Former Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Turned Ohio Attorney General Dubbed “Mortgage Cop”

The October 8th edition of the Wall Street Journal dubbed the Attorney General Marc Dann of Ohio as a new “mortgage cop” in the unfolding saga of subprime loans, exotic mortgage producs with adjusting interest rates, and securitizing originators who bear no accountability to the marketplace. 

Marc Dann has an interesting background.  Prior to his election as Attorney General, he represented consumer debtors in bankruptcy cases from his law office located in a strip mall in Youngstown, Ohio.  I’m certain he experienced the same frustration that most other consumer bankruptcy attorneys face — the widespread accounting irregularities and abusive overcharging common to the mortgage industry. 

In the brief period of time that he has occupied the Attorney General’s seat, Mr. Dann has aggressively assaulted the mortgage industry, focusing on the phenomenon known as “securitization”.   He blames the investment banks of Wall Street and their practice of packaging mortgage loans together into large pools of assets and selling them to investors for, in his words, the “largest financial scam in history”. 

Ohio has the worst foreclosure rate in the country.  One of the reasons for Mr. Dann’s political victory as Attorney General in 2006 was his stern campaign promise to pursue mortgage fraud.   Thus far, Mr. Dann has commenced more than a dozen suites against lenders and brokers for misrepresenting home values and mortgage terms to consumers, including New Century Financial Corporation.

 Source: Wall Street Journal

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