Last year, President Obama announced a new law enforcement group aimed at combatting fraud that contributed to the housing crisis.
Known as the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, the special unit has come under fire for not living up to expectations that existed a year ago.
Progressive housing advocates have even dubbed the Group a “disappointment” and a diversion to win-over homeowner supporters, according to an article from the Huffington Post.
Resource issues such as money and staffing have led to the Group’s folly, inciting criticism from politicians and housing advocates alike.
The Huffington Post writes:
Some within the progressive housing advocacy community were unconvinced from the beginning that the working group would meet expectations.
In its first months, the working group suffered several hiccups. The first was an absence of resources—money and staff—to conduct thorough investigations.
A lack of cohesion between the groups and the absence of a single figure to, as the high-level source put it, “herd cats” made it difficult to build strong cases.
Early on, the working group had a reserve of good will…Today, those liberal champions have soured.
Despite criticism, the Justice Department noted that the working group now has more than 200 lawyers, investigators and analysts helping with its investigative work, writes Huff Post. Included among those aides is a team of 12 based in D.C. made up of criminal prosecutors and FBI investigators.
Read the full article from Huffington Post here.
Written by Jason Oliva
