Former employees of the financial giant Bank of America are claiming they were encouraged to push customers into foreclosure, including by lying. In sworn statements added to a multi-state class action lawsuit against Bank of America last week, the employees describe regularly misleading homeowners seeking loan modifications and rejecting their applications for phony reasons. The employees allege Bank of America used the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, to rake in as much federal money as possible before ultimately foreclosing on the homeowners the program was meant to help. Simone Gordon, a former former loan-level representative, said: “We were told to lie to customers and claim that Bank of America had not received documents it had requested.” In return for their deceitful practices, the employees say they were paid cash bonuses for the foreclosures they helped cause. The claims were first reported by the website ProPublica. Bank of America says the former employees’ statements are “rife with factual inaccuracies” and has vowed to respond in court next month.