LOS ANGELES (CN) - Countrywide Financial will pay $108 million to settle an FTC complaint accusing it of preying upon hundreds of thousands of subprime homebuyers by charging inflated fees.
Countrywide charged as much as double the price for "maintenance and inspection services" performed by its own subsidiaries, misled and overcharged borrowers in bankruptcy proceedings, kept trying to collect through foreclosure after its customers exited bankruptcy, and so on.
Countrywide, which was sold to Bank of America in 2008, denied the allegations but said it would cough up the money anyway. It also must overhaul its lending practices. BAC Home Loans Servicing also was named as a defendant.
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