Eric Schneiderman

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced his plans to sue Bank of America and Wells Fargo for allegedly violating the terms of the national mortgage settlement — the $26 billion deal that resolved wide-ranging litigation over the banks’ supposed foreclosure abuses, HousingWire reported.

The suit would be the first since the agreement was signed in October 2012, according to Schneiderman’s office. [more]

Edward DeMarco and Rep. Melvin Watt

President Barack Obama is expected to tap a North Carolina congressman to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CNBC reported.

Rep. Melvin Watt, a Democrat and senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, was integral to passing Dodd-Frank, the financial regulatory overhaul enacted in 2010. [more]

Assemblyman Eric Stevenson

A South Bronx assemblyman was arrested Thursday on charges of taking bribes to help developers with their projects, the New York Times reported.

Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, who represents some of the city’s poorest areas of the South Bronx, was accused of taking money to help developers speed up construction on their projects, obtain building permits, and recruit older people, according to a criminal complaint filed by Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.  [more]

Mario Procida

A Bronx contractor of affordable housing for seniors is set to pay nearly $1 million who were underpaid during the construction, the New York Daily News reported. Procida Construction Corp. will pay dozens of underpaid workers between $10,000 and $30,000 for work done in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood between 2007 and 2012, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Monday.  [more]

From left: Eric Schneiderman, Deborah Mohring and 711 Willis Avenue

A Long Island developer was arrested on contempt charges Tuesday morning and could spend five days in jail after failing to pay $215,000 in restitution to the Cambridge Park Condominium in Williston Park, N.Y., The Real Deal has learned. [more]

From left: Steven Sladkus, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Peter Moulinos

After years of idle discussion about reform, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has enacted major rule changes to the regulation of condominium and co-op escrow disputes. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the office was swamped with hundreds of such disputes, where condo buyers fought developers to get back their deposits on new construction apartments. Now, the agency will require buyers and builders to settle claims in state and federal court, rather than before the agency, The Real Deal has learned. [more]

Greenhouse-inspired interiors
New York State AG Eric Schneiderman probing three ratings agencies over mortgage bond ratings issued prior to Lehman crash. Latest condo amenity: the in-house doctor. Brown Harris Stevens survey says Americans would rather drink spoiled milk than move. And, with Nemo descending, map shows NYC snow plow routes. Click here for these stories and more.

From left: Attorney General Schneiderman and the TWA Flight Center

Leonid Fridman, owner of the Brighton Beach-based Millennium Commercial Corp. construction firm, has been arrested and arraigned over allegations of underpaying his workers at a JFK Airport construction project, according to a release from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Fridman now faces one count of second-degree grand larceny and another count of money laundering, also in the second degree — both punishable by five to 15 years in prison. [more]

From left: AG Eric Schneiderman and George Scott

A $5.5 million settlement has been struck in an investigation into allegations of self-dealing and excessive executive compensation inside a city student housing non-profit company, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today. The company in question is Educational Housing Services, whose former president, George Scott, was found to use EHS as a means fund his lavish personal lifestyle.

Funds from the settlement will be used to lower student rents and upgrade students’ rooms, Schneiderman said. [more]

From left: Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan, AG Eric Schneiderman

Credit Suisse is the latest financial institution targeted in the government investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit today claiming the banking giant misled investors about the quality of the home loans packaged into nearly $94 billion of RMBS.

The action, filed in New York State Supreme Court, claims that Credit Suisse told investors it carefully assessed the loans and loan originators but, in reality, “systematically failed to adequately evaluate these loans, and kept investors in the dark about the adequacy of their review procedures.” [more]