Congresswoman being sued for using her influence

James York, a Sacramento investor has filed a lawsuit against the Calif. congresswomen and her bank for using influence to force Washington Mutual Inc to back out the sale of the foreclosed home that York bought from Rep. Laura Richardson.
York bought the foreclosed home at an auction after Richardson failed to make her mortgage payments.

Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, claims that the house was sold without her knowledge and after the bank agreed to hold off on any action until at least June. A default notice that was sent in March put her unpaid balance on the 1,600-square-foot home at $578,384.

Richardson’s financial troubles appear to run deeper, however. The Long Beach Press-Telegram has reported that Richardson has two other homes in San Pedro and Long Beach that have fallen into default six times. Five of the defaults, totaling nearly $71,000, occurred in the last 13 months.