Loot From Settlement Between Washington AG & 'Stagecoach To Hell' Over Alleged 'Pick-A-Pay' Predatory Home Loan Racket To Fund Ongoing Free Legal Help

In Yakima, Washington, KIMA-TV Channel 29 reports:

• The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is pleased to announce that its Home Foreclosure Legal Aid Project will continue to help homeowners for another two years. The program provides free legal assistance to low- and moderate-income homeowners whose homes are in danger of foreclosure.



• Since the program’s inception in June 2009, the WSBA; its program partner, the Northwest Justice Project (NJP); and hundreds of volunteer lawyers have helped Washington families in crisis.



• Program continuation and expansion is made possible by a $1.1 million grant from the Washington Attorney General’s Office to the Washington State Bar Foundation, the WSBA’s charitable arm.



• Funds came from a settlement the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division reached with Wells Fargo regarding its ―Pick a Pay loan scheme. These funds are enabling the WSBA to extend the project through June 2013, and expand staff attorney capacity.



• The additional attorneys and support staff will provide greater presence in the three counties with the highest rates of foreclosure (King, Pierce, and Snohomish), and they will be able to provide enhanced training and support for the lawyer volunteers.

For the story, see Home Foreclosure Legal Aid Project Continues.