Patrick Madigan a key negotiator in $25 billion national mortgage settlement
(DES MOINES, Iowa) U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today awarded an assistant Iowa attorney general the U.S. Department of Justice’s second highest award for employee performance.
At a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters, Holder awarded Assistant Iowa Attorney General Patrick Madigan the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Recipients of this annual award exemplify the highest commitment to the Justice Department’s mission.
Though recipients are typically DOJ employees, Holder recognized Madigan’s key role in the investigation and negotiations leading up to the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, announced in February in Washington. Attorney General Tom Miller was the lead state attorney general in the joint state-federal case, and Madigan led the effort at the state attorney general staff level.
“While state attorneys general and our federal counterparts made all the big headlines when we announced this unprecedented settlement, the fact is that Patrick helped get us there,” said Miller. “For nearly a year and a half he spent countless hours through very trying circumstances, working through an enormously complicated legal case,” added Miller. “And he never took his eye off the ball, which was helping homeowners.”
The investigation began in October of 2010 over reports of widespread “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents, and broadened into other troubling mortgage servicing practices by the nation’s five biggest mortgage servicers, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC).
“Patrick garnered a huge amount of respect from his colleagues, whom he led, and from the state attorneys general and the federal officials with whom he worked,” said Miller. “That includes me.”
In Iowa, the state received a direct payment of more than $17 million. Over the span of the three-year agreement, Iowa homeowners are expected to receive an estimated $23 million in direct relief from the servicers, largely through an array of loan modifications, including principal reductions and refinancing. In addition to providing the direct borrower relief, servicers were required to adopt tough new mortgage servicing standards.
Assistant state attorneys general from Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, and Connecticut also received the award for their roles in the investigation and settlement.
For more information:
Lore McManus Solo, Vice President, Public Relations & Principal
Strategic America
515.453.2000
lmsolo@strategicamerica.com
