The backdated letter scandal that has rocked Ocwen Financial is about to become an even bigger headache for the mortgage servicing giant.
Ocwen sent backdated letters denying homeowners a chance to rework their troubled loans as early as 2010 — two years before regulators said the problem started, The Post has learned.
Benjamin Lawsky’s New York Department of Financial Services sent a letter to Ocwen on Tuesday accusing it of backdating thousands of loan modification denial notices starting in 2012, likely causing “significant harm” to borrowers by depriving them of enough time to appeal.
The full extent of Ocwen’s backdated letter problem is coming to light as Lawsky negotiates with the company to shake up its leadership and provide relief to consumers, a source close to the probe told The Post.
The DFS has evidence of backdated letters going back further that it hasn’t made publicly available while the investigation is ongoing, the source said.
Eartha Smith, 75, a former fire department nurse who retired on disability, tried to get a modification on her $131,000 home loan in 2009, according to her lawyer, Peter Gleason.
Gleason received a letter from Ocwen on either Jan. 18 or 19, 2010, demanding financial information, pay stubs, bank statements and tax forms in order to modify the terms of Smith’s mortgage, he told The Post.
But the letter — which Ocwen said should be returned “as quickly as possible”— was dated Aug. 29, 2009, according to a copy of the letter provided to The Post. That’s about five months before he received it, according to Gleason.
“They put us through hell,” Eartha’s daughter, Evette, told The Post. “She’s a senior — she can’t get a modification to own her own home.”
Evette, who has power of attorney for her mother, took a leave of absence from school to help her mother fight Ocwen.
Ocwen sent thousands of letters to clients denying them a loan modification and giving them 30 days to appeal, Lawsky’s office said. Those letters were backdated more than 30 days, making it impossible for homeowners to modify their mortgages and increasing the likelihood of default.
“Ocwen’s indifference to such a serious matter demonstrates a troubling corporate culture that disregards the needs of struggling borrowers,” Lawsky said.
The Smiths have made 16 appearances at Brooklyn Supreme Court since 2009, and are still fighting the company to get the interest rate on their home loan lowered to 4 percent from 6.75 percent.
“They’re playing games,” Gleason said. “If you miss a deadline in this madness, they turn around and say that defendant failed to respond, move toward a summary judgment, and move toward eviction.”
David Millar, an Ocwen spokesman, declined to comment on Smith’s letter but said the backdating “wasn’t purposeful.”
Ocwen CEO Ron Faris on Friday sent a letter to homeowners apologizing for the “inadvertently misdated” letters, and said the company is hiring an independent investigator to look into the issue.