The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the civil penalty late last week.
The Comptroller’s office determined Bank of America illegally went after the accounts for overdraft fees and foreclosures of over 73,000 military families since 2006, in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Bank of America is also obligated to provide remediation and help shore up the affected accounts.
An investigation spearheaded by the office of the comptroller further determined that BoA employees fraudulently completed affidavits against military families for fines and penalties, claiming personal knowledge of the debts, when, in fact, they were unaware.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects military families from predatory lending practices by capping mortgage rates at 6 percent, and preventing banks from initiating any nonjudicial foreclosure and/or repossession.
According to Andrew Plepler, Bank of America global corporate social responsibility and consumer policy executive, BoA has, “taken significant steps over the last several years, and will take further steps now, to ensure we have the right controls and processes in place to meet–and exceed–what is required by law and what our customers deserve and expect.”
Since 2008, Bank of America has been the defendant in 51 legal settlements, and has incurred civil penalties and damages in excess of $91 billion.
