$4 billion of the settlement will go to consumer relief, but it's still not clear where that money would go. $3.3 billion was earmarked for foreclosed homeowners as part of the Independent Foreclosure Review Settlement, which resulted in most homeowners, many of whom had lost their homes, receiving checks of $300 to $500.

“The first priority of the settlement should be to keep people in their homes,” said Jaymie Kelly, who has lived in her south Minneapolis home for 30 years and is now facing imminent eviction by JPMorgan Chase and Freddie Mac. “JPMorgan Chase refused to work with me after I fell behind on a predatory loan, even though I had paid for my home five times over. Now they want to evict me from my home of 30 years. I am not interested in a settlement check. I want a negotiation with principal reduction to stay in my home.”

Kelly, who bought her home in 1983 for $74,900, has paid $425,000 for it over the years. When Chase foreclosed on her, they claimed she still owed $255,000. Instead of modifying her loan, they sold her home to Freddie Mac, which is aggressively pushing to evict.

Kelly is fighting an eviction defense campaign with Occupy Homes MN. On Oct. 8, 150 community members blockaded the sheriff's attempt to evict her. JPMorgan Chase and Freddie Mac have filed for another eviction order to remove Kelly from her home, but Kelly is not going anywhere.

“No settlement check could make up for the trauma of being forced out of my home of 30 years,” said Kelly. “If this settlement doesn't keep me in my home, my community will. I am not leaving.”

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #JPMorganChase #HomeForeclosures #OccupyHomesMN #HouseStruggles #JaymieKelly

Minneapolis, MN – 75 community members turned back 30 sheriffs who were trying to evict people from the Ceballos home, July 24. Two home defenders were arrested in acts of civil disobedience.

Under orders from Sheriff Richard Stanek, deputies kicked in the door without warning at 12:40 p.m. One home defender was cut out of a barrel filled with concrete by deputies wielding a jackhammer and saw.

During the eviction attempt, community members drove sheriffs into the backyard, where they retreated after boarding up the property. The Ceballos' family, friends and neighbors removed the boards and returned into the home.

JPMorgan Chase Bank had told the Ceballos family that they were considering them for a loan modification, but then filed for eviction at the same time. This process is known as dual tracking and is illegal under the national mortgage settlement. On July 22, Chase asked for another loan modification application from the Ceballos family, which they accepted July 23.

“Yesterday we went to Chase because they said they would help us,” said Jonathan Ceballos. “Today the sheriffs show up at our house to evict. The question is, to the sheriffs and to Chase – who are you helping? They want to see another empty house but it's not going to happen, because we the people are here to support one another. We hope Mayor Rybak will not send police to attempt another eviction of my family while we continue to negotiate with the bank. We don't need any more arrests.”

The Ceballos family lives in south Minneapolis' Eviction Free Zone, a community where neighbors have pledged to stand up against unjust evictions.

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #Evictions #JPMorganChase #HomeForeclosures #RichardStanek

Orange, NJ – On May 4, the fraudulent eviction order against Susie Johnson of Orange was cancelled. The eviction order was for May 10. JP Morgan Chase, named as plaintiff in the eviction, was forced to admit it does not own Ms. Johnson’s mortgage. The cancellation came about because of the power of the people.

The struggle shows, and will continue to show, that the power of the people is not just a nice saying. It is a real force in the world.

The struggle started with a previous eviction order for March 30. The Coalition to Save Our Homes (C2SOH) issued a call to stop the eviction. Over 30 people turned out from C2SOH, the People’s Organization for Progress, NJ-NOW, Parent Advisory and Student Academy, the New Jersey Industrial Union Council, SEIU Local 1199, CWA Local 1080, Occupy New Brunswick, Occupy Newark and others.

The power of the people forced the Sheriff’s office to back off, postponing the eviction to May 10.

There is enormous anger at the way banksters have swindled people and forced them out of their homes. On March 30 the Susie Johnson struggle became a focus of the people’s anger.

C2SOH already had in progress a protest to demand the Attorney General of New Jersey hear the complaints of victims of predatory lending and prosecute lenders for their many violations of law. On April 11, a working day, 45 people from all over the state, again representing many organizations, went to Trenton in support of our battle-cry: “The banks swindled people! Make them give the money back!” The NAACP provided especially noteworthy support from all over the state. Many victims of predatory lending spoke, including Cynthia Johnson, on behalf of her mother. That day the Susie Johnson struggle made an important step toward becoming a statewide issue.

We went to the Hughes Justice Complex to turn in our letter of demands and our petitions to the Attorney General’s office. They would not let us in. We had to give our documents to the State Police.

It was as if the Attorney General thought he needed police protection against the people’s just demands. The Attorney General actually helps banksters who break the law. They have no excuse in the world for avoiding their obligations to us, the people.

Because of our ongoing work and the power of the people, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs responded to the case of Susie Johnson when strongly pressed by people’s attorney Bennet Zurofsky. JP Morgan Chase Bank, named as plaintiff on the May 10 eviction order, had to admit in writing to the Department of Community Affairs that it had never owned or managed Susie Johnson’s mortgage.

In response, the People’s Organization for Progress swung into action with its hardened protest veterans. On April 28 we exposed Chase Bank, named on the eviction order, with a picket line in front of its Broad Street office. Other members of C2SOH joined in. We really made this culprit feel the heat.

On May 3 POP organizationally endorsed civil disobedience for May 10, and noted the names of those who committed to it. At Chairman Lawrence Hamm’s proposal, we set up a daily picket at Wells Fargo, another culprit, vowing to hammer Wells every day with protest until May 10.

People’s attorney Michelle Munsat was bearing down on the banks with a court filing on behalf of Susie Johnson. On May 4 the banks’ attorney notified Michelle that the eviction order was cancelled. The banks have no further plans for action at this time.

The banks had to admit they were trying to evict someone when they had no proof they own (and doubtless don’t even know themselves who owns) her mortgage. This was a huge setback for them.

Millions of people have lost their homes but we stopped this eviction. It is indeed an inspiring victory. At the same time, it shouldn’t be a rarity. It’s the way things should go every day.

The Coalition to Save Our Homes will press forward more vigorously than ever its campaign to pressure New Jersey Attorney General Jeffery Chiesa to hear the victims and prosecute predatory lenders for their many violations of law.

There are countless issues of economic injustice in this time of crisis and depression. Public schools are being abolished, students are drowning under a mountain of debt, people are denied medical care because they can’t afford it and millions are unemployed. We will work tirelessly with others to build a mighty, united, ongoing people’s movement for economic justice. Power to the people!

#OrangeNJ #HousingStruggles #CoalitionToSaveOurHomesC2SOH #JPMorganChase #HomeForeclosures

Orange, NJ – Over 30 people turned out, March 30, to protest the scheduled eviction of Susie Johnson, 77, from the home in which she has lived for 30 years. Their strong stand drew media coverage to the case. The eviction was not carried out today because the protest exposed injustice. A postponement until May 15 is in effect.

The protest was called by the Coalition to Save Our Homes.

The postponement is a people’s victory, but the struggle continues. The banks and the courts think they can ignore the rights of an elderly low-income African-American woman.

Mrs. Johnson is represented by her daughter, Cynthia Johnson. Foreclosure was filed by Wells Fargo but the documents carry the names of several banks. JP Morgan Chase also wants an account number on the case. At this point it is not even clear what bank the Johnson family must deal with. The banks must be forced to clean their act up.

The case has a long, messy history of abuses but the people’s forces don’t need a lot of details to act. We know banks have abused tens of millions of borrowers and gotten bailed out for trillions of dollars when their crazy, crooked schemes failed. We know it doesn’t matter what the banks do, prosecutors will look the other way. We have had it. This is a question of human rights. Our line is, “Don’t evict grandma, don’t evict Susie Johnson,” and that’s it.

The explosion in foreclosure cases started seven years ago but at no official level has anything effective been done for victims. The latest “settlement” with state Attorneys General and five big banks is typical. The banks are trying to buy immunity from prosecution for their violations in exchange for expenses they would bear anyway being counted as a “settlement.”

It’s like they’re looking for a way to pay ten bucks to avoid a business loss of twelve bucks. It’s not justice. It’s a fake. It’s official collusion. The people are the losers. We won’t stand for it.

There are millions of Susie Johnsons who have had their human and economic rights violated by fraud and crimes by the banks. Her case shows the only way to get economic justice, or any other kind of justice for the 99%, is through the power of the people.

People showed up at the March 30 protest for many reasons and from many organizations. There were victims of predatory lending who see the injustice to themselves in terms of a broad social issue. Women’s equality, human and civil rights organizations, organized labor, the Occupy movement, veteran activists and those newly come to struggle – all were represented.

Lawrence Hamm of the People’s Organization for Progress called for a moratorium by the sheriff’s office on foreclosure evictions, as in Cook County, Illinois. He blamed the foreclosure epidemic exclusively on the banks and their predatory lending practices. Maretta Short of NOW-NJ told about the devastating impact on low-income women and children of trillions of dollars in human services budget cuts. Another person said college students now bear over a trillion dollars of educational debt. A student told of facing 179 months of payments for her education.

Harry Perryman from nearby Irvington told how Irvington General Hospital was closed a few years ago. Now there is a plan to build a medical waste disposal plant there. “They close our hospital but give us the trash,” he said. There is strong community opposition to the proposed plant.

Another speaker pointed out that all of these abuses stem from the same cause. Investment capital in the United States amounts to many, many trillions of dollars. There is so much capital that its ravenous appetite for profit swallows up the money for every human need.

When the deputies from the sheriff’s office appeared they did not insist on proceeding with the eviction. Instead they called their supervisor for instructions. He came and asked Cynthia Johnson procedural questions about the courts. The outcome was the postponement of any action until May 15.

The protesters cheered at the victory. Even the deputies seemed relieved. A Legal Services attorney who came to the protest agreed to help organize Susie Johnson’s case and assist with her defense. In the past she has not been able to afford to hire an attorney.

The day showed the power of the people is a real force, not just a nice slogan. We must remain vigilant. There is no justice without people’s struggle.

#OrangeNJ #PoorPeoplesMovements #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #AfricanLiberation #CoalitionToSaveOurHomes #JPMorganChase