OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) - Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is reportedly working on his own settlement with the mortgage servicers at the center of a nationwide investigation.
According to Housing Wire, a financial news service for the mortgage market, Pruitt would break away from the other 49 state attorneys general heading up the foreclosure investigation.
"Attorney General Pruitt has instructed his public protection team to craft a settlement that is specific to Oklahoma's concerns of punishing bad actors while respecting the appropriate role of attorneys general," a spokesperson for Pruitt's office told Housing Wire in a statement.
The mortgage foreclosure probe began in October with inquiries into so-called "robosigning" practices by several mortgage companies, and has since broadened into identifying and addressing additional alleged improper foreclosure practices.
In addition to the state attorneys general, the U.S. Justice Department, the Treasury Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are working on the investigation.
The attorneys general and federal regulators are looking to require mandatory modifications, principal reduction and fine the mortgage servicers as much as $25 billion, Housing Wire reported.
Pruitt's office said other states could consider following its lead in crafting their own settlements. Bloomberg reported Pruitt's decision Wednesday.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.