MIAMI, Florida-The city of Miami filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank on Friday for allegedly causing a wave of foreclosures in the community by participating in predatory mortgage lending.

According to Reuters, Miami is leading the major U.S. cities in numbers of foreclosures, and the city now thinks JPMorgan’s practices contributed to the major housing crisis.

According to the lawsuit, JPMorgan offered high-cost loans to African-American and Latino homeowners and then later refused to refinance the loans after the housing crisis hit.

White homeowners, on the other hand, were allegedly given better terms for the loans and had no need to refinance during the housing crisis.

Eventually a wave of foreclosures plagued Miami and the city claims it was forced to spend extra resources to combat the negative effects of so many foreclosures, including crime and gang activity at the foreclosed properties.

The lawsuit also pointed out that the loans offered in predominantly minority communities in Miami were nearly five times more likely to result in foreclosures than the loans offered in predominantly white neighborhoods.

A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase & Co. denies all accusations of discrimination and said the lawsuit has no merit. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT ATLANTABLACKSTAR.COM

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