Friday, April 12, 2013

Time to Stop "Too Big to Jail"

From Action for the Common Good/Campaign for a Fair Settlement:

“Breaking the law is not a trade secret.” – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, April 11, 2013

$300. For having your home taken from you illegally.

Is that your idea of justice? The federal bank regulators think it is. Want to know why? Sorry, they can't tell you - that would mean revealing "trade secrets" of the banks.

It true. This week some 4 million families whose homes were stolen by Wall Street criminals in 2009 and 2010 will be getting a total of $3.6 billion in compensation. Most will receive less than $1000. For losing their homes. That amount was arbitrarily determined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and when asked why in a Senate hearing yesterday, they said turning over the information would mean turning over confidential “trade secrets”.

To which Sen. Warren responded, “Breaking the law is not a trade secret." [1]

Exactly. That’s why hundreds of homeowners from around the country are going to DC this May to demand an end to Too Big to Jail. You can support their fight by signing on to this call to AG Eric Holder and President Obama to start criminal prosecutions of criminal Wall Street bankers.If our system of justice worked, two things should have happened: (1) those responsible should have been prosecuted for their crimes, and (2) borrowers should have been compensated for these violations. You already know that Attorney General Holder and the Justice Department have given the bankers get out of jail free cards. Now the federal regulators have allowed them to pay pennies on the dollar to people who lost their homes. That's what happens with Too Big to Jail.

In hearings on April 10th, Senator Warren posed the right question: “Have the families been protected, or have the banks been protected?” So far the regulators and Justice Department have thrown down with the banks, not with families. That's what happens with Too Big to Jail.

We’ve made calls, sent petitions, written letters – and we’re still not seeing the change we need. So next month members of the Home Defenders League, supported by the Campaign for a Fair Settlement, are taking things right to the steps of the Justice Department in DC.

Add your voice to those going to DC by signing on to the petition to the Administration here. We can guarantee your signature will be delivered as part of dramatic and bold actions at the very heart of law enforcement in the United States.
Delivering the 333,000 signatures on April 2 was just the beginning. And we've got Too Big to Jail in our sights.
In solidarity,

Brian Kettenring
Executive Director, Action for the Common Good
Campaign Director, Campaign for a Fair Settlement
P.S. If YOU want to join the powerful actions in DC, you can register for more information HERE. Home Defenders League staff will contact you with more details.

[1]  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7zM9K0X4c

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