Fighting For California Homeowners

By Kamala D. Harris

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has led the fight to deliver relief to California homeowners impacted by the state's foreclosure crisis and to hold the nation's banks accountable for unfair and deceptive practices.

To restore transparency and fairness to the mortgage and foreclosure system, she sponsored the nation's most comprehensive package of foreclosure reforms - the California Homeowner Bill of Rights - and fought successfully for its passage by the California Legislature and saw it signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.

Attorney General Harris has also expanded prosecutions of mortgage-related fraud and crime by establishing a multidivisional Mortgage Fraud Strike Force. The strike force continues to lead the charge in investigating and prosecuting misconduct at all stages of the mortgage process.

In February 2013, Attorney General Harris filed a lawsuit against Standard & Poors, one of the nation's major credit rating companies, for inflating its ratings of structured finance investments, which caused California's public pension funds and other investors to lose billions of dollars.

Most recently, Attorney General Harris announced a settlement with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. over its misrepresentation in residential mortgage-backed securities sold to California's public employee and teacher pensions. The terms of the settlement resulted in California recovering nearly $300,000 million in damages.

As chief lawyer for the people of California, Attorney General Harris will continue the fight on behalf of homeowners impacted by the state's foreclosure crisis.