JPMorgan Chase Freezes 56,000 Foreclosures

The massive foreclosure machine that revved up to accommodate the huge backlog of mortgage defaults once again is coming to a screeching halt. JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, announced on Wednesday that it was stopping court cases against troubled homeowners in 23 states to "systematically re-examine" its legal process. On the heels of a similar announcement by GMAC Mortgage last week, JP Morgan has admitted that its foreclosure processors were under so much pressure to push through thousands of mortgage defaults that they rarely, if ever, reviewed the files for accuracy. The overzealous processors, called "robo-signers" by their critics, have been targeted by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), pictured left, who requested on Wednesday that regulators organize "a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct."