The Ohio Attorney General is mailing letters to nearly 65,000 mortgage borrowers in his state, offering direct payouts from the national foreclosure settlement struck in March.
Eligible borrowers must have received a foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 from servicers involved in the $25 billion settlement: Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) or GMAC Mortgage.
Borrowers do not have to prove financial harm or give up their rights to pursue their own lawsuit against their servicer for past abuses.
Nationally, the settlement provides $1.5 billion to up to 1.75 million borrowers who went through foreclosure. Those who complete the claim form could receive an $840 payment, but Ohio AG Mike DeWine said it could be more depending on how many borrowers participate.
“This payment is intended as partial compensation for the illegal conduct of the mortgage servicers,” DeWine said in a statement.
The deal is separate from an ongoing foreclosure review between the 14 major servicers and their third-party consultants under consent orders issued in April 2011. In that one, borrowers have to submit a request to have their file reviewed for financial harm.
