Oh, gee, what a shock: New York suing major appraisal unit and Washington Mutual for illegally colluding to overinflate appraisals

Next we'll find out that realtors lied to homedebtors, or that mortgage brokers falsified paperwork, or that the NAR sexxed up its press releases, or that Angelo Mozilo had insider information before he dumped CFC, or that Iraq didn't have any WMD, or that the Easter Bunny doesn't exist...

Folks, we don' t have enough jail cells or courts to prosecute all of the REIC fraud and crime that took place these past few years. Maybe we need a "REIC and Homedebtor Amnesty" program, where they admit their crimes, pay fines, do community service, and move on. Otherwise we'll go bankrupt jailing the scum.

Cuomo: Appraisers Inflated Home Values

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday a major real estate appraisal company colluded with the nation's largest savings and loan companies to inflate the values of homes nationwide, contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis.

"This is a case we believe is indicative of an industrywide problem," Cuomo said in a news conference.

Cuomo announced the civil lawsuit against eAppraiseIT that accuses the First American Corp. subsidiary of caving in to pressure from Washington Mutual Inc. to use a list of "proven appraisers" who he claims inflated home appraisals.