Ohio Homeowners To Receive Millions in Mortgage Relief

Ohio is part of a $25 billion federal state settlement with five of the country's largest mortgage providers over foreclosure abuses. Attorney General Mike DeWine says Ohio's share of the settlement equals $335-million to be used to help borrowers who lost homes to foreclosure and those whose homes are underwater or no longer worth the amount of the mortgage. The A.G.'s office will receive $97 million to create foreclosure prevention programs and to revitalize blighted neighborhoods. DeWine's office says more than 85-thousand Ohioans filed for foreclosure in 2010 and one in three mortgage holders is underwater. The settlement is with Ally, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorganChase and Wells Fargo. Click the play button at the top of the page to hear a full report from Ohio Public Radio's Bill Cohen.