One hundred Occupy protesters descended upon the San Francisco home of Wells Fargo chairman John Stumpf Feb. 25 to protest home foreclosures throughout the city. The Occupiers staged a mock-foreclosure and auction of the millionaire’s luxury condo. The home was foreclosed, according to the Occupiers, due to default to a Deed of Trust to the people.
During Stumpf’s reign as CEO, Wells Fargo- the fourth largest bank in the country- has been responsible for countless home foreclosures throughout the nation. The cities of Memphis and Baltimore have tried to take Wells Fargo to court for “unlawful, irresponsible, unfair, deceptive and discriminatory mortgage lending practices” that specifically targeted people of color in oppressed neighborhoods. The courts, designed to protect the interests of the 1 percent, sided with Wells Fargo. Stumpf is the highest paid banking CEO in the country, earning over $18 million annually.
In mid-February the office of San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting released a report that demonstrated that in San Francisco foreclosing banks violated the law 84 percent of the time when seizing a home. Almost sixty percent of documents filed with the court were backdated, which amounts to perjury on the part of the banks, which is supposedly a felony. This demonstrates that, under capitalism, even when laws are passed to protect the 99 percent, they are not enforced.
Wells Fargo, the report revealed, was the city’s worst violator of foreclosure laws. Since the release of the report, Occupy San Francisco protesters have been calling and e-mailing Stumpf to request a meeting to discuss legal reforms that would protect home-owners and assure that banks operated within “legal boundaries.” Stumpf did not reply.
Finally, Occupy San Francisco decided that Stumpf’s treachery warranted his eviction from the city. The protesters, including members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, brought a large “Notice of Default” to Stumpf’s door-step. The doors were guarded by four body-guards who took the notice and told the crowd they would “convey the message on [the protester’s] behalf.” Members of the San Francisco police also showed up to intimidate the peaceful protest.
At one point, an unidentified individual came out of the house and, behind the flank of body-guards, screamed, “If you’d go out and get jobs, you’d have enough money to pay for your homes!” In response, the crowd started chanting, “We don’t want money! We want justice!”
The protesters, which included many foreclosure victims, held a mock-auction of the enormous property with fake money. One protester noted how Wells Fargo had collected $43.7 billion in tax payer money during the bank-bailout overseen by both the Bush and Obama administrations. Wells Fargo would not, the protester noted, return the favor to the taxpayers whose homes they were taken away. Another protester called for the arrests of San Francisco May Ed Lee, California Governor Jerry Brown, and President Barack Obama for their collusion in the criminality.
Forrest Schmidt contributed to this report.
