

"People who lost their homes to faulty foreclosures now have a chance to recover some money," Cooper said. "Don't delay if you think you're eligible to get money back."

Under the settlement, payments will go to consumers who lost their homes to foreclosure due to alleged misconduct by Ocwen that resulted in premature and unauthorized foreclosures, violations of homeowners' rights and protections, and the use of false and deceptive documents and affidavits.

So far, 35 percent of the approximately 3,400 North Carolina consumers eligible to participate have submitted their paperwork to claim funds from the settlement. All eligible consumers should have received a claims form from Rust Consulting, the settlement administrator.

North Carolina consumers who lost a home to foreclosure between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012 and whose loans were serviced by Ocwen, Litton Loan Servicing LP, and Homeward Residential Holdings LLC (formerly known as American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. or AHMSI) should have received a package with a cover letter, claim form and instructions in English and Spanish in the mail. Consumers can also file claims online here.

Consumers who believe they are eligible but have not received information about the settlement should contact the settlement administrator at 1-866-783-5382.

Individual consumers will likely receive payments of between $679 and $1,235, depending upon how many eligible people submit claims. Payment checks are expected to be mailed in late 2014 or early 2015.

The payments are part of a 2013 national settlement that requires Ocwen to pay $125 million to nearly 184,000 Ocwen borrowers across the country. Ocwen is also required under the settlement to meet stricter standards to prevent future mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses.

WSOC