People who had lost their homes to foreclosure, or have been battling banks over loan modification, and their supporters, including Alvivon Hurt, protest outside a Chase bank branch in downtown LA Dec. 16. Police arrested 22 protesters who blocked the doors to the bank in acts of civil disobedience. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
By JACOB ADELMAN, AP
Posted 12/16/2010 Silicon Valley Mercury News.com
LOS ANGELES—Police arrested 22 demonstrators who blocked entry to a downtown Chase bank branch Thursday to protest what they said were unfair home foreclosures.
The demonstrators, which included homeowners facing foreclosure, community advocates and labor leaders, silently allowed officers to bind their wrists behind their backs with plastic restraints and guide them into a police van.
Sitting in a makeshift living room, people who had lost their homes to foreclosure, or have been battling banks over loan modification, and their supporters, pray as they protest outside Chase in LA Dec. 16 AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Dozens more demonstrators chanted and marched on a nearby sidewalk holding signs that said “Stop Bank Greed, Save Our Neighborhoods” as the 12 men and 10 women were taken into custody.
Detective Gus Villanueva said there were no injuries to police or protesters. All the demonstrators were released by late afternoon after all but one of them received citations for trespassing, he said.
Villanueva did not immediately know why the one protester had not been cited.
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment member David Mazariegos said the demonstrators hoped to bring attention to the plight of people who were unjustly losing their homes.
84-year-old Julia Boteo is led away under arrest during the protest at Chase in LA Dec. 16. Photo/Reed Saxon
He said banks’ failure to modify many borrowers’ loans puts them in violation of the Home Affordable Modification Program in which lenders agreed to participate as part of the bank bailout.
“The banks are not helping anyone stay in their homes,” Mazariegos said. “It’s highway robbery, what they’re doing to these people.”
ACCE director Amy Schur said the groups were singling out JPMorgan Chase & Co. because most of the borrowers whose foreclosures and evictions they are contesting are serviced by that bank.
Chase spokeswoman Eileen Leveckis disputed that the bank was denying help to distressed mortgage borrowers.
“Chase is committed to helping struggling borrowers remain in their homes,” she said in a statement, stressing that the lender had completed more than 250,000 modifications since early 2009.
Frank DeCaro is taken into custody during protest. AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Before the protesters blocked the doors leading to the Chase branch, homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure used a microphone to tell of their difficulties getting help from Chase and other banks.
Among them was Esperanza Casco, 47, who said her Long Beach home was foreclosed on even though she’d been making all the payments required under modification and forbearance deals worked out with Chase.
A Chase spokesman said in an Associated Press story last month that the bank gave Casco and her husband as many opportunities as it could to qualify for a modification, but that the couple was unable to do so.
The Cascos were scheduled to be evicted this month, but on Tuesday, Chase rescinded its eviction threat and offered them a new modification.
Fellow protesters awaiting their own arrests cheer as Javier Sarmiento is led away by police. AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Chase spokesman Tom Kelly on Thursday declined to detail why the bank changed its mind, saying only that it reviewed the case again “with updated financials” and was able to approve the modification.
But Esperanza Casco said the financial information they sent the bank most recently was identical to the paperwork they previously provided.
“They saw that we were putting pressure and the publicity we were getting. But this is not just about us,” she said in Spanish through an interpreter. “There’s lots of people facing the same situation we’re in.”
(Ed. note: Chase Bank is also the target of a national boycott initiated by the coalition People Before Banks, which includes the United Autoworkers, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, and Detroit’s Moratorium NOW! Coalition against Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs. The group has been leafletting Chase banks throughout the metro area. To contact People Before Banks, email peoplebeforebanks@gmail.com, or call 313-319-0870.
What are they doing about the trustee fraud for all of those banks ? The attorney general , the head state attorney , what is he doing about all of this , is their no laws in atlanta geogia ? If that the head place. I think we need the laws change to a lot of this stuff and back dated to make it work today . Most of those old banker saw banking before 34 of age , that guy saying he’s 36 of age , yap ! That too long something is wrong . Somebody need to ckeck this out ,can fbi here ckeck this stuff out for the owner of the banks in geogia , to find out why he hasn’t seen his trustee !
How can a trustee mistreat a benificary of a trust ,when their are laws of a trust , anti trust and blind trust ,corp trust ,wellsfargo bank has a corp trustee for the benificary owner of the company , and has abandon the owner , shame on yall , you guys aren’t trustee , u are killer and theves , and who ever gave a trustee lega tittle to a trust , with out him serving a owner copies of the trust terms and conditions , need to be arrest , congress , you guys have giving trustee too much power . Take the 14 years of trust power away , and if a trust is over 10years old ,let the grantor aka benificary go ahead and take over today , don’t wait . If u wait , we a be in a huge amount of trouble for mistreat ment , to a human being .a deceased person can’t run nobody life from a grave yard . 10years on a trust is it , 14 years of full blind trust is fraud , and its need to stop , the bush house of bush made these laws everything those people do get people ether in jail or killed . Carmal is coming for bush too . Bush didn’t care about the troop or the mortgages , and this is a fact , wellsfargo bank owner- fraud, an,d troop mortgages fraud . People don’t read this if nothing a take place to make all of this rite , we need rite here and today . They saying the trust is not record with city hall , or state court or probate court nether for the owner too view , that’s fraud to a person human and property and benificary and civil rights .
Their got to be a god if I’m reporting the fraud , he don’t want this for the people fraud go away . Portland mortgage corp fraud , bank of america window hit with a rock because the fraud hasent stop in portland orgen too , I bet the robbing them for real up their , top end of the world , the portland police ask the man why he threw a rock in the bank window he told them he tired of the michael- john d rockefella jr , grand son fraud , hey a p giannini – citi bank , national city bank – charles m – aka john d rockefella .
This is not only no justic for a human like he not living , but murder too , or attemp to murder . When . A person left for dead with no ans to his ? . And one more thing the police responds to small crimes fast . But huge crimes , slow . All crimes are crimes . All of them need to come to a head fast . Pastor tilton , t.d jakes , bernald e jorgan , all the profit , put together , and the fraud still going .oh richaed oral , too , this fraud is straight out of hell if u don’t have a police force .attached judge and the da office , I saw it a million time on the gun and robbery crime , murders , where cops get their man . But with fraud , fraud has killed ,5000 in twin towel , fraud killing people how don’t want to lose their house when the president of a bank can drop their note , after 500 years of profit in your pockets from the clients doing the deal with the bank . Why would a leader send a army at middle east , but not at the fraud overlord at the banks . Robert blake at over at alliance bancorp and united security financial corp , thinks that , he to power to be stop from fraud .mr blake also at bank of america , notice no banker make comments they care nothing for nobody fraud don’t nether .
Can somebody tell the theves to exit my building .
The irs gives u 3 name to use if u own a company . Michael allen , I never took a ckeck from , william k black , for 4 billion , that he said he sent to bank of america . He didn’t give it too me .
Something don’t add up here , why , are the executive ,or the executors , dodgeing me . At that 100 % at . Never said a word . The older brother , saying he’s my executor and ceo , and ill need a new board , and ceo . Why are they doing me and the public like this . We haven’t did nothing to them . Its a time fraud got to be . 2011 .
Overheard at alliance bancorp . Sue the pants off chase and wellsfargo . Now this is crazy , they let the overheard at alliance bancorp and the jpmorgan 110 forcloser fraud ,and tamara slavery wellsfargo bank fraud go , but arrest 22 of my good cusumers for nothing , hand this post to ya new cast ok . Michael walker grimes is in atl ga , under intown living llc 4046077070 , I didn’t tell them to put nobody out a house . Gloria jean mayes age 59 and michael david grimes sr age 59 abn amro mortgage corp fraud . Should have , been arrested why haven’t they arrested them .they the hold ground to all this fraud . America home mortgage corp ,bbt bank , united financial mortgage corp -alliance bank mortgage corp ,arh mortgage corp , alliance bancorp, bank of america , all has been hi jacked buy theves , la police need to go in the bank and arrest the ceo . I didn’t tell them to do nothing for me .