US firm goes bust after staff dress up as homeless people
25 November 2011
A firm that specialised in repossessing homes has gone bust following the publication of a leaked set of photos showing staff celebrating Halloween by dressing up as homeless people. Classy.

Steven J. Baum, a New York State firm which represented mortgage lenders against homeowners, is set to close down leaving its 89 staff jobless, according to a New York Times report. The firm found itself embroiled in controversy after photos of staff dressing up as homeless people were plastered all over the web, complete with signs mocking the excuses of desperate homeowners.

They're not laughing now

 
Whilst the photos are being blamed for the firm's demise, it seems that they may just be the tip of the iceberg. The firm has long faced allegations of bully-boy tactics against vulnerable homeowners. The NY Times reveals that Baum has been under investigation from the New York Attorney General for allegedly questionable foreclosure practices and the firm recently coughed up $2m to settle a Department of Justice investigation over "misleading pleadings".

But the eponymous Steven J. Baum isn't prepared to take any blame, and remains convinced that the business failed as a result of a vendetta by the NY Times. He emailed Joe Nocera, a correspondent with the paper, to say "you have destroyed everything and everyone related to Steven J. Baum PC. It took 40 years to build the firm and three weeks to tear it down". Nocera's response: "I think that's what they call shooting the messenger."