Lawsuit: Banking giants charged veterans illegal fees

Some of the most well-known financial institutions in the world are in hot water after being accused of illegally charging fees to military veterans. Bloomberg reports JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and 13 other banks have been accused by a whistleblower of charging fees that were banned under a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program. The complaint alleges that the banks hid the home loan refinancing charges in order to have the loans backed by a government program. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, James Butler, said that the bureau reporting related crimes had been used to illegally add revenue to the companies' bottom line. “This is a massive fraud on the American taxpayers and American veterans,” James E. Butler Jr., a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an e-mailed statement to the news source. “Knowing they weren’t allowed to charge the fees, the banks and mortgage companies inflated allowable charges to hide these illegal fees without telling the veterans who were the borrowers or the VA they were doing so.” Other banking institutions have been the target of lawsuits in recent weeks. The New York Attorney General and New York City are suing Bank of New York Mellon, alleging that it executed currency trades for public-employee pension funds.