JPMorgan Chase & Co is paying the federal government $45 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it charged veterans hidden fees in mortgage refinancing.
The whistleblower lawsuit, filed in 2006 in Georgia by two mortgage brokers, seeks payments on behalf of the U.S. government by eight banks and mortgage companies, a law firm involved in the case said Tuesday. JPMorgan is the first bank to reach a settlement.
According to court documents filed on Monday, the payment was part of the national mortgage settlement over foreclosure abuses reached with JPMorgan and four other lenders last month. Banks also agreed to pay $182 million in four other whistleblower cases.
The two whistleblowers will share about 26 percent of the settlement, or $11.7 million, according to the law firm of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer in Atlanta. The case is still pending against the other lenders, including Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
SOURCE:Reuters
