| (1) |
There is created a restricted account within the General Fund known as the “Mortgage and Financial Fraud Investigation and Prosecution Restricted Account.” |
Terms Used In Utah Code 67-5-31
- Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (2) |
The restricted account includes:
| (a) |
$2,000,000 of deposits from the foreclosure fraud settlement agreement between the United States Justice Department, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, including Utah’s attorney general, Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC, and Wells Fargo announced in February 2012; and |
| (b) |
any other amount appropriated by the Legislature. |
|
| (3) |
Money from the restricted account shall be used by the attorney general to:
| (a) |
investigate and prosecute mortgage and financial fraud throughout the state; and |
| (b) |
fund mortgage and financial fraud investigation and prosecution staff. |
|
Enacted by Chapter 350, 2012 General Session
