Alleged fraud at JP Morgan.  Who could have guessed?

Source

A federal class action lawsuit is making some strong allegations against JPMorgan Chase, claiming the  lender routinely fabricates documents to deceive bankruptcy judges into believing Chase is the beneficiary in bankruptcy cases, and goes so far as to Photoshop documents to “create the illusion” of standing “in tens of thousands of bankruptcy cases.”

According to the JPMorgan Chase bankruptcy fraud class action lawsuit, “Chase is engaged in the business practice of deceiving bankruptcy judges, Chapter 7 trustees, Chapter 11 trustees, Chapter 13 trustees, the Office of the United States Trustee, creditors, creditor attorneys, debtors in possession, debtors and debtors attorneys as to Chase’s status as a secured creditor in tens of thousands of bankruptcy cases filed nationwide.”

Among the numerous allegations in the Chase bankruptcy fraud class action lawsuit, Chase is alleged to have:

1. engaged in perjury, fraud and intentional misrepresentation by manufacturing a chain of title transfer evidence in order to falsely prove it stands in thousands of bankruptcy matters; and

2. used manufactured evidence to deceive the bankruptcy court and other bankruptcy players as to the identity of the true beneficiary or creditor of Class Members’ non-negotiable promissory notes (MLNs).

A copy of the Chase Bankruptcy Fraud Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Ernest Michael Bakenie v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case No. SACV12-0060 JVS (MLGx), U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

CONTINUED at Top Class Actions.

*Taken from Reason. Written by Tim Cavanaugh.

The most important question about Iceland these days (after “How come Iceland is green and Greenland is icy?”) is what we can learn from its economic recovery. In 2008, the tiny island nation in the North Atlantic became a byword for both boom-time excess and recessionary disaster. After inflating its financial service sector with a pile of foreign-currency debt and risky combinations of short-term debt instruments with long-term loans, Iceland, which is not a member of the European Union, endured one of the most unpleasant recessions in recent memory.

The country’s three largest banks, whose total assets were 11 times larger than Iceland’s GDP, proved too big to fail and then too big to rescue, bankrupting the central bank that took them over and leaving foreign creditors empty-handed. Inflation in the import-heavy economy reached 18 percent, while the stock market plunged by 90 percent. Between 2007 and 2009, according to the World Bank, GDP dropped by 40 percent. The Icelandic króna turned into a pariah currency, and even the country’s durable fishing and aluminum businesses were crippled by heavy leverage.

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My Two Cents: Not surprising. I always thought that these were consistently the most atrocious looking cars ever. End Two Cents.

*Taken from the Wall Street Journal.

Saab Automobile AB Wednesday filed for protection from its creditors, in a move that buys time for the Swedish car maker to secure additional short-term funding to restart production.

The filing, similar to a Chapter 11 filing in the U.S., wasn’t unexpected. Labor unions representing employees at Saab Automobile who weren’t paid last month were due Wednesday to consider forcing the company into bankruptcy proceedings so that workers could seek state unemployment benefits.

Saab would have to consider filing for bankruptcy if it isn’t granted protection from its creditors, it said in its application to the district court in Vanersborg.

But Victor Muller, chairman of Saab Automobile and chief executive of parent Swedish Automobile NV, said it was too soon to speak about that. “It’s not appropriate to discuss bankruptcy,” he told reporters in Trollhattan.

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*Taken from Yahoo News.

Squeezed between worried creditors and an angry public, Greece’s beleaguered prime minister tried to tamp down an escalating revolt within his own Socialist party Thursday over new austerity measures.

Two prominent Socialist lawmakers resigned hours before Prime Minister George Papandreou was to reschuffle his Cabinet, a tactic he hoped would help get new taxes and spending cuts approved before Greece was cut off from international lending. The resignations don’t affect the government’s five-seat majority in parliament, but raise more doubts about Papandreau’s handling of Greece’s escalating financial crisis.

“The political system is rotting … The country is not being governed the way it should be,” said Socialist deputy Nikos Salagianis. “A reshuffle will not resolve the country’s problems.”

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*Taken from Yahoo News Canada.

A Chinese ratings house has accused the United States of defaulting on its massive debt, state media said Friday, a day after Beijing urged Washington to put its fiscal house in order.

“In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting,” Guan Jianzhong, president of Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. Ltd., the only Chinese agency that gives sovereign ratings, was quoted by the Global Times saying.

Washington had already defaulted on its loans by allowing the dollar to weaken against other currencies — eroding the wealth of creditors including China, Guan said.

Guan did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

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