It is now clear, however, that many in the mortgage finance industry ignored the rules over the past decade. This led to a breakdown in our housing market and in the market for mortgage-backed securities.

These two markets are inextricably linked. Any real effort to repair the damage caused by the collapse of the housing bubble must address the injury in both sectors. Tens of millions of homeowners and millions of investors — including retirees with money in pension and mutual funds — were devastated by this manmade catastrophe.

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“Our goal is to make sure that homeowners who are seeking ways to meet their mortgage obligations are able to have meaningful conversations with their lenders and avoid being victimized by mortgage “rescue” scams that strip homeowners of their equity and their home,” Attorney General Biden said.  “I strongly encourage homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments to attend our housing workshops where they can sit face-to-face with their lenders and discuss repayment plans or other options to avoid foreclosure and get information about the many services available to them.”

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…

Eric Schneiderman and Beau Biden

Changed the game by: Investigating mortgage irregularities.

When the Obama administration proposed a wide-ranging state settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices, it needed approval from the attorney general’s office in all 50 states. New York AG Eric Schneiderman spoke up, arguing that the settlement would give big banks a get-out-of-jail free card before his office could even beging to investigate and prosecute those who decimated our financial system. Soon after, Beau Biden, Attorney General of Delaware, chimed in with reservations as well. “The events leading up to the mortgage crisis must be fully investigated, including origination and securitization practices, before any broad immunity is granted,” he said. “The American people deserve an investigation.” Pressure from the quick-let’s-settle-and-forget-it-all contingent has remained strong. In August, Schneiderman was removed from a committee of state attorneys general investigating robo-signing and mortgage abuses. Biden once again defended him, and the two have formed a coalition of prosecutors ready to take on the big banks. Schneiderman and Biden are doing what Attorney Generals are supposed to do — pursuing corruption, not rewarding it.

Let it roll: Schneiderman’s stubborn stance is causing a snowball effect. Minnesota AG Lori Swanson and Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley have voiced support for investigation as well, and now Nevada’s attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto, is filing a lawsuit against Bank of America.

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Find out more about the bills here.

Check out Beau’s interview on CBS3:

To help fight crime, the General Assembly passed HB168 to institute tougher sentences on repeat DUI offenders. The passage of SB65 expands Beau’s ability to clean up nuisance properties plaguing our communities. Legislators also passed HB19 to crack down on drug dealing through harsher penalties, and help raise awareness to prevent prescription drug abuse.

The General Assembly passed legislation this year to protect the most vulnerable Delawareans as well. SB 133 expands victims’ access to aid through the Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program, while SB28 set up the state’s Address Confidentiality Program, which helps victims of domestic abuse and stalking remain hidden from their aggressors. HB 63 protects patients and residents in group homes and treatment facilities from sexual abuse and increases penalties for abusers.

Legislators also worked with Beau to assist struggling Delaware homeowners.

“We’re protecting Delaware’s families by guaranteeing that homeowners facing foreclosure have the opportunity to sit down face-to-face with their lender to have a meaningful conversation about their mortgage and we’re ensuring that borrowers and lenders both play by the same rules,” Beau said.

HB58 and HS1 for HB57 require lenders to communicate with homeowners, enter into mediation to avoid foreclosure, and give homeowners access to loss mitigation assistance. The Attorney General’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division was created with HB59 to help manage foreclosure related programs. And, SB48 and SB42 will help Beau’s office target deceptive foreclosure and mortgage modification practices. Legislation also passed to protect Delaware investors. HS1 for HB88 will help Beau and his office target scam investment dealers and help the victims of investment fraud.

And, legislators took a broad step to assist Beau in cleaning up Delaware’s air, water, and soil. SB92 toughens penalties on chronic polluters and makes it clear pollution is not a cost of doing business. It imposes a maximum $10,000 per day fine on polluters for illegal emissions.

Please join Beau in thanking Delaware’s legislators for their hard work and partnership this year and commend them for their fine work on behalf of Delawareans.

To learn more about bills drafted by Beau’s office this year that have become law, click here.

You come here today from a wide range of places, organizations, and perspectives. But whether you are a crisis counselor, a police officer, a member of the military or a trial attorney, you share the same mission – to give voice to the voiceless.

I believe that is the central obstacle we face.

An abused child often cannot speak. Those who can are often not heard. Those who are heard are sometimes not believed. And to add insult to injury, the person who finally hears the cry for help often hears it from someone they love, about someone they love.

This is at the core of child abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence and all that you’ve dedicated yourselves to.

Imagine having to make that choice. Witnesses to these crimes feel trapped by the decision to keep a “family matter” private, or expose people that they love as criminals. Breaking down that barrier is our challenge.

That is why i think you do what you do. It’s why our office and many of yours have restructured and refocused in order to reflect the interrelated nature of child abuse, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency and violent crime. When we created the family division in 2007, it was in direct response to the fact that abused & neglected children are forced onto a path that often ends in court, in prison, or worse. It was a reaction to scores of domestic violence victims who feel they cannot leave their abusers because they lack the financial resources to start over. It was an acknowledgment of the difficult reality that victims face every day – sometimes the people we love are the ones who cause the most harm.

The national crime victimization survey indicates that well over half of crime committed in the united states each year is not reported to police. Sometimes, when dealing with minor property crimes for example, the reasons victims don’t report are relatively straightforward. But when it comes to violent crime, notably child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence, the reluctance to reach out for help is more complicated, and the need for a cultural shift is critical.

An integral part of victim advocacy is fighting the shame and stigma victims experience. That shame is magnified immeasurably when the crime occurs within a family. I believe, working together, we can and must change the culture and reach more victims with the right services.

We know very well that there is no single “community of victims.” they come from all walks of life, have been wronged in different ways, and heal along very personal paths. The help they need is as varied as they are. Thankfully, though, the help they can receive is as varied as you are. You affect real change because you have the creativity, the commitment, and most of all, the abiding conviction that anyone, no matter how deeply wounded, can rebuild their life.

As Frederick Douglass once said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Thank you for allowing me to be here with you today, and thank you for making the choice to do what you do every day.

The only thing more heartbreaking than these statistics are the stories we see in the news and in our communities every day, stories of families and entire neighborhoods devastated by this crisis.

In my capacity as Attorney General, I’ve tried to stop this tide. But I’m always looking for new ways to make a difference. So I’ve joined with a bipartisan coalition of legislators to introduce a package of bills to help homeowners.

These measures include the creation of a mediation program to bring homeowners and lenders to the table, steps to ensure that homeowners are given a fair shake before foreclosure proceeds, a crackdown on filing false documents as part of a foreclosure, new consumer protections and requirements for mortgage modification companies, and a new office in my Fraud and Consumer Protection Division that will deal specifically with foreclosures.

You can help, too, by sharing this message with your network on Twitter and Facebook.

Every statistic and every story make it clear that we have to do everything we can to stem the rising tide of foreclosures in Delaware. But I wouldn’t be able to do my part without your support. Thank you for helping me to make a difference.

Beau

P.S. — Please take just a moment to share this with your friends on Twitter and Facebook!

Today is Beau’s birthday, and each year, many of you ask what he’d like for a gift.

But when the four of us sit down for dinner tonight, we will already have all we need. And every day, we feel lucky to have each other, to have our home, and to have such great friends as you.

Your support has allowed Beau to fight for those who aren’t so lucky.

In particular, he’s stepped up his efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis in Delaware. Beau’s held housing workshops that, in the last two weeks alone, have helped more than 150 homeowners facing foreclosure meet with their lenders to discuss other payment options or get connected to free government programs so that they can stay in their homes.

And after it was revealed that 4,000 veterans in our country had their mortgages mishandled while deployed, Beau is on the case, asking six of the biggest lenders to review their handling of veterans’ mortgages. (Read more about this issue.)

By helping Beau take on these fights, you’ve already given him the best present he could ask for. Thank you. And if you’d like to do something to help Beau celebrate his birthday, we suggest helping those who can’t have dinner with their families by contributing to the USO, which you can do by clicking here.

Thank you for all you do — you’ve made this yet another very happy birthday for Beau.

Sincerely,

Hallie