California AG Files Lawsuit Against JP Morgan Chase Alleging Debt Collection Abuse Over 100,000 Credit Card Cases

According to California Attorney General Kamala Harris, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) filed about 100,000 credit card debt collection lawsuits between 2008 and 2011 without conducting sufficient research to properly assess the cases’ merits. The bank reportedly submitted 200 lawsuits over 15 weeks in 2011, including 32 lawsuits on January 5, 2011. Now, Harris is suing the banking giant, accusing it of “debt collection abuse” while victimizing tens of thousands of state residents.

Per the complaint, Chase prioritized saving money and speed, even “robo-signing” legal documents without sufficiently evaluating the evidence and engaging in other “unlawful practices.” The state points to questionable documents and incomplete records that were purportedly used to back up the cases. Harris, who contends that JPMorgan’s “debt collection mill” abused the state’s judicial process, wants damages for borrowers.

Meantime, JPMorgan is cooperating regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is getting ready to file an enforcement action against it ,also over its handling of credit card debt collection. The firm reviewed its debt collection procedures in 2011 and it is no longer filing credit card lawsuits.

After spending the last few years focusing on the way lenders went after homeowners who couldn’t pay their mortgages on time-in 2012, five banks settled for $26 billion with 49 state attorneys general over the way homes were wrongfully seized-regulators are now focusing on the former’s handling of credit card debt.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas LTD LLP is a securities fraud law firm that has helped thousands of investors get back their investment losses.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Suit Against JPMorgan Chase for Fraudulent and Unlawful Debt-Collection Practices, Ca.gov, May 9, 2013

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