CIT Bank, Ocwen Defeat Whistleblowers’ Mortgage Fraud Claims

CIT Bank NA and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC beat whistleblower claims that they violated the False Claims Act by providing false information to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac via mortgage service agreements in order to receive payments under a federal mortgage loan modification program, an Illinois federal court said.

The FCA’s public disclosure rule barred the claims because whistleblowers Lisa and Robin Peck based their suit on a previous lawsuit in a Florida federal district court that raised “almost identical” claims, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled Wednesday.

The court ...