Federal investigators have issued subpoenas to several mortgage lenders that make loans to military veterans, seeking information on delinquencies and payments, Politico reported. The investigation is being led by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General in cooperation with the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, according to four people with knowledge of the subpoenas. At least eight lenders, and likely more, have been asked to turn over hundreds of files on VA home loans made between 2013 and 2017, according to two people with knowledge of the request. The requests include questions about quality control and loan audits. Some VA lenders have drawn scrutiny from regulators after they sold short-term, adjustable-rate mortgages to military homeowners as interest rates climbed. One VA program in particular — the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, or IRRRL — allows lenders to put existing VA borrowers into new loans without an appraisal or underwriting and was ripe for abuse.
