Real Estate & Property Law
The Home Equity Theft Reporter 
Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues.
Post Frequency: 12.7/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 10:07:00 Recent Entries: 3975
By r morris
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Consumer Advocate's Effort To Wipe Out Delinquent Mortgage Debt Held By Lenders Unable to Prove Right To Foreclose About To Begin In Florida
Posted on November 20, 2009In Jacksonville, Florida, the Jacksonville Business Journal reports:The house at 12920 Mt. Pleasant Road is a modest ranch-style home. The man in it is John McCampbell, a 61-year-old car mechanic who lives with his two children and fiancée. He took out a $156,000 mortgage from the now-defunct Washington Mutual, which foreclosed on his home in 2004 after he lost his job...
Stiffed Employees Sound Alarm On S. Calif. Upfront Fee Loan Modification Outfit; Offices "A Ghost Town" - Hundreds Of Homeowners May Be Left Hanging
Posted on November 20, 2009In Mission Viejo, California, NBC Los Angeles reports:Hundreds of homeowners who turned to an Orange County mortgage modification company for help may be in jeopardy themselves and don't know it. The company appears to have shut down. Company insiders say they have come forward to warn the public because they're afraid people will lose their homes...
Trouble Hits 200+ Would-Be NC Homebuyers As State Investigates Now-Defunct "Rent To Own" Outfit Suspected Of Pocketing Rents, Stiffing Lenders
Posted on November 20, 2009In Raleigh, North Carolina, WTVD-TV Channel 11 reports:[Sherry] Williams moved into the Raleigh home in March. Not only is it her family's home, but it's their livelihood as she runs a licensed day care out of it. She found the home through a company called Saving Carolina...
Riverside County DA, Feds Announce Bust In Alleged Mortgage Fraud, Securities Scam; Losses Estimated At $140M+ Involving 249 Homes
Posted on November 20, 2009In Riverside County, California, the Southwest Riverside News Network reports:The head of an investment company described by authorities as a ?con man? who bilked victims out of millions of dollars, much of it coming from real estate fraud in Murrieta and Temecula, has been charged with nearly 250 criminal counts, prosecutors announced Thursday...
Unwitting Purchase Of Home Subject To Demolition Order Has Family Pleading With City For Extension Of Time To Correct Violations
Posted on November 20, 2009In Beaumont, Texas, the Southeast Texas Record reports:Three Beaumont residents have filed a request for injunctive relief against the city of Beaumont, alleging they are in danger of losing their home because the city will not grant them an extension to perform repairs...
Feds Bag Fugitive In Malaysia; Man Accused Of Running Utah, Colorado Home Hijacking, Rent Skimming Scams Targeting Properties In Foreclosure
Posted on November 20, 2009In Denver, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports:The man 9Wants to Know exposed for running one of the most sophisticated rental schemes in Colorado is under arrest after U.S. Marshals took him into custody in Malaysia and flew him to Los Angeles [...]...
More On Big Hit Taken By California Pension Funds On Investments In "Predatory Equity" Real Estate Deals Designed To Dodge Local Rent Control Laws
Posted on November 20, 2009In East Palo Alto, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:At the top of the real estate bubble, CalPERS [California Public Employees' Retirement System] invested $600 million in two deals that were 3,000 miles apart but linked by a common vision: Buy apartments governed by rent-control laws and turn them into cash cows...
Nevada Law Firm Sues State Over Loan Modification Licensing & Bonding Requirements For Its Non-Attorney Employees
Posted on November 19, 2009In Clark County, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:A law firm active in Henderson and Las Vegas is suing the state over rules requiring licensing of non-attorney employees working on mortgage loan modifications.Cogburn Law Offices LLC filed suit last week in Clark County District Court against the Department of Business and Industry, Division of Mortgage Lending...
Unwitting Renter In Home Hijacking, Rental Scam Dodges Immediate Boot; Proof Of Occupancy For 30+ Days Entitles Her To Rights As Tenant, Says Advocate
Posted on November 19, 2009In Riverside, California, KABC-TV Channel 7 reports:Rental scams are on the rise in Riverside County. Police in Moreno Valley are investigating a suspected case of felony fraud. One family lost their house and their money even though their rent was paid...
City Gives Merrill The Boot In Multi-Million $ Municipal Bond Peddling Deal Amidst Charges Of BofA's Failure To Modify Mortgages For Its Residents
Posted on November 19, 2009In Sunrise, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:It pays to be nice. Just ask Mayor Roger Wishner, who helped kill a multimillion-dollar city partnership with Merrill Lynch because parent company Bank of America has been accused of being mean to the little guy...
Business As Usual In Philadelphia's Courtroom 676
Posted on November 19, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The New York Times recently ran a story on the proceedings that continue to take place in City Hall Courtroom 676, the home of the city's Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program:Every Thursday morning, the courtroom on the sixth floor of the regal City Hall here is given over to the conciliation conferences...
NJ Woman Gets 2 To 5 For Pocketing Upfront Cash In Exchange For Phony Mortgage Help To Avoid Foreclosure
Posted on November 19, 2009In Monroe County, Pennsylvania, the Pocono Record reports:A New Jersey woman will be spending two to five years in state prison after she was sentenced on Tuesday for promising to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and then keeping the money she was given for their mortgages...
Land Wrestled Away From Screwed Over Homeowners In New London Eminent Domain Fight To Remain Undeveloped As Corp. Giant Announces Plans To Bolt City
Posted on November 18, 2009From an op-ed column in The Connecticut Post:In a country where private property is sacred, the government's right to seize land for its own devices will always be contentious. Done in the service of building a school or a hospital, it can be defensible...
Feds File Civil Suit In Central Florida Against Alleged Upfront Fee Loan Modification Racket; "Attorney Renting" Among Allegations
Posted on November 18, 2009In Tampa, Florida, Courthouse News Service reports:Mortgage and "foreclosure relief" companies backed by a law firm took thousands of dollars from customers who ended up in worse shape than they started, the FTC says. It sued the Crowder Law Group dba Legal Support Services, 11 individuals, and Washington Data Resources, and Optimum Business Solutions dba Attorney Finance Services...
Tennessee Judge Wipes Out Half Of Homeowner's $1M+ Wrongful Foreclosure Jury Award Against BofA; Leaves Another $300K In Limbo
Posted on November 18, 2009In Johnson City, Tennessee, the Johnson City Press reports:In late July, Jesse Miltier thought he had achieved justice in a five-year battle with Bank of America, which wrongfully foreclosed on his Watauga home in 2004. He?s found out otherwise since July 31, when a jury in Carter County awarded him $1,050,000 ? including punitive damages, a rarity in wrongful foreclosure suits ? as BOA has
Federal Prosecutor In "Money Store" Foreclosure Rescue Scam Case Takes Punch In The Face From Supporter Of Co-Conspirator At Sentencing Hearing
Posted on November 18, 2009In Greenbelt, Maryland, The Washington Post reports on the sentencing of Joy Jackson Fordham, a retired exotic dancer who went on to become president of the now-defunct Metropolitan Money Store, a foreclosure rescue scam operation that screwed homeowners facing foreclosure out of millions in equity in their homes by peddling bogus sale leaseback arrangements that were purportedly designed to help
Media Report Shines Light On Central Florida Short Sale Flipping Duo
Posted on November 18, 2009A recent story on the apparent emergence of short sale flipping fraud reported by the Sarasota Herald Tribune contained this excerpt on a Central Florida duo who are engaged in practices some may consider suspect:The evidence that short sale flippers are finding ways to benefit from bank losses can be found in deed records filed along Florida's Gulf Coast...
Key Operator In "Money Store" Rescue Scam Gets 12+ Years; Targeted Homeowners In Foreclosure w/ Bogus Sale Leasebacks In Home Equity Ripoffs
Posted on November 17, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Greenbelt, Maryland):U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced the president of the Metropolitan Money Store, Joy Jackson, age 41, of Fort Washington, Maryland, [...] to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help
Wachovia Offering Financially Strapped Homeowners Cash, Deficiency Balance Waivers, Quick Closings To Encourage Short Sales & Avoid Foreclosure?
Posted on November 17, 2009In San Diego, California, North County Times reports:Wachovia Corp. is offering its borrowers money for selling their houses short, rather than going into foreclosure. Homeowners with Wachovia mortgages who are upside down on their property can get 1 percent of the price of their short sale, with a minimum of $2,500...
Short Sale Flipping Fraud: Use Of Inflated Appraisals, Straw Buyers, Sale Terms Undisclosed To Lenders All Indicate That Scammers Are Still At It
Posted on November 17, 2009In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Untold millions of dollars that banks could have recovered from the sale of distressed Florida homes have instead been pocketed as profits by a new breed of property flipper. These flippers target houses on the verge of foreclosure and persuade banks and mortgage companies to accept lowball buyouts, sometimes by using questionable appraisals
Two Charged In Alleged Rent Skimming Scam; Suspects Took Control Of Property From Desperate Owners & Pocketed Rent While Letting Bills Pile Up
Posted on November 17, 2009In St. Louis, Missouri, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports:Two men who officials said posed as wealthy real estate investors have been charged with 25 counts of stealing or other felonies. St. Louis prosecutors said that Brian Stoker, 25, and Malcolm Aldrich, 54, stole property and rent money from investors who were looking to sell troubled real estate...
N. Miami Beach Loan Modification Outfit Skips Town With Customers' Cash; Homeowners Left Hanging
Posted on November 17, 2009In Miami, Florida, WTVJ-TV Channel 6 reports:A South Florida mortgage rescue company that once promised to save your home is accused of taking clients' cash and vanishing into thin air. Truman Foreclosure Assistance is one of several companies that sprung up in the recent housing crisis, vowing to help cut monthly payments and allow homeowners to stay put...
Mass AG Reaches Agreement w/ Servicer To Provide Affordable Loan Mods To Qualified Borrowers, Up To $7.5K Relocation Expenses To Ineligible Homeowners
Posted on November 16, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:[A]ttorney General Martha Coakley?s Office announced that it has entered into an agreement with Texas-based American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. (?AHMSI?) that will provide significant benefits to approximately 8,200 Massachusetts borrowers holding loans originated by Option One Mortgage Corp...
Expiring Statute Of Limitations To Allow Two Dozen Mortgage Fraud Suspects To Walk Free?
Posted on November 16, 2009In Clarke County, Georgia, the Athens Banner Herald reports:Prosecutors may have let too much time pass to indict nearly two dozen people arrested three and a half years ago and charged with a massive mortgage fraud scheme at a Southeastern Clarke County subdivision, some defense attorneys say...
Michigan Judge Says Failure To Modify Loan In Violation Of HAMP Is Defense To Set Aside Foreclosure & Can Be Raised In Subsequent Homeowner Eviction
Posted on November 16, 2009In Macomb County, Michigan, Workers World reports:The Michigan Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs has recently scored important victories in the fight against home foreclosures and evictions.***Attorneys who work with the coalition won a significant court victory on an appeal in a foreclosure eviction case...
Novice Bidders In Online Condo-Lien Foreclosure Sales Left Holding The Bag As They Unwittingly Buy Units Subject To Unpaid, Big-Balance 1st Mortgages
Posted on November 16, 2009In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Erika Ginsberg-Klemmt and William Anderson met online, but not in a good way. Driven by the misconception that they had stumbled on a brilliant formula that would allow them to buy a Siesta Key condominium for pennies on the dollar, the two novice real estate investors began unknowingly bidding against each other on Sarasota County's new
Southern California Man Gets 11 Years For Using Stolen I.D.s To Hijack Unwitting Homeowners' HELOC Accounts; Ripoff Netted $1M+
Posted on November 16, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Los Angeles):An Orange County man has been sentenced to 132 months in federal prison for orchestrating two identity theft schemes in which he obtained personal information from hundreds of consumers and used the data in an attempt to fraudulently obtain approximately $1...
Staten Island DA Charges NJ Man w/ Felony Grand Larceny In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Ripoff That Victimized 86-Year Old Homeowner
Posted on November 15, 2009In Staten Island, New York, the Staten Island Advance reports:It was supposed to be a "mortgage rescue" operation: An 86-year-old woman and her daughter put their trust in a New Jersey accountant who promised to help keep them in their family home. Except the accountant was running a complex deed-theft scam, authorities say, and the Richmond grandmother finds herself living in a home that no
Son Gets Six Months For Forging Ill Mom's Signature To Refinance Home; Blows Loan Proceeds In Failed Attempt To Buy Foreign Bride
Posted on November 15, 2009In Wolverhampton, West Midlands, The Express & Star reports:A Wolverhampton man forged his ill mother?s signature in order to re-mortgage the house they jointly owned to pay off debts and buy a foreign bride, a court heard. Stephen Collymore signed his 68-year-old mother?s name on a land registry document in 2004 to obtain £35,000 from Halifax, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told...
Maryland Man Accused Of Using Forged Deeds To Steal Real Estate; Judge Refuses To Allow Suspect To Use Allegedly Stolen Land To Secure Bail Bond
Posted on November 15, 2009In St. Mary's County, Maryland, Southern Maryland Newspapers reports:Daniel Jason Brown, 31, of Leonardtown faces 64 charges connected with four alleged incidents of property deed forgery and six charges connected with an alleged incident of witness corruption...
Wheelchair-Bound Senior Left £27,000 Delinquent On Nursing Home Bills After Con Man Used POA In £200,000 Ripoff
Posted on November 15, 2009In Bradford, West Yorkshire, the Bradford Telegraph & Argus reports:A conman who fleeced a trusting pensioner of her life savings so he could buy luxury goods has been ordered to pay her £76,000 in compensation. Bhupinder Sahota milked nearly £200,000 from the bank accounts of 85-year-old wheelchair-bound Marie Rose Penn after she granted him Power of Attorney over her finances...
Landlord Accused Of Using Illegal "Self-Help Eviction Procedure" In Failed Attempt To Boot Delinquent Family From Rental Home
Posted on November 15, 2009In Geneva, Illinois, The Geneva Republican reports:Early Monday afternoon, the power at Stacey Schnaitman?s house suddenly shut down. ?I ran outside,? she said. ?There was a man outside that told me, ?This house is supposed to be vacant.?? But it?s not vacant...
Homeowner Faces City Demolition Order As She Attempts To Rescue Earlier-Vacated Home Now In Legal Limbo As Lender Fails To Hold Foreclosure Sale
Posted on November 14, 2009In Mansfield, Ohio, the Mansfield News Journal reports:Having recently learned she still owns the house she thought was lost to foreclosure last year, Tina Powell wants to move back in at 152 W. First St. The city, however, placed a demolition order on the home this fall...
Foreclosed 15-Bedroom "Monster House" Homeowner Admits To Stripping $1M In Fixtures From Mansion; Now Faces Felony Grand Theft, Vandalism Charges
Posted on November 14, 2009In Encinitas, California, The San Diego Union Tribune reports:The woman who built the county?s largest home ? known as the ?monster house? ? and lost it to foreclosure in February admitted [...] that she stripped it of $1 million in fixtures, but said it was to protect her masterpiece after the bank refused to hire security...
Alabama State Fire Marshal: People Burning Down Their Own Homes Across State On Upswing
Posted on November 14, 2009In Montgomery, Alabama, WBRC-TV Channel 6 reports:The number of people burning down their own homes is increasing across the state, according to State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk. ?It's not race specific. It's not socioeconomic specific. It affects everybody,? Paulk says...
San Diego Cops Recruit Neighborhood Watch Group In Effort To Put Kibosh On All-Night Bashes In Teen-Hijacked Vacant Foreclosures
Posted on November 14, 2009In Encinitas, California, KGTV Channel 10 reports:The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is recruiting extra help in an effort to prevent all-night rave parties in foreclosed homes, 10News reported. In the Encinitas Ranch development, a neighborhood watch group is born, and coordinator Dick Stern knows exactly what he's watching for...
Colorado Homeowner Obtains Temporary Restraining Order Halting Foreclosure; Alleges Loan Servicers Failed To Respond To HAMP Loan Mod Applications
Posted on November 13, 2009In Brighton, Colorado, The Denver Post reports:Traci Willms turned to the federal Home Affordable Modification Program to save the childhood home in Brighton she bought from her mother and shares with her two children. But after two separate loan-modification applications with two different servicers in the past six months, she never received an answer...
California State Bar Task Force Hammers Five More Attorneys In Continuing Probe Into Alleged Loan Modification Misconduct
Posted on November 13, 2009In San Francisco, California, The National Law Journal reports:The State Bar of California's crackdown on attorneys for alleged loan modification misconduct has claimed five more lawyers in Southern California, three of whom have resigned.***On Nov. 2, Timothy Thurman of Trinity Law Group in Los Angeles resigned with charges pending after the FBI arrested him in October...
Financial Turmoil, Uncertainty Hovering Over Arizona Senior Independent Living & Retirement Community Forces Elderly To Flee Homes
Posted on November 13, 2009In Green Valley, Arizona, the Green Valley News & Sun reports:The beautiful but nearly empty Retreat at Santa Rita Springs retirement village is facing financial hard times and it is up to the mortgage holder as to whether it continues operating. [.....
Elderly Couple Accuse Grandson Of Pocketing Mortgage Proceeds On Family Home After Duping Them Into Unwittingly Signing Over Title; Now Face F'closure
Posted on November 13, 2009In St. Paul, Minnesota, Fox News TV Channel 9 reports:[Stella] Hernandez is not embarrassed to admit she?s 81 years old. Her husband Joseph is 91. He is a decorated WWII veteran, and she was a real life ?Rosie the Riveter? working on B-24 bombers at St...
Georgia Man Accused Of Getting His Dementia-Stricken Grandmother To Sign Over Title To Property
Posted on November 13, 2009In Moultrie, Georgia, The Moultrie Observer reports:A Moultrie man was apprehended Monday after he allegedly took advantage of his grandmother?s illness. Daniel Lee Baker, 25, [...] was charged with two counts of crimes against the elderly and probation violation...
NYC Man Accused Of Using Forged Documents In Attempt To Swipe $128K From Foreclosed Homeowner In Alleged "Surplus Scam"
Posted on November 12, 2009From the Office of the Queens County District Attorney:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [...] announced that a Flushing man has been charged with second-degree attempted grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and other charges for allegedly forging the signature of a man whose home had been foreclosed on in an effort to collect the surplus that resulted
Texas AG Moves To Recover Upfront Fees From Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Racket That Targeted Financially Strapped Homeowners
Posted on November 12, 2009From the Office of the Texas Attorney General:Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott [...] took legal action to obtain restitution for a fraudulent ?mortgage rescue? firm?s victims. Dallas County 134th District Judge James M. Stanton granted an agreed temporary injunction barring Markus and Tyrone Bailey from deceptively operating the unlicensed businesses, Behind on Mortgage and Behind on Mortgages
Lender Admits Screw-Up In Foreclosure Sale Where Homeowner Completed Trial Modification & Was Led To Believe Permanent Workout Was Forthcoming
Posted on November 12, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:Despite being up-to-date on their modified mortgage payments, an Arizona couple found that their bank was foreclosing on their home, KPHO-TV reported. "You work so hard. Put a lot of money down on your house...
Loan Servicer Agrees To Modify Texas Widow's Home In Foreclosure After Story Hits TV
Posted on November 12, 2009In The Colony, Texas, WFAA-TV Channel 8 reports:After losing her husband of 47 years, Virginia Fraser was on the verge of losing her home in the foreclosure crisis. But thanks to kindly intervention, her story has changed. Last spring, Fraser was $7,000 behind in house payments and facing foreclosure...
Wife Of Alleged Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Scammer Cops Plea To Clipping IRS Out Of $900K+ In Unpaid Taxes
Posted on November 12, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:A 38-year-old Chaska woman admitted [...] to preventing the IRS from collecting more than $900,000 in employment taxes from her ex-husband's mortgage brokerage company. In pleading guilty in federal court in St...
NYC Legal Aid Files Class Action Alleging Servicer Spuriously Denied Access To HAMP; Feds Named For Failure To Provide Appeals Process For Rejections
Posted on November 11, 2009The Legal Aid Society in New York City announced:Four homeowners from Queens and Brooklyn, who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, [...] filed a federal class action lawsuit, charging that Aurora Loan Services, their mortgage servicer, has denied them access to the Obama Administration?s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) for spurious reasons, and has failed to provide them
Minnesota Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Seeking To Block Foreclosures Alleging Due Process Violations In HAMP Program
Posted on November 11, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Wall Street Journal reports:Borrowers don?t have a legal entitlement to loan modifications. That was the conclusion of a federal judge who this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by Minnesota homeowners seeking to block foreclosures...
Homeowners Furious After Another Maintenance Fee Hike By Financially Struggling HOA; 50%+ Of Units Either Delinquent Or In Foreclosure
Posted on November 11, 2009In Orange County, Florida, WOFL-TV Channel 35 reports:When Tom Beard learned that the Tivoli Village homeowners association wanted to increase his fees for the second time in as many years, he organized a petition signed by residents who refused to pay the increase...
Protection From F'closure Eviction No Help For Renters Getting Immediate Boot From Condemned Home Repo'd By Bank; Timing Of Bldg Inspection Questioned
Posted on November 11, 2009In Enfield, Connecticut, The Hartford Courant reports:George Lombardo of Thompsonville left for work as usual Monday morning only to find a notice posted on the porch of the house he rents on Lincoln Street. The house had been condemned as "unfit for occupancy...
Wave Of Chinese Drywall-Related Homeowners' Insurance Cancellations Begins Hitting Louisiana; Homeowner Could Face Threat Of Foreclosure, Job Loss
Posted on November 11, 2009In New Orleans, Louisiana, The Times Picayune reports:In August, Tamara Thomas filed a claim with her homeowners insurance company after discovering that her air conditioning and other appliances had failed because her three-year-old home was filled with defective drywall made in China...
Florida AG Says Alleged Forclosure Rescue Racket Divides Upfront Fee Into Five Payments, Each Check Associated To A Specific Step In Loan Mod Process
Posted on November 10, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [...] announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against two Central Florida companies and their owner over allegations they charged up-front fees for foreclosure rescue-related services...
Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Homebuyers' Class Action Suit Alleging PMI Kickback Racket Between Countrywide & Reinsurance Company
Posted on November 10, 2009A Federal appellate court recently reinstated a homebuyers' class action lawsuit against Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and Balboa Reinsurance Company alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"). The court described the plaintiffs allegations as follows:Plaintiffs alleged that their private mortgage insurance premiums were channeled into an unlawful ?captive
Struggling Florida Condo Associations Continue Requesting Court Orders For Blanket Receiverships In Effort To Stay Financially Afloat
Posted on November 10, 2009In Palm Beach County, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:With 50 percent of its owners owing a total of more than half-a-million dollars in overdue maintenance fees, a suburban West Palm Beach condo association wants to seize control of delinquent units, bypass owners when it comes to rent collection and possibly even rent units through a third party...
Lender Foiled In Attempt To Push Tenant Out Of Recently-Foreclosed Home; Renter Forced Into Court To Assert New Legal Rights To Dodge Eviction
Posted on November 10, 2009In Sandy Springs, Georgia, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:Crystal Johnson had no idea her landlord had financial trouble until police taped an eviction notice to the door of her Sandy Springs condominium in June. About a year into her two-year lease, Johnson faced the prospect of being forced out of her home because a bank had foreclosed on the landlord, who was in default on a loan...
Effort To Harass Tenants Out Of Recently Foreclosed Homes In Violation Of Federal Law Continues
Posted on November 10, 2009In West Haven, Connecticut, the New Haven Register reports on another incident involving a lender and its attorneys allegedly attempting to bully tenants out of their rented, foreclosed homes through the use of deceptively written letters designed to mislead the tenants of their legal rights under the federal Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act,(1) as well as under Connecticut state law, and
Closing Agent's Use Of Rubber Checks To Pay Off $1.6M In Existing Mortgages Leaves Refinancing Homeowners Mired In Legal Mess, Facing Foreclosure
Posted on November 09, 2009In Will County, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:In early April, Jeff Franson refinanced his mortgage, switching it from Chase to SecurityNational Mortgage Co. On a sunny Saturday in early October, as he was mowing the front lawn of his Mokena home, a process server drove up and handed Franson papers that showed Chase was planning to foreclose on his home...
Negotiating Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure Without Obtaining A Release Of Deficiency Liability Leaves Homeowner In Hot Water
Posted on November 09, 2009Attorney Jonathan Alper from the Florida Asset Protection Blog offers this caution to financially strapped homeowners when negotiating the transfer of their property to the foreclosing mortgage lender by a deed in lieu of foreclosure:A deed in lieu of foreclosure is supposed to be a final settlement between owner and mortgage lender...
Four Attorneys Get The Boot From Legal Profession In Florida For Alleged Real Estate, Trust/Escrow Account-Related Mischief
Posted on November 09, 2009The Florida Bar, the state's guardian for the integrity of the legal profession, recently issued its periodic "scandal/gossip sheet" in which it announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 19 attorneys, disbarring eight, suspending six and placing two on probation...
Fannie Left Holding The Bag On Dilapidated Bronx Apartment Buildings - Now Asked To Fork Over $320K+ To Repair Structurally Unsafe Conditions
Posted on November 09, 2009In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:A Bronx judge has ordered Fannie Mae to answer charges that it is neglecting three dilapidated rental buildings for which it holds the mortgages as they wind through the foreclosure process. The order, [...
California Woman Ordered To Stand Trial For Burglary, Grand Theft In Alleged Upfront Fee Loan Modification Racket
Posted on November 08, 2009In Monterey County, California, The Herald reports:A judge Friday ordered a Gonzales woman to stand trial in connection with an allegedly fraudulent real estate scheme, but cleared her nephew, saying there was insufficient evidence that he was involved in the conspiracy...
Man To Serve 1 To 3 For Using Forged Docs To Swipe Common Law Wife's Share Of Home, Then Pocketing Mortgage Refi Proceeds; House Now Faces Foreclosure
Posted on November 08, 2009In Monsey, New York, the Mid-Hudson News reports:Egon Linzenberg of Hillburn is going to serve one to three years in state prison for stealing the house he shared with his estranged and long time common law wife and one of their three sons. Linzenberg forged several documents, illegally and secretly removing his wife?s name from the deed to the home, leaving title to the shared house in only his
Scammer Dupes 80-Year Old Woman Out Of $450K In Phony Investment Scheme; Victim Took Out Three Loans On Previously Mortgage Free Home To Invest
Posted on November 08, 2009In Santa Rosa, California, The Press Democrat reports:A Windsor plumber pleaded no-contest Thursday to 19 felony counts of real estate fraud in a scam that cost investors more than $1 million. Juan Carlos Alcala, 32, will receive up to seven years in prison at his March 24 sentencing under an agreement that avoids trial, Deputy District Attorney Robin Hammond said...
Caution Urged When Signing Up For Prominent Foreclosure Listing Service
Posted on November 08, 2009In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:Maria Casanova, an assistant professor of economics at UCLA, toyed with the idea earlier this year of buying a foreclosed property near the Westwood campus. She signed up for a prominent listing service called RealtyTrac...
Increase In Housing Discrimination Against Families With Children Attributed To Growing Use Of Internet To Advertise Rentals
Posted on November 07, 2009In Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Grand Rapids Press reports:When a landlord told a young Grand Rapids mother interested in renting a duplex that she would have to pay twice the regular security deposit because she had three children, the woman was shocked...
Mass. Landlords Get Hammered For Failing To Lease To Renters w/ Kids To Avoid Lead Paint Abatement Requirements, Tenants w/ "Section 8" Subsidies
Posted on November 07, 2009The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General has taken recent action in connection with enforcing housing discrimination laws involving the alleged refusal by landlords to rent to families with children & tenants receiving housing subsidies, as well as the refusal of lanlords to remediate lead based paint hazards in rental units and common areas:Coakley Obtains Consent Judgment Against Quincy
Ex-HOA President Gets 18 Months House Arrest For Swiping $87K By Dipping Into Association's Funds; Lien Placed On Home To Secure Restitution Payments
Posted on November 07, 2009In Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports:The former president of the Gander Road Homeowner?s Association, who admitted to embezzling $87,000 from the group, was sentenced [...] to five years probation. Rose Griffin, 69, of Dayton, appeared before U...
Lawyer Convicted In Scam Involving 85-Year Old Client Beat Out Of $160K In Phony Morgtage Deal
Posted on November 07, 2009In Barrie, Ontario, the Barrie Advance reports:A former Barrie and Innisfil lawyer was convicted of fraud and forgery in Barrie Superior Court in connection with a false mortgage scheme. Myles McLellan, 56, has had a continuing trial in Barrie since January this year...
Illinois Man Accused Of Ripping Off $225K From Now-Deceased Mother-In-Law Asserts "Promissory Note" Defense In Attempt To Beat Charges
Posted on November 07, 2009In McHenry County, Illinois, the Daily Herald reports:The defense for a Lake in the Hills man accused of stealing $225,000 from his mother-in-law asked a judge to throw out the charges Tuesday, claiming authorities misled the grand jury that indicted him and ignored evidence proving his innocence...
Caregiver Charged In Alleged Ripoff Of Elderly Couple; Increased Victims' Reverse Mortgage Payments To Hide Effects Of Illicit Spending, Say Cops
Posted on November 07, 2009In Fairfax, California, the Marin Independent Journal reports:An in-home caregiver wanted on suspicion of stealing $100,000 from a retired Fairfax couple was arrested in Marin Superior Court after showing up for her scheduled arraignment. Jane Macam McClellan, also known as Jane Macam Deleon, pleaded not guilty during her initial court appearance [...
Sheriff's Alleged Failure To Follow Proper Procedure Raised As Issue In Proposed Class Action Suit In Attempt To Set Aside Detroit-Area Foreclosures
Posted on November 06, 2009In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports:Tens of thousands of Wayne County foreclosures -- and potentially hundreds of thousands across the state -- are unlawful because sheriffs did not follow state law when they conducted foreclosure auctions, an attorney said Wednesday...
Ohio AG, Loan Servicer Trade Lawsuits Over Legality Of Firm's Business Practices
Posted on November 06, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, Reuters reports:American Home Mortgage Servicing and Ohio's Attorney General on Thursday filed lawsuits against one other marking the latest battle between a U.S. state and firms charged with easing payments for troubled home owners...
Class Action Suits Against Major Builder, Lender Accused Of Controlling Apraisal Process To Artificially Inflate Home Values Expand To Florida, NC, SC
Posted on November 06, 2009From a press release from the law firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro:A Central Florida homeowner forced into foreclosure filed a class-action lawsuit last week against KB Home, Countrywide Financial and LandSafe Appraisal Services, claiming the three conspired to rig housing prices in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina, costing home purchasers millions of dollars, and fueling the
California Couple Ripped Off By Loan Mod Outfit Obtains Triple Damages In Lawsuit Under New State Law Allowing For Punitive Damages Scam Cases
Posted on November 06, 2009In Victorville, California, the Victorville Daily Press reports:A local couple who say they were scammed by a loan modification company are the first in the country to use a new organization that guided them through the small claims court process and helped win a fight to get their money back...
Michigan Woman Charged With Stealing Sister's I.D. To Obtain Mortgage & Then Allowing It To Fall Into Foreclosure
Posted on November 06, 2009From the Office of the Michigan Attorney General:Attorney General Mike Cox [...] announced that his office has filed charges against a Wyoming, MI woman accused of defrauding the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) by fraudulently obtaining a mortgage, defaulting on that mortgage and leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab...
Lower Court Order Upheld Prohibiting Option One/H&R Block Massachusetts Foreclosure Actions Without First Obtaining State AG Or Court Approval
Posted on November 05, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed a preliminary injunction obtained by Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office against Option One Mortgage Corp. (?Option One?) and H&R Block Mortgage Corp...
Tampa Feds Announce Mortgage Fraud Charges Against 100+ Suspects Involving $400M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Loans Affecting 700+ Properties
Posted on November 05, 2009In Tampa, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:An intensive, nine-month federal investigation of mortgage fraud that stretched from Jacksonville to Tampa and Fort Myers has resulted in charges against 105 people, authorities said Tuesday. U.S. Attorney A...
Missing Trust Funds Could Approach $500M In Suspected Ponzi Scheme Allegedly Run By Prominent South Florida Attorney
Posted on November 05, 2009In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney Scott Rothstein's meteoric rise in the South Florida legal and political worlds ended over Halloween weekend with the revelation that investors claim he stole in excess of $200 million...
Landlord $lapped With $80K Fine In Attempt To Force Rent Controlled Tenant From Home By Refusing To Allow Disability-Related Modification To Bathroom
Posted on November 05, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Post reports:A Brooklyn landlord faces $80,000 in penalties, all because he refused to say two words: "I approve." For nearly two years, according to the city's Human Rights Commission, Kong Chae Choi wouldn't give permission for a walk-in shower to be installed in the apartment of an elderly, disabled tenant in hopes she'd move from her home of 40 years, a
SC Councilwoman Suspended After Allegations Of Abusing POA To Place Reverse Mortgage On Elderly Mom's Home & Pocketing Loan Proceeds
Posted on November 05, 2009In Columbia, South Carolina, The Pickens Sentinel reports:Gov. Mark Sanford has suspended Clemson City Councilwoman Elouise James following her indictment on several charges in Pickens County. Sanford signed the suspension order on Thursday, following the Pickens County Grand Jury?s Oct...
Nevada Regulator Orders Shutdown Of 26 Loan Modification Outfits For Failure To Comply With Licensing, Bonding Requirements
Posted on November 04, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:The Nevada Mortgage Lending Division said Monday that it is ordering 26 residential mortgage loan modification consultant companies to close and refund unearned payments from customers. Another 18 firms are allowed to continue working while their licenses are processed...
Home Lending Industry's "Waterfall Of Excuses" & "Abysmal Numbers Of Modifications" Force State AGs Closer To Filing Consumer Fraud Lawsuits
Posted on November 04, 2009The New York Times reports:Newly empowered by the Supreme Court, the attorneys general of several states hit hard by the housing collapse are exploring consumer fraud suits against major mortgage lenders. Frustrated by the banks? inability or unwillingness to stop an avalanche of foreclosures, the states are considering lawsuits over the creation and marketing of millions of bad loans as well as
Report: Goldman Sachs Peddled $40B+ In Subprime Securities While Betting On Housing Market Crash
Posted on November 04, 2009In Washington, D.C., McClatchy Newspapers reports:In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U...
State-Sanctioned Ripoffs Of The Elderly By Government Agencies Running Rampant On Both Sides Of The Atlantic?
Posted on November 04, 2009In Great Britain, the Daily Mail reports:A secret court that seizes the nest eggs of the elderly and vulnerable has triggered 3,000 complaints in the 18 months since it was set up, it was revealed [last month]. The obscure Court of Protection [of the Office of the Public Guardian] has taken control of £3...
Tenant Charged With Ripping Off Elderly Landlord; Rental House Lost To Foreclosure, Cash Taken From Investment Property Refinancings
Posted on November 04, 2009In Pekin, Illionois, the Pekin Daily Times reports:A South Pekin woman was arrested [...] for allegedly bilking an elderly man out of cars, loans and his pension money. Gina Y. Robinson, 38, [...] was arrested for financial exploitation of the elderly, forgery and altering titles, according to Pekin Police Public Information Officer Mike Sanders...
Nightmare Continues For Some Foreclosed Homeowners As Lenders, Collection Firms Begin Chasing Unpaid Loan Balances
Posted on November 03, 2009In Boston, Massahusetts, the Boston Herald reports:Hank Lane figured that when he lost his Groton home to foreclosure in 2008, at least his long-running financial nightmare had come to an end. He was wrong. The $550,000 that Lane?s home fetched at auction covered most of his $650,000 first mortgage, but none of his $200,000 second mortgage - and the second lender wants its money...
Lien Stripping Of Completely Underwater 2nd Mortgages, HELOCs Can Convert Some Home Loans To Unsecured Debts In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Proceedings
Posted on November 03, 2009In Bradenton, Florida, bankruptcy attorney Cynthia A. Riddell writes in the Bradenton Herald:The current law prohibits stripping or modification of first mortgage liens on a Chapter 13 debtor?s primary residence. However, in many bankruptcy districts, [...
New Service Promises To Alert Homeowners Of Possible Deed Thefts
Posted on November 03, 2009The New York Times reports:MORTGAGE fraud continues to expand, in both the number of incidents and the methods that criminals use to strip equity from homeowners and lenders. Now a new online service offers free help to keep homeowners safe from an emerging form of fraud known as ?house theft...
Jury Convicts Scammer Of Illegally Taking Title To Home With Forged Deed & Pocketing Proceeds Of Subsequent Mortgage Refinance
Posted on November 03, 2009From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, [...] 9 guilty verdicts were read in the case of People v. Oralia Hidalgo, 46, of Colton. The jury found the defendant guilty on felony counts ranging from forgery, grand theft, filing of false instruments, and a grand theft enhancement...
Disbarred NH Lawyer Expected To Cop Plea To $2.3M Ripoff Of Heirs Of Now-Deceased Client; Use Of Bogus POA To Sell Family Home Among Alleged Bad Acts
Posted on November 03, 2009In Manchester, New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports:A once-prominent, politically connected Manchester lawyer has been charged with bilking a client of more than $2.3 million and is expected to plead guilty to fraud-related charges [...
California AG Requests Details Of Home Loan Industry Plans To Defuse Pay Option ARM "Ticking Time Bombs"
Posted on November 02, 2009From the Office of the California Attorney General:Concerned about a "new wave" of foreclosures, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [...] called on ten major banks and loan servicers to detail their plans to assist homeowners facing dramatic monthly payment increases on Pay Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages...
Disbarred Attorney Cops Plea In Fraudulent Rescue Scam; Homes Drained Of Equity, Then Fall To Foreclosure; Owners Get Boot; Investors Left Holding Bag
Posted on November 02, 2009In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports:Disbarred lawyer Raymond A. Desautels III of Oxford, awaiting sentencing on wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court, pleaded guilty [...] in Worcester Superior Court to charges related to his role in what prosecutors said was an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme...
Loan Modification Outfits Begin Charging For Services In Steps In Attempt To Dodge Upfront Fee Prohibition
Posted on November 02, 2009In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:Some companies that advertise help avoiding foreclosure are trying to avoid a ban on advance fees by charging consumers in steps, according to loan brokers and state regulators. That?s illegal, said Tom Pool, a spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate (DRE)...
Brooklyn Court Rulings Void Deeds & Subsequent Mortgages Used To Drain Home Equity In Bogus Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Posted on November 02, 2009A pair of 2008 Brooklyn, New York lower court rulings may provide some guidance to those seeking an approach to undoing bogus sale leaseback, foreclosure rescue scams on behalf of financially strapped homeowners who have been screwed over in these equity stripping rackets...
Brooklyn Judge Weighs In With State Lawmakers On "Rescue Scams, Straw Men, Fraudulent Loans"
Posted on November 02, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports:A local judge and prosecutor who have worked on real estate crime in Kings County told state senators at a special joint committee hearing [last week] that more legal steps may need to be taken to protect Brooklyn families and homeowners...
California Man Gets 32 Months For Filing Phony Deeds To Illegally Claim Title To Homes In Foreclosure
Posted on November 01, 2009In San Diego, California, XETV-TV Channel 6 reports:An ex-con who filed bogus grant deeds with the county Recorder's Office on six properties he claimed he owned was sentenced Friday to two years and eight months in prison. Maurice Antoine Simmons, 32, was convicted Aug...
Ex-Real Estate Agent Cops Plea To Duping Dementia Suffering Senior Into Signing Away Title To Home
Posted on November 01, 2009From the Office of the Arizona Attorney General:Attorney General Terry Goddard [...] announced that former real estate agent Ammar Dean Halloum, 46, of Phoenix, has pleaded guilty to felony charges in connection with a fraudulent real estate transaction with an elderly Tucson resident...
Colorado AG: Mortgage Broker Misrepresented Loan Terms, Inflated Borrower Income Levels, Worked With Appraisers To Create Inflated Home Values
Posted on November 01, 2009In Colorado Springs, Colorado, The Gazette reports:A Colorado Springs mortgage company and two of its officials have been sued by the Colorado Attorney General?s office for misrepresenting the interest rates, monthly payments and other terms of loans they made, many of which ended up in foreclosure...
Texas AG Files Civil Suit Against Real Estate Broker Accused Of Creating Rent To Own Deals For Customers Falsely Promised Legal Title To Homes
Posted on November 01, 2009From the Office of the Texas Attorney General:Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott [...] charged Fern Hernandez Realty, Inc., with defrauding Hispanic home buyers. The state?s enforcement action names the corporation; its owner, real estate broker Jose Fernando ?Fern? Hernandez and his wife, Odessa S...
Nevada AG Indicts Las Vegas Man In Alleged Refinancing Scam Targeting Strapped Homeowners; Accused Of Illegally Pocketing Proceeds From Mortgage Loans
Posted on November 01, 2009From the Office of the Nevada Attorney General:Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced [...] that Wayne Goldenbaum, also known as Robert King, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been indicted on multiple charges of theft, including theft from an individual over the age of 60...
Elderly Couple "Snatched" By State Of Texas Celebrate Homecoming After One Year Of Nursing Home "Captivity" - Home Went Into Foreclosure, Car Repo'd
Posted on October 31, 2009In Richardson, Texas, Fox 4 News reports:It?s an emotional and long awaited homecoming for an elderly Richardson couple whose battle with the state for their freedom triggered a FOX 4 Investigation. Michael and Eugenia Kidd say the State of Texas has held them captive in a nursing home for months...
Tenant Cops Plea To Forgery After Befriending Elderly Landlord, Then Looting Her Bank Account, Leaving Homes In Foreclosure
Posted on October 31, 2009In Vista, California, San Diego News Network reports:A woman who forged her landlord?s checks and temporarily forced the victim?s two homes into foreclosure pleaded guilty [...] to four counts of passing forged checks. Jacqueline Mastrodimos, 38, agreed to a four-year prison term when she is sentenced on March 1 by Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein, Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn
More Phony Landlord Rent Scams Promoted On Craigslist
Posted on October 31, 2009In Chandler, Arizona, ABC 15 reports:After her husband lost her job, Ava Padilla said she was looking for a solution because they couldn't afford to keep the home they were renting. [...] She said the man who posted an ad on Craigslist told her the deal was legitimate...
Foreclosure Crisis Exacerbates Lead Based Paint Problem For Chicago Tenants With Young Children
Posted on October 31, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, CBS 2 Chicago reports:A Chicago couple says their two young boys are sick, and their own home and landlord are to blame. The problem? Lead paint. And as CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, it's even worse now because of the foreclosure crisis...
Property Used As Meth Lab Spells Disaster For Homebuyer; Forced To Quit Job Due To Illness, Home Now In Foreclosure
Posted on October 31, 2009In Fort Wayne, Indiana, The Journal Gazette reports:The headaches, muscle aches and breathing problems began shortly after she moved in, but Julie McCoy Sabatino was slow to blame her house for making her sick. She was shocked to realize she should: Methamphetamines had been produced in the house, just months before she bought it...
BofA Revokes Loan Modification Agreements Despite Having Collected Timely Payments On Reworked Terms, Complaining Homeowners Tell Florida AG
Posted on October 30, 2009In South Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Hundreds of struggling Florida homeowners have filed complaints with Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in the past year about failed or stalled home mortgage loan modifications with Bank of America...
Arizona Woman Dodges BofA's Foreclosure Sale Of Home Out From Under Her; Servicer Failed To Cancel Auction Despite Granting Loan Modification Deal
Posted on October 30, 2009In Scottsdale, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:Debbie Obroc nearly lost her home to foreclosure, despite being granted a government loan modification. ?I just can?t believe that your home could be sold out from under you,? Obrock said. Obrock said Bank of America failed to stop the foreclosure process, even after signing her up for modified payments in July...
Florida AG Tags Five Debt Settlement Firms In Two Separate Lawsuits Alleging Deceptive Practices, Upfront Fee Ripoffs
Posted on October 30, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [...] announced his office has filed two lawsuits on behalf of Florida consumers against five debt settlement-related companies.(1) According to the Attorney General?s lawsuits, the businesses promised consumers they could pay off their debts for a fraction of the amount owed, but instead collected large up-front fees
41 State Attorneys General Join To Seek FTC Rules Amendments To Address Upfront Fee Debt Relief Ripoffs
Posted on October 30, 2009In a recent letter to the Federal Trade Commission, 41 state Attorneys General have expressed their concerns regarding the sale of debt relief services to consumers and the complaints they've received about alleged deceptive trade practices and upfront fee ripoffs engaged in by these operators, and the need for amendments to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule to address these concerns...
Internet Rent Scams Target Renters Using Phony Listings Based On Legitimate Information
Posted on October 30, 2009In Nokomis, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Real estate agent Nicki Conway has spent the past week trying to steer people away from a rental fraud involving a house she is working to sell. Information about the house has been posted on the Web site craigslist...
Nevada AG's Mortgage Fraud Task Force Raids Title & Escrow Company
Posted on October 29, 2009In Henderson, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:A Henderson title and escrow office was the focus of a raid by the Nevada Attorney General's Office. Mortgage fraud investigators took over the office Tuesday morning to investigate. The office of American United Title and Escrow had a steady stream of investigators in and out of the business all day...
Suspected Colorado Home Hijacker May Be Federal Fugitive Accused Of Rent Skimming In Utah
Posted on October 29, 2009In Parker, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports on an alleged rental scam involving a man who approaches homeowners facing foreclosure and allegedly cons them, under color of an official having some connection with the foreclosure action, into moving out and turning over possession of their homes to him...
Suspected Home Hijacking Case Once Considered "Civil Matter" Will Now Be Treated As Criminal Trespass, Say Cops
Posted on October 29, 2009In Boise, Idaho, the Idaho Statesman reports:Caroline Werner may finally get some help in getting a stranger out of her mother-in-law's house. A Boise man named David Foldesi claims he owns the house, even though Ada County officials have repeatedly told Werner and the Idaho Statesman he does not...
Another Foreclosure Misidentification Screw-Up Results In Pair "Cleaning Out" Wrong Home; DA Declines Prosecution - Says It's A Civil Matter
Posted on October 29, 2009In Statesville, North Carolina, the Statesville Record & Landmark:A case in which two men took items from a house and encouraged neighbors to do the same is the result of a mistaken address. That's what Statesville Police Chief Tom Anderson said happened at the home of Gene and Linda Medlin [...
Escrow Agent Cops Plea To $470K+ Closing Proceeds Ripoff; Insurance Premiums, Closing Costs Left Unpaid; Title Underwriter Left Picking Up The Tab
Posted on October 29, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports:A Prior Lake woman pled guilty Friday to stealing more than $470,000 in a mortgage fraud scam. Roseann Wagner admitted operating a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, borrowers, and a title insurance underwriter in 2007...
Country's Largest Builder Used "One Stop Shopping" Model To Construct "House Of Cards" Scheme, Says Homeowner In Class Action Suit
Posted on October 28, 2009In San Francisco, California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:A California homeowner filed a class-action suit against Pulte Homes on Friday alleging that the nation's largest home builder fraudulently propped up home prices and sales in a "house of cards" scheme that eventually caused values in its developments to plunge...
Philly DA, Feds Probe "Dream Killer" In Suspected Rent To Own Scam Peddling Shabby Homes To City's Poorest; Victims Paid Thousand$, Now Face The Boot
Posted on October 28, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:WIND and rain blew through the shell of a house on Monmouth Street. The ceilings and walls had gaping holes; the shower and broken toilet could be seen from the floor below. There was no front door, no kitchen, no heat...
Rain Clouds Hover Over Big NYC Landlords, Tenants, Bondholders, Housing Agency After State High Court Ruling Declaring Stuy Town Rent Hikes Illegal
Posted on October 28, 2009In New York City, The New York Times reports:Tenants and landlords spent much of [last] Thursday struggling to figure out what the state high court?s ruling on the future of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village meant for all types of New Yorkers.(1) Real estate moguls feared the news would cripple their industry, and tenants worried about their rents...
Lender Backs Off From Attempt To Illegally Bully Tenant Out Of Foreclosed Home After New Jersey Public Advocate's Office Intervenes
Posted on October 28, 2009In North Bergen, New Jersey, The Jersey Journal reports:When Rosita Crooke learned her North Bergen apartment building was being foreclosed she contacted the bank. Crooke wanted to keep paying her rent, but instead the bank told her she would have to leave and that the anti-eviction law didn?t apply because of the terms of her lease...
Cops Identify Pair As Home Robbery Suspects; Sent By Fannie Mae To Winterize House In Foreclosure Despite Earlier Approved & Consummated Short Sale
Posted on October 28, 2009In Novi, Michigan, HometownLife.com reports:The Novi Police Department has identified two suspects believed to be responsible for the theft of nearly $4,000 worth of jewelry and other items from a home in the Dunbarton Pines subdivision. Novi Police Chief David Molloy said the men work for Moniya Inc, a company that conducts home winterization work...
"Deficiency Balance Paper" Traders Keep Sour Home Loans Alive; "Dracula Blood Suckers" May Haunt Foreclosed Homeowners, Short Sellers w/ Dormant Debt
Posted on October 27, 2009In South Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:Jeff Baum is at the forefront of a real estate industry trend that is sure to cause more pain for homeowners who thought they had left their troubles behind. Baum, a principal with Green Circle Capital Group in Boca Raton, brokers the sale of nonperforming residential debt between lenders and investors...
Watch Out For Local Notaries Providing Document-Running, Check Pick-Up Services For Out-Of-State Loan Modification Rackets
Posted on October 27, 2009A recent lawsuit filed by the Office of the Wisconsin Attorney General decribes how some out-of-state loan modification rackets allegedly use local notaries to get homeowners to sign up for foreclosure help and pocket upfront fees:Defendant [loan modification outfit] initiates transactions with Wisconsin consumers by telephone...
Mortgage Servicers' Loan Modification Screw-Ups Drive Homeowners To Court Seeking Redress
Posted on October 27, 2009The Wall Street Journal reports:Some struggling homeowners are turning to the courts in a bid to force mortgage servicers to consider them for the Obama administration's foreclosure-rescue program, arguing they are eligible for help but haven't received it...
Judge Stalls Foreclosure Sale Approval; Loan Servicer Failed To Stop Legal Action Despite Agreeing To Loan Modification, Says Homeowner
Posted on October 27, 2009In Port St. Lucie, Florida, TC Palm reports:A Port St. Lucie couple whose home was bought by their mortgage bank for $100 in a foreclosure action Oct. 9 has won at least a temporary reprieve. In a hearing Wednesday, Circuit Judge Burton Connor ordered a postponement of the final sale pending an evidentiary hearing in the case...
Lender Changes Mind About Backing Out Of Loan Modification Promise After Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Tells Media
Posted on October 27, 2009In Surprise, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:A Valley mom is thanking CBS 5 News for saving her home after her bank almost backed out of its loan modification agreement. Heather Caldwell's family was in big trouble, with their Surprise home in foreclosure...
NJ AG: Fugitive Pair Abused Trust In $600K+ Sale Proceeds Ripoff From Financially Unsophisticated Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
Posted on October 26, 2009In Trenton, New Jersey, The Trentonian reports:A pair of suspected frauds from Ewing charged with stealing $600,000 in a mortgage foreclosure scam that targeted poor people are fugitives of justice, New Jersey authorities said [last week] in calling on the public to turn in the pair...
Minnesota Feds: Sale Buyback Foreclosure Rescue Scam Leaves Unwitting Investors, Homeowners, Lenders With $2.5M+ In Losses
Posted on October 26, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:A Mound man who allegedly defrauded six Northwest Airlines pilots and a flight attendant out of $1.5 million in a real estate investment scheme has been indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, mail fraud and tax charges...
Florida AG: Foreclosure Rescue Operators Screwed Homeowners In Foreclosure Out Of $1.9M+ Using Bogus Sale Leasebacks Designed To Strip Home Equity
Posted on October 26, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] filed a lawsuit against a Miami-Dade County business, its owners and several straw buyers for their participation in an equity skimming scheme that victimized at least 20 South Florida homeowners...
Rhode Island Attorney: Entire Practice Now Devoted To Putting Heat On MERS By Challenging Its Legal Standing On Behalf Of Homeowners In Foreclosure
Posted on October 26, 2009In Providence, Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reports:A Providence lawyer, George E. Babcock, said his entire practice is now devoted to challenging the legal standing of a private mortgage registration service, the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc...
National Foreclosure Rescue Scam Awarness Campaign Kicks Off In Los Angeles
Posted on October 26, 2009In Los Angeles, California, Reuters reports:Sun Valley, a sun-baked and struggling corner of Los Angeles, is fertile ground for mortgage rescue scams with its high proportion of subprime borrowers, Spanish speakers and a sharp drop in home values. And it is one of the first places targeted in the homeowner education campaign launched on Monday by U...
Pair Charged With Torture Of Loan Modification Agents; Suspects Believed Victims Swindled Them Under Guise Of Offering Foreclosure Help, Says DA
Posted on October 26, 2009In Los Angeles, California, Reuters reports:As Los Angeles housing advocates launched a campaign warning of mortgage rescue scams, a couple hit by foreclosure are charged with torturing two loan-modification agents they suspected of fraud, authorities said on Monday...
Cleveland Legal Aid Leads Northeast Ohio Drive For More Pro Bono Attorneys
Posted on October 26, 2009In Northeast Ohio, The News Herald reports:The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is expected to see a 35 percent increase in demand this year from those who need fair and open access to the legal system but cannot afford an attorney. So for the first time, the American Bar Association is sponsoring a National Pro Bono Week Celebration to encourage more lawyers to give their services away for free to
Judge Slams Sloppy Lender Unable To Prove Note Ownership; Voids Debtor's $461K Home Loan; Docs Signed By Multiple Hat-Wearing VP Sinks Servicer, MERS
Posted on October 25, 2009In White Plains, New York, The New York Times reports:[B]anks and borrowers still do battle over foreclosures on an unlevel playing field that exists in far too many courtrooms. But some judges are starting to scrutinize the rules-don?t-matter methods used by lenders and their lawyers in the recent foreclosure wave...
Antics Of Multiple Corporate Hat-Wearing Vice Presidents Featured In Recent Research Paper
Posted on October 25, 2009Those facing foreclosure seeking a guide to looking up public records online in an attempt to detect possible forgeries, fabrications, and certain fraud contained in recorded, error-ridden mortgage and mortgage-related documents committed by multiple corporate hat wearing vice presidents (and their confederates) working for loan servicers and others may find a research paper recently posted on
Sacramento Feds Bust Up Massive Indoor Pot Farm Operation; Group Allegedly Used Mortgage Fraud To Finance 51 Grow Houses; Fifty Went Into Foreclosure
Posted on October 25, 2009In Northern California, The Sacramento Bee reports:Federal prosecutors announced 18 indictments Thursday in a pot cultivation and mortgage fraud scheme that purchased homes in Elk Grove and Sacramento and converted them into bustling "grow houses" for tens of thousands of marijuana plants...
Central Florida "Caregiving" Pair Convicted Of Duping Senior Out Of Title To Home Gets 10 Years For Grand Theft; Ordered To Return Ownership To Victim
Posted on October 25, 2009In New Port Richey, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:For four years, Eloise Mudway has waited for justice for the people who promised to be her caregivers but ended up mistreating her and stealing her home. On Thursday, the 92-year-old woman watched as a judge sent them to prison for 10 years...
Wisconsin AG Jumps Into Fray With Civil Charges Against Alleged Loan Modification Racket Currently Under FBI Probe, Targeted By Other States
Posted on October 25, 2009In Dane County, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:A California company offering to help distressed homeowners lower their mortgage payments has been sued by the Wisconsin attorney general's office for violating state law. In a civil complaint filed [...
Idaho Finance Regulator Targets Alleged Loan Mod Racket Accused Of Unlicensed Activity & Scamming Upfront Fees From Homeowners With C & D Order
Posted on October 25, 2009In Boise, Idaho, the Idaho Press Tribune reports:The Idaho Department of Finance announced [...] it issued a cease and desist order against a Meridian-based International Co-op LLC, a mortgage loan modification company, for engaging in unlicensed mortgage loan modification activities and for illegally charging distressed Idaho homeowners exorbitant upfront fees...
Tenants Face Boot From Building In Foreclosure; Water Service Shut Off, Power Next; Emergency Aid Unavailable Until Health Dept. Issues Vacate Order
Posted on October 24, 2009In Cincinnati, Ohio, WLWT-TV Channel 5 reports:Their water has been shut off, the electricity is next and it's all because of a landlord who stopped paying his bills. It's the latest example of how the foreclosure crisis is turning the lives of families upside down...
NYC Builder Behind On Bills Spells Trouble For Young Family In Newly-Built, Near-Empty Condominium Building In Foreclosure; Power Shutoff Threatened
Posted on October 24, 2009In Staten Island, New York, the Staten Island Advance reports:Dr. Kevin Schargen, his girlfriend, Melanie, and their 10-month-old son live in a pretty new apartment with a terrace, hardwood floors and a kitchen with granite countertops. But the doorman is gone and there is no janitor to call about the leak in the ceiling [ie...
Another Homeowner Says Loan Servicer Screw-Up Left Her Facing Foreclosure; Has Proof Payments Were Made, She Says; Media Helps Get Temporary Sale Stay
Posted on October 24, 2009In Fontana, California, KABC-TV Channel 7 reports:A Fontana woman faced the prospect of losing her home this week because of a mix up involving her loan payments. [... Abiaha] Brockman is in the middle of a mortgage mess. The Fontana home Abiaha bought 10 years ago is supposed to be sold this Friday as a foreclosure, even though Abiaha says she was making her house payments with automatic bill
California Mayor Accused In Alleged Real Estate Scam That Sunk Church
Posted on October 24, 2009In Huron, California, The Fresno Bee reports:Huron's longtime mayor allegedly paid less than half the agreed-upon price for a piece of property, then illegally sold the land to a church -- which ended up collapsing as a result of the bad deal, court records say...
Accused Scammers Boosted Real Estate Holdings By Ripping Off $270K+ From Vulnerable Seniors, Say Cops
Posted on October 24, 2009In two separate stories, police have recently arrested three caretakers for ripping off their vulnerable, elderly clients and applied much of the loot toward advancing their real estate holdings.Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania - Woman Charged with Stealing from the Elderly: A former worker at a nursing home in Schuylkill County is accused of stealing from the elderly...
Detroit Braces For Annual Halloween Arson Spree; 40K+ Recently-Emptied Foreclosed Homes Could Present Tempting Targets
Posted on October 24, 2009In Detroit, Michigan, ClaimsJournal.com reports:For the five years that the wood bungalow next door has been empty, Darlene Banks has kept an eye on it as Halloween approaches. She wasn't expecting anyone to burn it weeks sooner. But the dilapidated house on Detroit's east side went up in flames one weekend in early October, along with 10 other houses on six adjacent streets -- an apparent
Attorneys Begin Going Down In Ongoing California State Bar Loan Modification Probe; 700+ Investigations Active
Posted on October 23, 2009The State Bar of California announced this week:The State Bar?s loan modification task force announced [Wednesday] that it obtained the resignations of three California attorneys as a result of misconduct related to their loan modification activities...
Consumer Advocate: Mortgage Servicers Prefer More Profitable Foreclosures To Loan Modifications
Posted on October 23, 2009From a press release from the National Consumer Law Center:Why have several recent programs designed to encourage loan modifications failed to slow America?s still-worsening home mortgage foreclosure crisis? A new report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) discloses that mortgage servicers ? including many large banks ? have found it cheaper to foreclose on homeowners than to offer loan
Florida Condo Associations Begin Seeking Blanket Receiverships On Delinquent Vacant Units Not Yet In Foreclosure In Battle To Stay Financially Afloat
Posted on October 23, 2009In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Condo owners behind on maintenance fees, beware: Condo boards are becoming more aggressive in collecting delinquent fees. One board even wants to try an untested strategy -- forcing renters into empty units to pay off deadbeat accounts...
Suspect In Alleged N. Virginia Mortgage Scam Nabbed In Turkey; Lender Losses Estimated At $50M; Racket Used Rent-To-Own "Lure" To Reel In Naive Buyers
Posted on October 23, 2009In Loudon County, Virginia, the Loudoun Independent reports:Former Ashburn real estate agent Diane Atari was apprehended in Turkey on Oct. 14, ending a global search after she fled the country in July following a 12-count indictment against her. Atari was detained after local officials contacted INTERPOL for assistance...
GAO To Probe Foreclosing Lenders Leaving Abandoned Homes In Legal Limbo
Posted on October 23, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:Federal investigators will scrutinize the practice of lenders or mortgage companies walking away from homes they have foreclosed on. The U.S. Government Accountability Office plans to delve into these so-called bank walkaways - something some consider an alarming trend in the foreclosure crisis...
Walls Closing In On Beleaguered Owners Of 11,000 Unit NYC Apartment Complex As State High Court Hammers Landlord For Illegal Rent Increases
Posted on October 22, 2009In New York City, The New York Times reports:The state?s highest court dealt a financial blow on Thursday morning to the already beleaguered owners of the sprawling Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complexes in Manhattan when it ruled that they improperly began charging market rents on thousands of apartments...
Central Florida Chief Judge "Objects" To Foreclosure Defense Attorney's "Attempts" To Gum Up "Rocket Docket;" Jurist: "It's Just A Stall"
Posted on October 22, 2009In Central Florida, St. Petersburg Times' staff writer James Thorner blogs:A piece I wrote last week about Tampa Bay foreclosure defense attorney Mark Stopa [see Delaying foreclosure can lead to ethical 'heebie jeebies'] has attracted what could be unwanted attention from the top judge in Pinellas/Pasco County civil court...
More On MERS, Standing-Lacking Lenders & Their Multiple Corporate Hat-Wearing Vice Presidents
Posted on October 22, 2009In a recent story in CounterPunch on the problems the Wall Street mortgage securitization industry faces resulting from courts refusing to let foreclosure actions go forward, and changes in financial reporting requirements imposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, writer Pam Martens offers this description about one of the companies in the middle of this entire mess, (and everyone's
Federal Appeals Court Rules Favorably For Developers; Rejects Condo Purchasers' Attempt To Invoke Federal Law To Back Out Of Bad Deal
Posted on October 22, 2009In Miami, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:Bucking the Florida Supreme Court, a federal appellate panel waded into the battle between condo developers and buyers over the use of a consumer protection law to void contracts. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with developers in a Sept...
Loan Modification & Foreclosure Consulting Outfits Flout New Nevada Law Requiring Licensing & Bonding
Posted on October 22, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:Compliance with a new law aimed at regulating mortgage modification and foreclosure prevention, a runaway industry rife with scammers, is off to a slow start, causing concern for those on the front lines...
Insurers Begin Bailing On Homeowners As Chinese Drywall Complaints Start Clogging Claims Pipeline
Posted on October 22, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Associated Press reports:James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes...
Manhattan Feds: "Mortgage Stacking" Scam Pulled Off By Corrupt Title Agent
Posted on October 21, 2009In New York City, the Office of the U.S. Attorney recently announced criminal charges against 41 suspects in eight separate cases involving a variety of mortgage and real estate fraud. The allegations in one criminal complaint describe the conduct of one allegedly corrupt title agent:Poui Land acted as the title agent for many of the closings charged as part of this case, generating significant
CalPERS On The Hook For $600M In Failing NYC, Northern California "Predatory Equity" Real Estate Schemes Designed To Force Tenants From Their Homes?
Posted on October 21, 2009NewsBlaze reports:CalPERS(1) will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in predatory real estate investment schemes according to recent reports in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the San Jose Mercury News, and other publications. What has not been adequately reported is that these schemes are classic examples of what housing advocates call "predatory equity," overleveraged investments
NYC Man Charged With Making Deals To Sell Uptown Building He Didn't Own
Posted on October 21, 2009From the Office of the Manhattan District Attorney:Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced [...] the indictment of a realtor for conducting a real estate fraud scheme in which he struck several deals to sell a commercial building that he did not own...
Ohio Lawmaker Seeks To Strip Lenders Of Right To Foreclose On Abandoned Homes Forced Into Legal Limbo
Posted on October 21, 2009In Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports on the havoc being created by lenders and their loan servicers who, after initiating foreclosure actions, abandon the lawsuits after finding out the homes are abandoned and the cost of making repairs, paying delinquent real estate taxes, and paying off fines for code violations exceeds the property value...
Short Sales May Lead To Unintended Consequences For Home Seller
Posted on October 21, 2009A recent column in the Contra Costa Times offers this warning to underwater homeowners who are considering unloading their homes through a short sale:There can be real benefits to sellers in conducting a short sale. Sellers still need to be cautious when they're considering a short sale...
Manhattan Chief Federal Prosecutor To Mortgage & Foreclosure Rescue Scammers: "We Will Find You, Arrest You, & Send You To Jail!"
Posted on October 20, 2009In announcing the indictments last week of 41 suspects in connection with eight separate mortgage fraud indictments, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, issued this declaration of war against mortgage and foreclosure rescue scammers:"As the U...
California AG: "Loan Modification Upfront Fee Loophole Has Now Been Closed!" - Law Violators To Get Up To 1 Year In Jail; $50K In Fines Possible
Posted on October 20, 2009In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:Attorney General Jerry Brown said [...] he will go after companies that violate the state?s new ban on collecting an advance fee for helping someone avoid foreclosure. [...] Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger [last week] signed several bills meant to curb lending abuses, including SB 94, which prohibits anyone from taking an advance fee for
Oregon DOJ Task Force Begins Criminal Prosecutions Of Alleged Mortgage & Loan Modification Scammers; First Defendant Hit With $500K Bail
Posted on October 20, 2009In Marion County, Oregon, the Statesman Journal reports:A Salem mortgage broker has been charged with using clients' personal information to purchase two homes. Julian James Ruiz III, 38, of Keizer was arraigned [last week on 17 counts] of mortgage fraud, aggravated theft, forgery and identify theft...
Columnist To Florida Law Enforcement: Enough Already With The Civil Suit Probes; Start Criminally Prosecuting Foreclosure Rescue Scammers
Posted on October 20, 2009In Sarasota, Florida, a recent column by Tom Lyons in the Sarasota Herald Tribune calls for Florida law enforcement authorities to stop limiting their efforts in combatting foreclosure rescue scams to civil investigations, and begin bringing criminal prosecutions against the perpetrators:The average citizen is no expert in real estate law, and doesn't want to be...
Convicted C. Florida Scammer Charged w/ Using Phony Non-Profit To Make Bogus Loan Offers Designed To Swipe Home Equity From Those Facing Foreclosure
Posted on October 20, 2009In Tampa, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:Peter Porcelli, the telemarketing tycoon who poured part of his fortune into the former world champion Tampa Bay Smokers fast-pitch softball team, has been indicted on a mail fraud charge in connection with a mortgage foreclosure program...
NYC Feds Describe Short Sale Flipping Deals, Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Arrangements In Recent Indictment Of Ten Suspects
Posted on October 20, 2009In New York City, the Office of the U.S. Attorney recently announced criminal charges against 41 suspects in eight separate cases involving a variety of mortgage and real estate fraud. One case is described as follows:According to the Superseding Indictment, the defendants identified distressed properties that could be purchased at a low price, usually by targeting homeowners who had fallen
NYC Feds Bag 41 Suspects In Eight Separate Fraud Cases Involving Home Flipping, Short Sales, Foreclosure Rescue, Equity Stripping
Posted on October 19, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (New York City):PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York [and other Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials] announced [last week] the unsealing of charges against 41 defendants, in eight separate cases, for allegedly engaging in various mortgage fraud scams that collectively defrauded lenders out of more than
Arizona AG Obtains $580K Default Judgment Against Alleged Loan Modification Racket For Fleecing Homeowners Out Of Upfront Fees, Breaking Promises
Posted on October 19, 2009In a recent press release, the Office of the Arizona Attorney General announced the obtaining of a default judgment in a civil lawsuit it brought against a local foreclosure rescue operator who peddled loan modification arrangements to homeowners facing foreclosure, purportedly to help them avoid the loss of their homes...
Defunct Miami Loan Modification Outfit Faces Class Action Suit; Key Company Employee Bolts Florida & Resurfaces In Nevada With New Firm, Says Attorney
Posted on October 19, 2009In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:A Miami lawyer has filed a class-action suit in hopes of recovering millions of dollars paid by thousands of clients to a mortgage-rescue company. [...] On Thursday, Miami lawyer John H. Ruiz filed a class action suit in the Lincoln [Lending Services] case...
NYS Regulators Form Fraud Unit To Tackle Title Insurance Crimes; Will Target Corrupt Closing Agents, Real Estate Scam Artists
Posted on October 19, 2009From the Office of the New York State Insurance Department:Superintendent James J. Wrynn [last week] announced the formation of a special Mortgage and Title Unit to fight title insurance crimes committed by criminals attempting to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers, financial institutions and municipalities...
Fake Attorney Gets 7+ Years For $1.7M Escrow Ripoff In Conducting Real Estate Closings; Pocketed Funds Due To Existing Lienholders, Homeowners
Posted on October 19, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:A con man who passed himself off as an attorney was sentenced in federal district court yesterday to 7 1/2 years behind bars in connection with a scheme to bilk homeowners, lenders, title insurance companies and the city of Philadelphia of $1...
South Florida Title Agency Duo Charged With Looting $10M From Escrow Account; Cash Earmarked For Completing Real Estate Closings
Posted on October 19, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced four mortgage/real estate fraud indictments of 15 individuals in four separate cases, including the following:West Palm Beach Residents Charged with Looting Title Company?s Escrow AccountAccording to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in West Palm Beach, between July 2005 and May 2008, Roger C...
Massachusetts Attorney/Title Agent Cops Plea In "Mortgage Stacking" Scam; Pocketed $2M+ While Stiffing Existing Lienholders On Loan Payoffs
Posted on October 19, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office announced the guilty plea of a former Somerville real estate attorney [...] in connection with making false statements on mortgage applications and associated documents and using the funds secured from the loans for his own purposes, rather than paying off existing loans as directed by the new lenders.
New California Law Strips Escrow Control From Lenders Selling Foreclosed Homes; Allows Buyers To Choose Their Own Closing Agent
Posted on October 18, 2009In Sacramento, California, The Stockton Record reports:Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani's Buyer's Choice Act into law. The bill will allow buyers of foreclosed homes in the state to choose local escrow companies to handle their real estate transactions...
State Lawmakers Take Closer Look At Aggressive "Debt Buyer" Practices; NC Statute Takes "Produce The Note" Approach When Filing Collection Suits
Posted on October 18, 2009The Associated Press reports:With many Americans in dire financial straits, states are cracking down to make sure aggressive debt collectors target only people who legitimately owe them money. [...] Since the recession started, at least a half-dozen states have adopted additional limits, like imposing statutes of limitation on collections and adding opportunities to punish abusive practices in
Right To Counsel In Key Civil Cases Now Recognized In California; Levels Playing Field For Poor In Certain Housing, Other Litigation
Posted on October 18, 2009In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:California is embarking on an unprecedented civil court experiment to pay for attorneys to represent poor litigants who find themselves battling powerful adversaries in vital matters affecting their livelihoods and families...
Media Intervention Gets Loan Servicer To Cancel Foreclosure Sale Triggered By Its Own 7-Cent Error In Loan Modification Agreement
Posted on October 18, 2009The Associated Press reports:Towana Gooch, a single mom who lives with her 10-year old daughter, was on the verge of losing her town house in suburban Maryland after her mortgage lender kicked her out of a government loan modification program. The problem, she says she was notified, was a 7-cent error...
South Florida Couple Files Suit Against Lender, Saying B of A Welched On Loan Modification Agreement
Posted on October 18, 2009In Broward County, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Weston attorney Kraig Weiss and his wife, Ana, are living what they call a "loan modification horror story." Earlier this year, the Weisses agreed to a loan modification with Bank of America, only to have the bank take the offer back...
Loan Servicer Confusion On Loan Modification Leaves Central Florida Homeowner Under Threat Of Foreclosure
Posted on October 18, 2009In St. Petersburg, Florida, News Channel 8 reports:Tricia Brady thought she was one of the fortunate homeowners to have her mortgage modified under the federal government's Making Home Affordable program. But, it turns out, she isn't so lucky.Back in March, when the Making Home Affordable plan was announced, Brady contacted her mortgage company, EMC, to check into getting a loan modification...
Special Forces Iraq Vet Returns Home To Find Delinquent Mortgage On His Free & Clear House; Friend Accused Of Using POA To Drain Equity From Property
Posted on October 17, 2009In Mount Clemens, Michigan, C & G Newspapers reports:When Kevin Robertson, a sergeant with the Army?s Special Forces, returned from this third tour of duty in Iraq in May 2007, he was astounded to find that many of his financial dealings were out of whack...
Wisconsin Woman Charged With Ripping Off Dad Of $91K+; Used POA To Pocket Mortgage Money From Father's Home, Get Credit Cards
Posted on October 17, 2009In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, WQOW-TV Channel 18 reports:An Eau Claire woman is accused of stealing more than $91,000 from her dad as his power of attorney. Jill Peterson is charged with four counts of identity theft and forgery. According to the criminal complaint, Peterson told her father that she lost most of the money gambling...
Man Charged With Abusing POA, Looting $122K From Elderly Mom's Bank Accounts; 82-Year Old Woman Left With Big Nursing Bill & No Funds To Pay For Care
Posted on October 17, 2009In Daytona Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:A man who had power of attorney over his mother's affairs faces a felony exploitation charge after police said he emptied her bank accounts of $122,722. William Frank Kunselman Jr., 62, was arrested [...
Buyer Of Foreclosed House Ignores Existing Lease; Seeks To Immediately Boot Family From Home, Says Tenant
Posted on October 17, 2009In Bakersfield, California, KERO-TV Channel 23 reports:A southwest Bakersfield family renting a foreclosed home claims the new owner is unfairly trying to kick them out just four days after he bought the home. Earlier this month, Anthony Moore received notice the home he and his family had been renting for the past four years was foreclosed and would be up for sale at an auction...
Overleveraged NYC Apartment Buildings Leave Tenants In Tens Of Thousands Of Units Threatened With Consequences Of Foreclosure
Posted on October 17, 2009In New York City, National Public Radio reports:Ever since it was purchased in 2007, tenants of the hulking old apartment building on University Avenue in the Bronx have endured cockroaches, leaking pipes, electricity outages and myriad other deprivations and indignities...
The Broken Gavel Awards
Posted on October 17, 2009Incorrigibles and other assorted knuckleheads seem to infiltrate all fields and occupations. A recent column in The Southeast Texas Record serves as a reminder that the judiciary is no less immune to such infiltration.Whether its lying to investigators investigating sexual misconduct allegations, soliciting sexual favors in return for leniency, transporting prostitutes across state lines, tax
Psychiatric Patient Dodges Prosecution In Alleged Contract For Deed Scam; Court Officials Say Man Lacks Mental Capacity To Commit Crime
Posted on October 16, 2009In Cloquet, Minnesota, KQDS-TV Channel 21 reports:By midnight Tuesday, a Cloquet man must be out of his home, which he thought he partially owned. Mike Bond made monthly payments on the house since May 2008, then found out through an eviction notice he had been paying an alleged con artist...
Mass. AG Settles With Straw Buyer In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Scam That Used Sale Leaseback Deals To Rip Off Equity From Strapped Homeowners
Posted on October 16, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, the Worcester Business Journal reports:Attorney General Martha Coakley's office has reached a settlement with Neville Francis, one of 18 defendants accused of taking part in a wide-ranging foreclosure scam.(1) Per a consent judgment, Francis will pay $5,000 in restitution and $1,500 in attorneys' fees and costs...
California Tenant Advocacy Group In Forefront In Fight Against Banks, Real Estate Agents Attempting To Illegally Oust Tenants From Foreclosed Homes
Posted on October 16, 2009In Sacramento, California, NewsBlaze reports:Backed by Tenants Together, California's statewide tenant rights organization, tenants in Sacramento have fought off local realtors and a bank that tried to illegally trick them into moving out of their home after it was foreclosed...
Porn Flick Operator Caused Rent Losses Of $100K/Month, Throwing $25M+ In Real Estate Into Foreclosure, Says South Florida Landlord In Lawsuit
Posted on October 16, 2009In Miami, Florida, Courthouse News Service reports:A South Florida landlord claims he was ruined by pornographic film-makers who rented his house to make a golf-themed porn flick. Raul Quintana says he never would have rented his house to Bangbros.com if he'd known they were going to use it to shoot "Sexing Golfing Experience...
Another HELOC Headache
Posted on October 16, 2009A column in The Philadelphia Inquirer recounts the story of a Swarthmore, Pennsylvania homeowner who suddenly had his home equity line of credit frozen by his lender after an apparent screw-up regarding the bank's request that he provide them with an IRS Form 4506T...
Could Recent Land Court Ruling Impact Title To Any Massachusetts Home Foreclosed Upon In Last 20 Years?
Posted on October 15, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reports on the recent Massachusetts Land Court ruling that threatens to undo thousands of foreclosures in the state:Experts say the ruling paves the way for thousands of people who?ve lost houses to foreclosure to challenge their homes? seizures...
MD AG Wins "Rescue" Scam Civil Suit; Settles w/ Lenders Who Financed Bogus Sale Leasebacks, Saves Homes For Some, Clips Closing Agent For $100K
Posted on October 01, 2009In Baltimore, Maryland, The Real Estate Wonk Blog in The Baltimore Sun reports:Stop me if you've heard this one before: Borrower needs help. Borrower goes to foreclosure-rescue business to get help. Borrower signs documents to get or start the process of getting the mortgage refinanced, only to discover later that the foreclosure-rescue specialists were really getting the home signed over to them
Include Arkansas Supreme Court On List Of Legal Authorities Having A Problem With MERS' Business Model
Posted on October 01, 2009Attorney Kathleen E. Kraft, with the Washington, D.C. law firm Thompson Coburn LLP, writes:On March 19, 2009, the Supreme Court of Arkansas determined that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (?MERS?) was not a necessary party to a foreclosure action involving the foreclosure of a junior mortgage, where MERS was not the true beneficiary of the senior deed of trust nor was specifically
Cops: Wife Used Improperly Notarized POA In Sale Leaseback Of Home Without Hubby's Consent; Subsequent Use Of "Rubber" Rent Checks Gets Them The Boot
Posted on October 01, 2009In Bantam, Connecticut, The Register News reports:A Bethlehem woman is facing criminal charges for allegedly selling her marital home without her husband?s knowledge. Shelley Ciriello, 55, [...] is scheduled to appear in Bantam Superior Court Oct. 5.***Ciriello reportedly sold the house to Lurlyn Seigler of Boston, Mass...
Stranger Pays Back Taxes On Nursing Home-Bound 92-Year Old Alzheimers Patient's Vacant House, Then Rents It Out In Attempt To Lay Claim To Property
Posted on October 01, 2009In Boise, Idaho, the Idaho Statesman reports:On May 16, 2007, David Foldesi walked into the Ada County Courthouse and paid $8,875.62 in delinquent property taxes on [92-year old Marcella] Boylan's house. Both Boylan and her husband, Dudley, who died in 2005, had faced serious health problems - and the costs added up...
FBI Probe Forces Shutdown Of Loan Modification Racket?
Posted on October 01, 2009ProPublica earlier this week published a follow-up to a story (see Why Authorities Haven?t Stopped the Foreclosure ?Rescue? Boom) which focused on the antics of one loan modification outfit, Southern California-based 21st Century Legal Services (also known as Fidelity National Legal Services):As we reported, four states obtained court injunctions barring the company from operating there, but
Indiana Cop Cops Plea To Ripping Off Now-Deceased 89-Year Old Alzheimer's Victim Of Home, Cash
Posted on September 30, 2009In Gary, Indiana, the Post Tribune reports:Gary police Sgt. Joshua Wiley admitted he stole money and a home from his former neighbor who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia and has agreed to repay $116,765 to the woman's estate. On the day his jury trial was scheduled to begin, Wiley pleaded guilty [...
Ontario Man Admits To Defrauding Elderly Parents; Looted Bank Account, Used Forged POA To Pilfer Profits From Sale Of Home
Posted on September 30, 2009In Peterborough, Ontario, The Peterborough Examiner reports:A 44-year-old man pleaded guilty [...] to defrauding his parents of about $140,000 in a series of crimes that involved forging a power of attorney, selling his parents' home behind their back and racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt in his father's name...
Sacramento Feds Bag Two In Alleged Mortgage Scam Targeting Cambodian Immigrants; Home Buyers Left With Unaffordable House Payments, Facing Foreclosure
Posted on September 30, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Sacramento, California):United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced [...] that a criminal complaint was filed this morning charging IRENE SOTIRIADIS, 23, and HELEN SOTIRIADIS, 49, both of Manteca, with conducting a mortgage fraud scheme from March 2006 through November 2007 that caused losses to lenders estimated at approximately $5 million...
Scammer Stripped Of House & Vehicle, Gets 36 Months; Abused POA In $250K+ Ripoff Of Dementia-Suffering Senior
Posted on September 30, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Covington, Kentucky):The United States Attorney?s Office and the Postal Inspection Service jointly announced [...] that a Ludlow, Ky. man was sentenced yesterday to 36 months in prison for financially exploiting a wealthy elderly woman out of more than $250,000...
Blanket Receiverships Coming To Florida's Treasure Coast?
Posted on September 30, 2009In Stuart, Florida, TC Palm reports on another financially strapped condominium association being screwed over by rent skimming, deadbeat landlords who are pocketing rents paid to them by their tenants and refusing to pay the monthly maintenance fees for their units:The Whitemarsh Reserve Homeowner?s Association in Martin County is now facing this grim scenario with some of its owners, who are
Struggling SW Florida Condominium Association Seeks Blanket Receivership Appointment In Effort To Stay Afloat
Posted on September 30, 2009In Naples, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:Some renters and foreclosed-on squatters at South Bay Plantation in East Naples may soon find red stickers on their front doors, warning that a receiver has been appointed for the struggling property and they have 48 hours to call...
Mass AG Obtains Indictments Against Foreclosure Rescue Operators Alleging Equity Stripping Ripoffs That Defrauded Homeowners, Banks, Investors
Posted on September 29, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office announces that a Worcester County Grand Jury returned indictments [...] against an Oxford man, a real estate lawyer, a real estate paralegal and a notary public for their roles in a complex scheme in which fraudulent documents were used to defraud homeowners and mortgage lenders in numerous real estate
Connecticut Law Now Bans Upfront Fees, Requires Licensing & Bonding When Offering Loan Modification Services; Maximum Mod Fee Limited To $500
Posted on September 29, 2009In Hartford, Connecticut, The Day reports:For the first time in Connecticut, firms and individuals offering debt relief they negotiate with a consumer's creditors will need to be licensed and will be prohibited from charging upfront fees.(1) A new law that goes into effect Thursday is designed to stop a growing number of scams by so-called ?debt negotiators? who fraudulently claim to help
Florida Bar To Consider Review Process For Ethics Breaches By Attorneys Bringing Foreclosure Actions Filed w/ Errors, False Statements
Posted on September 29, 2009The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:The state group that disciplines lawyers is debating how to deal with reports of attorneys using errors and false statements to retake property in foreclosure cases.(1) [...] A section of The Florida Bar that seeks to give everyone equal access to the courts says stories like those prompted it to push for a special committee to review any ethical violations in
New Jersey Landlord Beats Back RICO Suit Charge That Renting To Illegal Immigrants Constitutes "Harboring"
Posted on September 29, 2009In Plainfield, New Jersey, myCentralJersey.com reports:A federal judge has denied an appeal of an earlier decision to dismiss part of a landmark lawsuit that challenged the rights of landlords to rent apartments to illegal immigrants. The suit, brought last July against the city-based Connolly Properties Inc...
Effort To Reign In Loan Modification Rackets "A Giant Game Of Whack-A-Mole"?
Posted on September 28, 2009Pro Publica reports on the difficulties authorities around the country are having reigning in loan modification rackets, and shines light on one firm that continues peddling its services, despite a flood of homeowner complaints and a number of legal actions brought by various state authorities:In a giant game of whack-a-mole, law enforcement agencies at all levels across the country have filed
Just Showing Up Buys Financially Troubled Homeowners Three Extra Months On Sarasota's Foreclosure "Rocket Docket"
Posted on September 28, 2009In Sarasota County, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Florida "rocket dockets" have earned the reputation as a cold, heartless place where a lender can retake someone's home in less than two minutes. And in most cases, that's true: The judge orders the house sold in 30 days in a rapid-fire proceeding designed to speed through thousands of uncontested foreclosures clogging the court
A Cautionary Tale On Assumed Mortgages
Posted on September 28, 2009Ever wonder what the risks are of selling your home in a deal that allows the buyer to take over the payments on your existing mortgage?A Philadelphia Inquirer opinion columnist and editorial page editor recently detailed a personal situation involving a mortgage he had on a home that he sold back in 1994 that came back to bite him some 15 years later...
Oregon AG Indicts Mtg Broker/Loan Modification Firm Owner For Allegedly Cheating Homeowners In Foreclosure; Aggravated Theft, Forgery Among Charges
Posted on September 28, 2009From the Oregon Department of Justice:Attorney General John Kroger [...] announced the indictment of a Salem mortgage broker on charges of mortgage fraud, aggravated theft, forgery and identity theft. It is is the first indictment by the Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Task Force...
Kansas Supreme Court Ruling Unfavorable To MERS Getting National Attention?
Posted on September 27, 2009In Topeka, Kansas, The Lawrence Journal World reports:Some are touting a recent Kansas Supreme Court decision as a major development in the protection of people facing foreclosures. In Landmark National Bank v. Kesler, the court ruled unanimously that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems had no standing to bring action in a foreclosure case...
NY Times On MERS' Ruling From The Kansas Supreme Court
Posted on September 27, 2009The New York Times reports:WITH the mortgage bust approaching Year Three, it is increasingly up to the nation?s courts to examine the dubious practices that guided the mania. A ruling that the Kansas Supreme Court issued last month(1) has done precisely that, and it has significant implications for both the mortgage industry and troubled borrowers...
N. Virginia Code Enforcement Investigators Stumble Into Massive Straw Buyer Scam That Leads Feds To Bag 20 Suspects; As Many As 200 Homes Involved
Posted on September 27, 2009In Fairfax County, Virginia, the Daily Press reports:Mundane complaints about noise and parking problems in a Washington suburb led authorities to uncover a sweeping mortgage fraud scheme involving as many as 200 properties valued at more than $100 million, officials announced Thursday...
Minnesota AG Targets Three Outfits In Civil Suits Alleging Upfront Fee Rackets Promising Help With Credit Card Debt
Posted on September 27, 2009From the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General:Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson [...] filed three lawsuits against separate companies that promised consumers they would lower the interest rates on their credit cards in exchange for payments of up to $1,995 but then failed to provide the promised services...
Justice Department Obtains Guilty Pleas In Cross Burning Incidents; Race-Based Harassment, Intimidation Used To Drive Families From Homes, Say Feds
Posted on September 27, 2009In two separate incidents, the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced:.#1: Two Indiana Men Plead Guilty to Cross Burning:Richard LaShure, 41, and Aaron Latham, 20, both of Muncie, Ind., pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights of an African American family and to interfering with their housing rights by burning a cross in the family?s yard...
Cops Let Would-Be Foreclosure Stripper Off Hook; Pleads Ignorance Of The Law, Agrees To Stop, Refunds Money On Sale Of Cabinets, Yanks Craigslist Ad
Posted on September 26, 2009In Medford, Oregon, the Mail Tribune reports:Mike Vaughan was surprised when an elderly couple was willing to pay $60 for some old kitchen cabinets from an east Medford home that is heading into foreclosure. The couple had seen an ad the 30-year-old Vaughan posted on Craigslist Wednesday that offered to sell almost every fixture in the house on Cedar Links Circle ? including the kitchen sink.
S. Florida Squatters Expand Housing Search Into High-End Neighborhoods; Family Hijacks Foreclosed Waterfront Home; Lender's Agent Caught Flat-Footed
Posted on September 26, 2009In Coral Gables, Florida, WTVJ-TV Channel 6 reports:Miami's squatter problem has garnered national media attention over the past year and a half, as the foreclosure crisis threatened to transform the Magic City into something resembling a lawless, "Mad Max"-esque landscape...
Water Shutoff Threats Face Tenants In Financially Troubled Apartment Buildings; Notices Sent To Central Jersey Renters In 70 Units
Posted on September 26, 2009In Plainfield, New Jersey, myCentralJersey.com reports:Notices informing tenants that their water service could be shut off in less than three weeks appeared Monday at two downtown apartment buildings managed by Connolly Properties Inc., but a company spokesman said that residents there shouldn't be concerned...
Landlord's Unpaid $100K Electric Bill Leaves Building's Tenants In The Dark, Without Refrigerators, Elevators
Posted on September 26, 2009In Highland Park, Michigan, WJBK-TV Channel 2 reports:Residents of the Highland Towers apartments say they've paid their rent, but they're being left in the dark. It's been more than a week since power to the building was shut off. DTE Energy admits it is a horrible situation, but they say the owners of the building owe $100,000 in unpaid bills...
Another Tenant In Building In Foreclosure Faces Immediate Boot Due To Landlord's Unpaid Water Bill
Posted on September 26, 2009In Visalia, California, the Visalia Times Delta reports:By April, [Tracy Wood] and a friend were able to save enough money for the security deposit on a two-bedroom apartment. The deposit was steep more than $2,000 but the $675-a-month rent was just the right price...
Foreclosure Stripping Alive & Well In Chicago Suburbs
Posted on September 26, 2009In suburban Chicago, Illinois, SouthtownStar reports:Now appearing in the Southland: the amazing disappearing kitchen! It's not magic, though. It's homeowners leaving their foreclosed houses bare, stripping and selling everything they can to pay bills or stick it to the bank that's giving them the boot...
Foreclosure Stripping Among Charges Landing Oregon Man 45 Months In Jail; Ukrainian National May Now Face Deportation
Posted on September 26, 2009In Clackamas County, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:The Damascus man who stripped his own foreclosed home of more than $50,000 worth of property was sentenced [...] to 3 years and 9 months of prison, as part of a plea bargain that included the defrauding of an electric company...
Owner In Foreclosure Loses Personal Possessions; Contents Seized & Auctioned Off As Alleged Drug Dealer Holding 3rd Mortgage Moves Into $2M+ Home
Posted on September 26, 2009In Vancouver, British Columbia, The Vancouver Sun reports:The owner of a Shaughnessy heritage home was in tears after learning that all her worldly possessions had been seized by a bailiff and sold at auction. Gail Hewitt is also angry that the man who has taken possession of her $2-million-plus home is an accused drug dealer, Robert Luigi Poloni...
Lender's Rep Stumbles Into Indoor Pot Farm While Changing Locks At Home In Foreclosure; Cops "Bag" 60 Marijuana Plants, One Suspect
Posted on September 26, 2009In Vero Beach, Florida, TC Palm reports:Authorities on Thursday discovered a home going into foreclosure was being used as a marijuana grow house. Eric Sotero Martinez, 26, [...] was charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute...
Accused Squatter Family Claims To Be Legal Tenant; Refuses To Show Lease, Won't Pay Rent Or Leave Foreclosed $1.5M Home
Posted on September 26, 2009In Manhattan Beach, California, the Daily Breeze reports:The buyer of a foreclosed Manhattan Beach house last owned by a former Los Angeles Clipper is suing the occupants, alleging they are refusing to leave the once $2.7 million residence or pay rent...
Slumbering Foreclosing Lenders Unable To Document Loan Ownership Beginning To Face Complete Wipeout Of Mortgage Interests Thru "Quiet Title" Actions?
Posted on September 25, 2009A recent story in The Huffington Post on the "Produce The Note" strategy of defending against foreclosure actions contained the following tidbit:In Florida, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid attorney April Charney has been using the missing-note argument since she first identified the lenders' weakness in 2004...
Mortgage Servicer Sued For Wrongful Death For Allegedly Making Caustic Collection Calls That Lead To Delinquent Homeowner's Fatal Heart Attack
Posted on September 25, 2009In Tampa, Florida, The Associated Press reports:A widow claims that debt collectors hounded her husband to death with as many as nine caustic calls per day, causing stress that contributed to his fatal heart attack. She's suing the Florida couple's mortgage company in a unique wrongful death case...
Veteran Fraudster Gets 97 Months For Running Realty Scams; Bogus Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Deals Among Rackets Resulting In $1M+ In Losses
Posted on September 25, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (New Jersey):A Phoenixville, Pa., man was sentenced to 97 months in prison [...] for his leadership role in operating two Ponzi schemes upon members of a Toms River church, which resulted in total losses of more than $1 million, Acting U...
Title Agent Cops Plea To Illegally Dipping Into Escrow Funds From Real Estate Closings; "Katrina" Credited For Slamming Brakes On Ponzi-Style Scam
Posted on September 25, 2009In New Orleans, Louisiana, the Times Picayune reports:A 68-year-old Metairie man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to wire fraud for his role in a local refinancing scheme, authorities said. Hubert Edward Ellzey Jr. acknowledged that, as an independent title agent for Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company of Louisiana, he wired money from the refinanced properties to a special escrow
Title Agent Admits To Stiffing Existing Lienholders In Real Estate Closings; Pocketed Cash Due Lenders, Wrote & Sold Phony Secured Notes, Kited Checks
Posted on September 25, 2009From the Office of the FBI (Louisville, Kentucky):Candace Hill, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, announced that Wavy Curtis Shain, age 26, of Louisville, Kentucky, pled guilty on September 18, 2009, to nine counts of wire fraud, and one count of bank fraud...
Lender Knowingly Wrote Millions Of Dollars In Crappy Loans, Abandoning Prudent Underwriting Standards, Says Mortgage Insurer In Lawsuit
Posted on September 25, 2009In Los Angeles, California, Courthouse News Service reports:MBIA Insurance Corp. says IndyMac Bank knowingly loaned millions of dollars to borrowers who could not afford to repay the loans, leaving the stock insurance company to pay out more than $487 million on its guarantees with an expected $566 million more to come, MBIA claims in Superior Court...
Ringleader In Cash Back Mortgage Scam Gets 30 Years; Used Phony Repair Invoices, Shell Corporations To Skim $1.1M From Closing Proceeds On 34 Homes
Posted on September 25, 2009In Denver, Colorado, The Denver Post reports:The ringleader of a multimillion-dollar mortgage-fraud ring was sentenced [...] to 30 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Uto Essien, 45, a Nigerian national, will be deported after completing his sentence...
Some In Congress Seek To Make "Produce The Note" Strategy Mandatory To Level Playing Field In Defending Against Sloppy Foreclosing Lenders, Servicers
Posted on September 24, 2009The Huffington Post reports:Modern-day home mortgages have been so sliced and diced by rapacious financiers that some homeowners are successfully delaying -- or even blocking -- foreclosures through the simple tactic of demanding that banks produce the original mortgage note, which amazingly enough is often not so easy for them to do...
Conn. AG Puts Kibosh On Shaky "Option To Buy" Obtained By Pair From Hospitalized Dying Woman; Deal Would Have Allowed Purchase For Less Than 50% FMV
Posted on September 24, 2009From the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General:Attorney General Richard Blumenthal [...] announced that his office has successfully challenged a questionable agreement to sell the home of a deceased Greenwich woman, securing at least $300,000 more for charities named in the woman's will...
LA Man Charged With Stealing, Flipping House; Girlfriend Accused Of Notarizing Falsified Documents Used In Deed Theft
Posted on September 24, 2009In El Monte, California, KTTV-TV Channel 11 reports:A Los Angeles city firefighter who works as a part-time real estate broker and his ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty [...] in connection with an alleged real estate scam. Brent Lamont Mathews, 43, is charged with six counts of forgery, three counts of attempt to file a false or forged instrument and two counts of grand theft, according to the Los
Minnesota Man Dodges Add'l Jail Time For Swindling Dying Mom; Pocketing Proceeds Of Home That Subsequently Fell Into Foreclosure Among Bad Acts
Posted on September 24, 2009In Duluth, Minnesota, the Duluth News Tribune reports:A Twin Cities man has been sentenced to time served and nearly $10,000 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to swindling his dying mother in Duluth, including draining her bank accounts of more than $170,000...
Mortgage Broker Charged With Using I.D. Stolen From Customers To Buy Two Homes That Have Since Gone Into Foreclosure
Posted on September 24, 2009In Marion County, Oregon, KTVZ-TV Channel 21 reports:Salem police arrested a mortgage broker accused of stealing personal information to buy houses - one during the height of the housing bubble and the other after it popped. Lt. Steve Birr says 38-year-old Julian Ruiz of Keizer financed a $376,000 home in 2006 by using stolen personal information from a customer...
Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Programs Get Low Grades From National Consumer Advocacy Group
Posted on September 24, 2009From a press release from the National Consumer Law Center:A spate of new state and local programs that have emerged over the last year requiring mediations or conferences before foreclosures sales take place have great potential to help homeowners, but are suffering from the same lack of industry accountability that has plagued voluntary federal mortgage modification programs, according to a
Ex-Real Estate Agent Faces Forgery, Theft Charges For Use Of Fraudulent HUD-1s To Dupe Lenders Into Giving 100% Financing To Same Buyer For 6 Homes
Posted on September 24, 2009In Weld County, Colorado, The Greeley Tribune reports:A former Greeley Realtor whose license was yanked last year faces 12 felony charges in Weld District Court upon a grand jury indictment. The Weld County Sheriff's Office has a warrant out for the arrest of Tracy Todd, 35, of Greeley...
Mortgage Servicers Drifting Into Upfront Fee Loan Modification Scam Racket??? Media Intervention Helps Undo Screwing Over Of Two Arizona Homeowners
Posted on September 23, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:Many homeowners say their banks won't call them back regarding a loan modification; however, some homeowners are paying hundreds of dollars for a loan modification only to have the bank foreclose on them...
Loan Officer Gets 37 Months For Role In Maryland Foreclosure Rescue Equity Stripping Scam Peddling Bogus Sale Leaseback Deals To Desperate Homeowners
Posted on September 23, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Winston Thomas, age 43, of New Carrollton, Maryland today to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for failure to file federal tax returns and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which he and his conspirators offered to help financially
Connecticut AG: Foreclosures Might Be Void Where Unauthorized Process Servers Are Used To Deliver Legal Papers To Delinquent Homeowners
Posted on September 23, 2009In Hartford, Connecticut, The Hartford Courant recently reported on state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal slamming some state marshals for charging inflated fees when engaged in process serving in foreclosure actions. Another issue of concern raised by the AG was whether non-marshals were being subcontracted out to deliver the legal papers on the delinquent homeowners...
Arizona Couple Seeks Loan Modification; Lender Responds By Freezing Funds In Checking, Savings Accounts
Posted on September 23, 2009In Scottsdale, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:A Scottsdale couple who asked for a loan modification and then got behind on their payments recently got a rude surprise. Roger and Staci Schneider went to their bank, the Desert Schools Credit Union, on Thursday to make a withdrawal...
Loan Servicer Drags Feet On "Deed In Lieu" Offer By Delinquent Borrower; Home Sits Vacant For A Year Before Title Finally Passes In Foreclosure Sale
Posted on September 23, 2009In Hopkins, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:Bob Lerner knew he couldn't afford the mortgage payments on his family's home in Hopkins. So in January, Lerner told the bank: The house is yours. Eight months later, Lerner is still wondering why the bank wouldn't take it...
Mortgage Servicer Threatens Foreclosure, Initiates Debt Collection Proceedings Despite Valid Loan Mod Being In Effect, Says Ohio Homeowner In Lawsuit
Posted on September 23, 2009In Hamilton County, Ohio, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:Carolyn S. Cable thought she had worked out a deal with her mortgage company to save her home from foreclosure after she had multiple brain surgeries and suffered a stroke that made her unable to work...
Final Conspirator In Maryland Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam Gets 46 Months
Posted on September 23, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Cheryl Brooke, age 52, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland [...] to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which she and her conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from
Minister, Wife Charged Of Duping Elderly Man Into Signing Over Home; Subsequent Refinancing, Failure To Make Payments Leave House In Foreclosure
Posted on September 22, 2009In Ventura, California, the Ventura County Star reports:The pastor of the Solid Rock Christian Center in Ventura and his wife were arrested Thursday for allegedly duping an elderly man into signing over the deed to his home. Alonzo Gene McCowan, commonly known as the Rev...
Conn. AG Slams State Marshals For Double Billing When Process Serving In Foreclosures; Practice Coincided With Possible Attorney Kickback Arrangement
Posted on September 22, 2009In Hartford, Connecticut, The Hartford Courant reports:Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in a sweeping action against some of the highest-earning state marshals, has concluded that a handful of marshals broke the law when they double-billed for the delivery of papers in foreclosure actions...
Jury Finds Central Florida Couple Guilty Of Grand Theft For Tricking Elderly Widow Into Signing Away Title To Her Home
Posted on September 22, 2009In New Port Richey, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:To Cynthia and Joseph Clancy, it wasn't enough to spend Eloise Mudway's savings, take her home and isolate the elderly widow from her friends. Mudway didn't die fast enough for the couple, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told jurors on Monday...
Attorney/Ex-Georgia Lawmaker Gets Six Years In Sale Of Forged Title Insurance Policies To Unwitting Homebuyers; 180 Files Involved, Says Underwriter
Posted on September 22, 2009In Carroll County, Georgia, the Times Georgian reports:A Carroll County attorney was sentenced [last week] to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 57 counts of theft by taking and forgery. Charles A. Thomas Jr., who at one time represented the city of Temple and the Carroll County Board of Education and formerly served in the Georgia House of Representatives, had been under
Use Of "Blanket Receivership" By Florida Condo Associations In Struggle To Stay Afloat Continues; Rent Skimming, Deadbeat Landlords Left Furious
Posted on September 22, 2009In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:Each month, Judd Tyler, the president of his townhome association, discovers his community doesn't have enough money to pay all of its bills.(1) So the townhome board took action. It is among the first in the area to obtain a court order to force delinquent landlords to turn over rent payments to them...
200 Families In C. Florida Condo Complex Temporarily Dodge The Boot As Association Coughs Up $10K For Unpaid Water Bill; Most Units Face Foreclosure
Posted on September 22, 2009In Kissimmee, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:The water was still flowing Monday afternoon for nearly 200 families in a Kissimmee condo complex. Toho Water Authority put up a giant lighted sign in the Cascades condo complex last week, warning residents their water would be turned off at noon on Monday because of a $50,000 unpaid water bill...
City Turns On Spigot For Tenants In Home In Foreclosure; Landlord Bolts After Skimming Rent & Stiffing Bank, Leaving Unpaid Water Bills Behind
Posted on September 22, 2009In Grand Rapids, Michigan, WOOD-TV Channel 8 reports:An apartment building left dry for five days after the landlord failed to pay the water bill has water again. A city water employee turned the valve near the curb just after 1 p.m. [Friday]. "Thank you...
Calif. Bar Official: "The Number Of Attorneys Using Their Law Licenses To Essentially Take Money From Unwary But Trusting Consumers Is Astounding!"
Posted on September 21, 2009From a recent press release from The State Bar of California:The State Bar of California, alarmed by the number of lawyers preying on vulnerable homeowners, [last week] identified 16 attorneys who are under investigation for misconduct related to loan modification...
Lack Of Resources, Capabilities, Knowledge Or Manpower Doesn't Stop Some Operators From Pocketing Upfront Fees For Bogus Loan Modification Services
Posted on September 21, 2009ABC News reports:The housing crisis has left millions of homeowners desperately trying to avoid foreclosure, but their plight is only made worse by schemers who promise help but instead seek only to scam. Now the Obama administration is highlighting its multi-agency effort to stop these scams...
Nevada AG Calls For More Criminal Prosecutions & Jail Time For Loan Modification Scammers
Posted on September 21, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:Nevada ranks number one in the nation for mortgage modification scams. Most of the resources in the Nevada Attorney General's Office have been dedicated to tracking down and prosecuting fraudulent loan modification companies...
Michigan AG Criminal Prosecution Yields Guilty Pleas From Three Outfits For Bogus Loan Modification Services
Posted on September 21, 2009In Lansing, Michigan, The Bay City Times reports:Victims of foreclosure fraud schemes by three Michigan companies will be able to receive refunds, state Attorney General Mike Cox announced [...]. SaveMyHome USA, Payment Doctors and the Michigan Economic Reinstatement Program each pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Michigan Credit Services Protection Act, Cox said in a press
Long Island-Based Loan Modification Firm Faces Attack From Both NY AG & Homeowner Class Action Suit For Allegedly Peddling Bogus Foreclosure Help
Posted on September 21, 2009In New York City, Fox 5 News recently ran a story on Amerimod, a Long Island-based loan modification operator whose activities have prompted a lawsuit in August by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, as well as a class-action lawsuit by homeowners in July...
Obama Administration Meets With 12 State AGs In Effort To Squash Foreclosure Rescue Scams; FTC Considers Nationwide Ban On Upfront Fees For Loan Help
Posted on September 20, 2009The Washington Post reports:The Obama administration vowed Thursday to squash scams targeting homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, reviving a five-month-old pledge as millions of borrowers remain at risk of losing their homes. A group of high-ranking government officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy F...
California AG Bags Three Suspects In Refinancing Scam; Allegedly Fleeced 70+ Borrowers Of $950K+; Victims Left With $30M In Loans w/ Unwanted Terms
Posted on September 20, 2009From the Office of the California Attorney General:Continuing his fight against mortgage scams, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [...] announced that agents from his office have arrested Michael McConville, and two of his associates(1) for their roles in a "criminal conspiracy" to steal nearly $1 million from borrowers seeking to refinance their homes...
Ex-L.I. Lawmaker Accused In $82M Mortgage Scam Now Charged w/ Forging Lender Endorsement On Check To Illegally Pocket Insuance Cash For Burned Home
Posted on September 20, 2009In Suffolk County, New York, The Southampton Press reports:Former Suffolk County Legislator George O. Guldi was indicted for a second time this year Thursday, September 17, in a Riverhead courtroom, on unrelated felony insurance fraud charges stemming from a fire that destroyed his Westhampton Beach home nearly a year ago...
Maine Regulators Warn Of Scammers Posing As State Agency Employees To Target Homeowners With Foreclosure Help
Posted on September 20, 2009In Augusta, Maine, WBZ-TV Channel 38 reports:The Maine State Housing Authority says homeowners who've been receiving recorded phone messages from someone using its name should be wary of a scam. Callers tell homeowners to call the "Maine Housing Authority" to help with foreclosures or to refinance their mortgage...
Illegal Use Of POA To Rip Off Homes, Other Assets Of The Elderly & Vulnerable Now Tougher To Pull Off In NYS ... Hopefully
Posted on September 19, 2009In New York City, Time Magazine reports:Misappropriation of an elderly person's assets by someone legally authorized to oversee them may now be a lot tougher to pull off in the State of New York. New legislation that went into effect Sept. 1 ? in the form of a radically changed power-of-attorney (POA) document ? couldn't have come at a better time...
Oregon Regulators To Crack Down On Self-Titled "Specialists" & "Advisers" Having Little Or No Professional Training
Posted on September 19, 2009In Portland, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:State regulators are trying to clamp down on the use of misleading financial services and insurance credentials that they say leave seniors vulnerable to abuse and fraud. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services is proposing new rules that would ban the use of "specialist," "adviser" or similar titles by salespeople who lack legitimate
Calgary Woman Faces Sentencing For Using POA To Sell, Rip Off Proceeds Of, Hospitalized Disabled Cousin's Home & Vehicle
Posted on September 19, 2009In Calgary, Alberta, the Calgary Herald reports:A city woman, ordered by the court last year to repay $180,000 after she bilked her disabled cousin of all his valuable assets, now faces jail time. Joy Marie Barkley, 54, was scheduled to be sentenced [...
Mom Accuses Bankrupt Daughter Of Wiping Out Life Savings, Using Unwittingly Signed Deed To Sell Home & Pocket Proceeds
Posted on September 19, 2009In Nashville, Tennessee, NashvillePost.com reports:Donna Jones, a former employee of admitted embezzler and Ponzi scheme operator Michael J. Park of Brentwood, appeared before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court [last week]. [...] As to claims by Jones that she had not transferred assets in the last three years, that [...
Use Of Phony POA To Sell Murdered Retiree's $1M Home, Loot Bank Accounts Among Charges Facing Slay Suspects
Posted on September 19, 2009In Palm Springs, California, The Desert Sun reports:Five men accused in the stabbing death of a Palm Springs retiree to steal his identity and his financial assets today were ordered to stand trial on murder and other charges. Kaushal Niroula, 27, San Francisco attorney David Replogle, 60, Miguel Bustamante, 26, Daniel Garcia, 26, and Craig McCarthy, 29, face charges of murder, conspiracy to
In-Home Health Care Aide Facing Foreclosure Sentenced For Ripping Off $15K From 93-Year Old Patient
Posted on September 19, 2009In Martinez, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:An Oakley woman has been sentenced to jail and probation for stealing more than $15,000 from an 93-year-old Rossmoor woman who employed her to provide in-home care. Teresa Bryant pleaded no contest [...
Financially Strapped Real Estate Operators Charged With Torching Their $1M Home; Roof Collapse Nearly Kills Firefighters
Posted on September 19, 2009In Tracy, California, the Tracy Press reports:A husband and wife are suspected of burning down their $1 million home in Tracy last summer ? a blaze that almost killed several firefighters. Police [...] arrested 31-year-old William ?Billy? Tipton Jr. and issued an arrest warrant for his wife, 37-year-old Frayba Tipton, on suspicion of arson, forgery and insurance fraud...
Washington Man Gets Two Months For Abusing POA, Leaving Mentally Impaired 78-Year Old Woman Homeless
Posted on September 19, 2009In Kitsap County, Washington, the Kitsap Sun reports:A Bremerton man has been sentenced to two months in jail for a mortgage theft scheme that left an elderly woman without a home, according to documents filed in Kitsap County Superior Court. Tony Thomas, 55, pleaded guilty to second-degree theft Sept...
Sentencing Continues For Participants In Maryland-Based Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scams Peddling Bogus Sale Leaseback Arrangements
Posted on September 18, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Richard Allison, age 38, of Camp Springs, Maryland, an attorney and employee of the U.S. Census Bureau, [...] to 18 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme(1) which falsely promised to help
Maryland Accountant Cops Plea To Ripping Off $1M+ From Escrow Account, Then Torching Offices Of Employer/Law Firm After Getting Canned
Posted on September 18, 2009In Dundalk, Maryland, WBAL-TV Channel 11 reports:Federal prosecutors said a former accountant for a Dundalk real estate law firm pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1 million and burning the firm's offices. George Perez, 33, of Dundalk pleaded guilty Wednesday to theft and arson charges...
92-Year Old Victim Of Alleged C. Florida House Swindle Gives Emotional Testimony In Criminal Trial; Says She Unwittingly Signed Deed To Her Home
Posted on September 18, 2009In New Port Richey, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:Time has taken away some of Eloise Mudway's physical and mental abilities. She has difficulty recalling names, dates and times; struggles to hear and gets around only with the help of a wheelchair...
Minister Gets Four Years For Fraudulently Obtaining Mortgage Loan
Posted on September 18, 2009In Fairview Heights, Illinois, the Belleville News Democrat reports:A metro-east minister was sentenced [last week] to four years in prison for federal mortgage loan fraud after he made fraudulent transactions to get a loan on a home in an exclusive Maryville neighborhood...
Tenants Stripped Of Community Privileges As Rent Skimming Landlord Pockets Cash, Stiffs Condo Association Out Of $10K+ In Monthly Maintenance Fees
Posted on September 18, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, WPBF-TV Channel 25 reports:The home has everything Xavier Melendez could want for his young family. "Really quiet, really peaceful," he said about the West Palm Beach community. He finds the rent fair and he said he paid it faithfully for two years...
Illinois AG Brings Civil Suit Alleging Deceptive Practices In Equity Stripping, Home Repair Scam That Duped 36 Chicago Homeowners
Posted on September 17, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:The Illinois attorney general's office filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday against a Chicago man and five home repair and mortgage companies for allegedly defrauding 36 Chicago homeowners, including two who lost homes to foreclosure...
Miami Man Gets 88 Months For Role In Impersonating Unwitting Homeowners & Ripping Off Their HELOC Accounts
Posted on September 17, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Alexandria, Virginia):Henry ?Uche? Obilo, age 30, of Miami, Fl., was sentenced to 88 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role as a leader in a home equity line of credit fraud scheme(1) that has been linked to more than $36 million in attempted fraud and almost $11 million in actual losses...
NC AG On Loan Modification Foreclosure Rescue Scammers: "These Creeps Are Out There, Crawling Out From Under Rocks & Taking People's Money"
Posted on September 17, 2009In Greenville, North Carolina, The Daily Reflector reports:State Attorney General Roy Cooper on Tuesday warned local homeowners and business leaders to be wary of home mortgage assistance scams, one of several topics he covered at a luncheon hosted by the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce at the Brook Valley Country Club...
Trial Begins For Central Florida Couple Accused Of Swiping Home Out From Under Elderly Widow Who Unwittingly Signed Deed
Posted on September 17, 2009In New Port Richey, Florida, The Suncoast News reports:Prosecutors call it a case of deceit, deception and greed. Defense attorneys say it's simply a case of an elderly woman who spent her way into financial ruin and had to be rescued. Who's right?A jury will answer that question during the trial of Joseph and Cynthia Clancy, who are accused of bilking Eloise Mudway, now 92, out of her house and
Kansas Supreme Court Leaves MERS, 2nd Mortgage Holder Holding The Bag; Says Neither Is Entitled To Notice Of Foreclosure Action By First Mortgagee
Posted on September 16, 2009Housing Wire reports:A ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court determined Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS)(1) was not a ?necessary party? in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding initiated by a first lien holder. [...] The court?s ruling involves a case where MERS was listed as the mortgagee of a second-lien mortgage originated by Millenia Mortgage Corp...
Vegas Man Claims "Adverse Possession" In Attempt To Justify Hijacking, Then Renting, Vacant Home In Foreclosure
Posted on September 16, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, KTNV-TV Channel 13 reports:The foreclosure captial of the country is becoming a hot bed for scam artists, but one family in the Valley is taking action to try to take back its home from a man who may have rented it out illegally...
Bogus Loan Fees, Failure To Act In Good Faith Among Allegations In Elderly Ohio Couple's Attempt To Fight Foreclosure Of Home Of 40+ Years
Posted on September 16, 2009In Stark County, Ohio, The Canton Repository reports:A mediator has been asked to resolve a foreclosure dispute that has come close to chasing a North Canton couple in their mid-80s from their home. Stark County Common Pleas Court Judge Taryn Heath referred a foreclosure against William and Bette Hammen to the Community Mediation Center...
Queens Co-Op Board Of Directors Accused Of Taking Out $12M In Mortgages On Building Without Unit Owners' Consent
Posted on September 16, 2009In Elmhurst, New York, the New York Daily News reports:Shareholders of an Elmhurst co-op are locked in a legal tug of war with its board of directors, accusing it of taking out $12 million in mortgages without their knowledge. Shareholders of the Continental, at 87-10 51st Ave...
Wells Fargo Cans Squatting Senior VP For Using $12M Beachfront REO As Party House
Posted on September 15, 2009In Malibu, California, The Los Angeles Times reports:Moving to contain a public relations mess, Wells Fargo & Co. fired a top executive accused of using a bank-owned Malibu beach house to entertain her family and friends. Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president responsible for commercial foreclosed properties, broke company rules barring personal use of bank property, Wells Fargo said in a
Home Lost To Foreclosure Despite Loan Servicer's Failure To Complete HAMP Review, Says New Hampshire Couple
Posted on September 15, 2009In Franklin, New Hampshire, New Hampshire Public Radio reports:About a month ago, homeowners Sharon Gagnon and her husband were facing foreclosure. But they sought help from a HUD certified housing counselor, and got a modification with Chase Bank under the federal Making Home Affordable Program...
Punishing Attorneys Offering Bogus Loan Modification Help To Financially Strapped Homeowners A Priority For Incoming State Bar President
Posted on September 15, 2009In Los Angeles, California, The Los Angeles Times reports:Crooked lawyers have long besmirched the profession's image, but the scale of their involvement in the loan modification scandals plaguing California homeowners has taken an unprecedented toll, the incoming president of the State Bar of California says...
Massachusetts Regulators Asleep At Wheel During Recent Subprime Era?
Posted on September 15, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, New England Cable News reports:Where were Massachusetts banking regulators as the subprime mortgage crisis exploded all around them? That question is the focus of a special investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University - a collaborative effort that includes NECN, WBUR radio, The Boston Globe and Banker and Tradesman...
City Concerned About Effect On Tenants From Unwinding $5.4B Purchase Of 11,000+ Unit Apartment Complexes Gone Bad
Posted on September 15, 2009In New York City, The New York Times reports:Three years ago, the sale of the 110 red-brick apartment buildings at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan represented the most expensive American real estate deal in history.(1) Now the buyers are running out of time and money...
Head Of Maryland-Based Foreclosure Rescue Firm Gets 78 Months For Role In Peddling Bogus Equity Stripping Sale Leasebacks To Homeowners In Foreclosure
Posted on September 14, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Michael K. Lewis, age 57, of Takoma Park, Maryland today to 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud arising from a scheme in which he and his conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from
Texas Judge Slams Foreclosure Rescue Operator With 350 Months For Pocketing Upfront Fees In Scam Offering False Promises Of Foreclosure Help
Posted on September 14, 2009In San Antonio, Texas, the San Antonio Express News reports:A San Antonio woman who defrauded several people out of more than $70,000 in foreclosure-rescue scams got a hard lesson Friday. After reportedly telling a victim a Spanish phrase along the lines of ?Payback's a (expletive),? Rosario Castro Divins was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for her scams, the comment and misbehaving in
Bond-Posting Pals Allowed To Reclaim Homes Previously Forfeited When Bailjumping Friend Fled Country As Brooklyn Federal Judge Lets Them Off The Hook
Posted on September 14, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Post reports:Pals who posted bail for a shady former Credit Suisse broker who fled to Spain are off the hook for backing the crook, a federal judge ruled [Wednesday]. Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein let Julian Tzolov's friends reclaim their homes after prosecutors agreed to seize only the broker's assets to cover his $3 million bail bond...
Brooklyn Trial Judge Known For Slamming Sloppy Lenders In Foreclosure Actions Featured On CBS Evening News
Posted on September 14, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the CBS Evening News recently featured state trial judge Arthur M. Schack, a jurist who has developed a reputation for booting foreclosing lenders and their attorneys for sloppy, error-filled filings in foreclosure proceedings:He's rejected more than 40 of the 100-plus foreclosure filings that have crossed his desk in the last two years because of what some call "small"
Battle Against Rent Skimming Florida Condo Investors Intensifies As Blanket Receivership Court Orders Become Broader In Scope
Posted on September 14, 2009The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports on how the fight being waged by condo associations across South Florida and the state by seeking court-ordered, blanket receiverships against deadbeat investor/unit owners continues to heat up:The first blanket receivership order was petitioned by the Association Law Group and signed in March by a Miami-Dade County judge on the behalf of the Oaks at Miami
Wells Fargo Exec Spotted Squatting, Throwing Lavish Bashes At Lender-Owned, $12M Oceanfront REO Once Owned By Madoff Victims, Say Neighbors
Posted on September 13, 2009In Malibu, California, The Los Angeles Times reports:Bernard L. Madoff's massive fraud stunned some of the wealthy denizens of Malibu Colony, especially when a couple devastated by the scheme surrendered their oceanfront home to Wells Fargo Bank. But some neighbors say the real shocker came when they saw one of the bank's top executives spending weekends in the $12-million beach house and hosting
Lender Erroneously Forecloses On Home Earlier Sold In Short Sale; Soon-To-Be-Married Couple Say Thieves Took Wedding Gifts, Leave Behind Beer Cans
Posted on September 13, 2009In Novi, Michigan, WDIV-TV Channel 4 reports:A metro Detroit couple set to be married in nine days said the house they purchased is now at the center of police investigation because of a foreclosure mixup. And to top it off, thieves broke into the house and stole thousands of dollars in wedding gifts...
Judge Allows Prosecution Of California Man Accused Of Using Forged Deed To Steal Home To Continue
Posted on September 13, 2009In Santa Cruz, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:A man accused of taking ownership of a home that wasn't his knew the real story behind the Ben Lomond property when he moved in this spring, according to testimony in court Tuesday. The computer of Daniel Judd, formerly of Saratoga, contained records identifying the property's legitimate owner as Pleasanton couple Tom Decker and Maria
Water Shutoff, Deteriorating Conditions In Central Florida Apartment Complex Facing Foreclosure May Force Tenants Onto Street
Posted on September 13, 2009In New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:With only a trickle of water coming from their faucets, tenants of a Wayne Avenue apartment complex find themselves drowning in a sea of foreclosure red tape and unpaid water bills. As sprinklers rain H2O onto the golf course across the street from their residence [...
"Grave-Robbing" Florida Man Used Forged Deed To Steal Dead Man's Home, Say Cops
Posted on September 13, 2009In Panama City, Florida, The News Herald reports:Police arrested Timothy James Benson, 52, on one count of forgery, one count of uttering a forged instrument and grand theft. The arrest stems from an investigation into the theft of a parcel of property and the house on that parcel, according to a news release from the Panama City Police Department...
Seattle-Area Man Faces Multiple Charges Of Pocketing Tenant Deposits From Would-Be Renters On Homes Belonging To Others
Posted on September 12, 2009In King County, Washington, The Seattle Times reports:Paul Bakovich, who was arrested last month after authorities said he took nearly $4,300 in deposits from seven people he allegedly scammed into believing he owned rental properties, has been arrested again -- for allegedly using the same ruse...
Arizona Vendor Of Items Stripped From Foreclosed Homes Faces Sentencing This Month; Used Craigslist, Consignment Shop, Estate Sales To Unload Goods
Posted on September 12, 2009In Fountain Hills, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:A Fountain Hills man will be sentenced later this month for stripping foreclosed homes of their appliances, a crime which officials say is rapidly on the rise. Mark Sydnor, 54, was a middleman in the sale of items from foreclosed homes, according to a fraud task force investigating that and similar crimes...
Housing Discrimination Based On Race, National Origin, Familial Status All On Massachusetts AG Radar
Posted on September 12, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office filed a housing discrimination complaint against two Somerville property owners for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment to a prospective tenant and his family on the basis of their race and national origin...
Florida AG, Developer Settle Civil Rights Allegations Of Violating State Fair Housing Act Accessibility Standards
Posted on September 12, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [...] announced that his office has obtained a settlement for a Central Florida couple resolving allegations of civil rights violations related to their condominium. Under the settlement, Brevard County developer Tricon Development Corporation paid $15,000 in civil damages to Josephine and Dominic DeRusso, which
Home-Based Meth Labs A Threat To Health & Pocketbook
Posted on September 12, 2009From the Rim Country of Central Arizona, The Payson Roundup reports:Health and law enforcement officials across the country are becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of homes being sold that were once used as meth houses or laboratories. The problem developing is that former homes where meth was either used or manufactured are in fact health hazards to anyone currently residing in them due
"Zombie Debt" Buyers Now Required To Produce Documentation Tracing Their Ownership As Part Of Collection Lawsuits Brought In NC Under New State Law
Posted on September 11, 2009In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Asheville Citizen Times reports:Companies that buy up unpaid debt and pressure consumers to pay it off are being targeted under a new state law that requires them to prove the people they're chasing actually owe them money...
Title Agent Gets 7 Years For Looting $3.4M From Escrow; Used Phony Docs, "Ponzi" Approach To Conceal Scam Involving 16 Properties With Unpaid Liens
Posted on September 11, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Deborah Williams, age 57, of Pasadena, Maryland, the owner of [Day Title, Inc.,] a Severna Park title company, [...] to 84 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for mail fraud related to a scheme to divert settlement funds to her own benefit, [...
Connecticut Woman Charged With Ripping Off Her 89-Year Old Mother Of Home, Cash
Posted on September 11, 2009In Ansonia, Connecticut, WTNH-TV Channel 8 reports:An Ansonia woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly violating the court-ordered fiduciary duties for her 89-year-old mother. Donna D. Kingston, 61, allegedly withdrew more than $72,000 by closing a CD account and withdrawing funds from her mother's bank account in May and June 2007...
Ailing Senior Loses Home To Foreclosure Despite Paying $3K To Foreclosure Rescue Operator To Resolve Mortgage Problem
Posted on September 11, 2009In Tauranga, New Zealand, The New Zealand Herald reports:An ailing retired man has lost his home of 22 years and thousands of dollars after agreeing to have his mortgage handled by a supposed charitable trust. [... Don Clark, 65,] first fell into debt after a vicious assault in 2006 left him with serious head injuries and impaired vision...
Foreclosure Flood Means Brisk Business For Phoenix-Area "Home Strippers" - Craigslist A Favored Outlet For Unloading Loot
Posted on September 11, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports on the recent rash of "foreclosure stripping" incidents taking place in the area:Julie Halferty, a special agent who oversees the Phoenix FBI Mortgage Fraud Task Force, said no one knows exactly how many foreclosed houses in the Valley have been stripped by former owners, neighbors or strangers...
Deadbeat Landlord/Condo Converter Ordered To Turn Over Title To 15 Units After Pocketing Rent, Stiffing Association Out Of $175K In Maintenance Fees
Posted on September 10, 2009In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:A South Florida condominium converter who was renting out units but ducking his maintenance fees has been ordered to turn over ownership of 15 units to the condo association, plus rent checks that had been improperly collected...
Upstate NY Couple Charged In Alleged "Shotgunning" Mortgage Fraud Scam As Multiple First Mortgages Are Obtained On Same Properties
Posted on September 10, 2009In Saratoga Springs, New York, The Business Review reports:A Saratoga Springs couple is accused of stealing $2.5 million from several banks in a mortgage scheme in which they obtained multiple first mortgages on six properties they bought more than two years ago...
200+ Poor Tenants Face The Boot As Lender Threatens Foreclosure Of Mold-Infested Complex; Failed Inspections Could Result In Rent Subsidy Cut-Off
Posted on September 10, 2009In Daytona Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:For the past few years, some residents of the Daytona Village Apartments say mold has mushroomed on their walls and ceilings, their homes have been invaded by cockroaches and spiders, and their refrigerators have conked out and not been replaced...
Student Film Documentary On Subprime Crisis Results In Legal Threats From Brooklyn Developer
Posted on September 10, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, The New York Times reports on three Hunter College students, a film documentary called "Subprimed" that they are working on that reportedly exposes the exploitation that lies behind much of the foreclosure and subprime crisis in Brooklyn, and a local real estate development company that has its owners, brothers Michael and Joseph Makhani, pretty ticked off...
Texas Homeowner: Updated Flood-Plain Maps, Retroactively Charged Force-Placed Insurance Leaves Me Facing Foreclosure
Posted on September 09, 2009In Waco, Texas, the Waco Tribune Herald reports:The Federal Emergency Management Agency?s policy requiring flood insurance in flood plains is meant to protect life and property. But in East Waco, it may cost a single mom her home. Charrie Rollins, 36, is facing foreclosure on the $81,000 brick home she bought three years ago [...
Title To Landmark Minneapolis Mansion Stolen By Forged Deed, Say Owners
Posted on September 09, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports on claims that someone has tried to steal the title to the Van Dusen mansion, a 117-year-old landmark on LaSalle Avenue which resembles a Gothic castle with its thick, pink limestone walls, from its current owners...
Ohio Woman Concerned Over Claim Of Lien On Home For Debt That's Not Hers
Posted on September 09, 2009In Batavia, Ohio, WKRC-TV Channel 12 reports:A Batavia woman was surprised to receive a letter saying a lien was placed against her property, but doesn't know how to put a stop to it. Beverly Townsend received such a letter in July from a Columbus lawyer...
Unlawful Use Of POA To Get Reverse Mortgage On 90-Year Old Mom's Home Among Charges Facing Clemson Councilwoman
Posted on September 09, 2009In Clemson, South Carolina, the Greenville News reports:A Clemson city councilwoman was arrested [...] and charged with several counts of fraud in what authorities allege was a scheme to solicit money to pay for her daughter's legal troubles by claiming in part that her daughter had cancer...
Ex-Mortgage Broker Cops Fraud Plea In D.C.-Area Straw Buyer, Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam
Posted on September 08, 2009From the Office of the FBI (Washington, D.C. Field Office):Rasheeda M. Canty, a former mortgage broker, pled guilty [...] to engaging in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in the District of Columbia and Maryland, [Federal authorities] announced [Friday]...
Bankruptcy Judge Allows Arizona Homeowner Seeking Loan Modification To Grill Wells Fargo Senior Exec Under Oath On Servicer's Poor Customer Service
Posted on September 08, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, The New York Times reports:Bobbi Giguere had no luck in securing a loan modification from her mortgage servicer, Wells Fargo. For months, she had sent the bank the financial documents it requested to process her modification. But each time she called to check on the request, she was told to send her paperwork again...
DA's Office Charges One, Seeks Another In Alleged "Principal Reduction" Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Suspects Believed To Have Illegally Pocketed $2M+
Posted on September 08, 2009From the Office of the Santa Clara, California District Attorney:39-year old Rene Alvarez of San Jose was arrested yesterday by investigators with the Santa Clara County District Attorney?s Office on charges that he defrauded hundreds of homeowners, whose homes were in foreclosure, in a wide-ranging loan modification scam...
Bay-Area Mega-Landlord Barred From Clipping Tenants For Illegal Rent Hikes In Failed Attempt To Exploit "Small Landlord" Loophole Around Rent Limits
Posted on September 08, 2009In East Palo Alto, California, Beyond Chron reports on the story of a local major residential landlord that has been barred by court order in the Oberle v. Page Mill Properties class action lawsuit from collecting or enforcing rent increases that do not comply with the limits of the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Ordinance...
More Contract For Deed Horror Stories - Texas Homebuyers Lose Home To Foreclosure Despite Making All Payments As Seller Pockets Cash & Stiffs Bank
Posted on September 07, 2009In Edna, Texas, The Victoria Advocate reports on the story of Clara and Jose Carrera and their kids, a local family who just lost their home to foreclosure, despite paying in full all payments required under their purchase agreement and making significant improvements to their home:Although the family thought they had paid off their Edna home a year ago, a series of events put [the Carreras] in
Sentencing Hearing Begins For Maryland Man Convicted For Role In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam
Posted on September 07, 2009In Baltimore, Maryland, WBAL-TV Channel 11 reports:A Maryland man who ran television ads claiming he could save homes from foreclosure was in court Thursday for the first day of his mortgage fraud sentencing. Michael K. Lewis pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud in a foreclosure rescue scheme...
Straw Buyer To Cough Up $6.5K To Settle Civil Charges For Role In Massachusetts Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam
Posted on September 07, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:[Last week], Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office entered into a settlement with Marie Bettie Mereus, resolving allegations that she participated in a foreclosure rescue scheme in which nineteen defendants ? mortgage brokers, real estate brokers, closing attorneys and straw buyers ? deceived homeowners facing foreclosure into selling their
Bronx DA Charges Two With Bilking $1.3M From Three Victims In Bogus Sales Of Real Estate They Didn't Own
Posted on September 07, 2009From the Office of the Bronx County, New York District Attorney:Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced [...] that two Bronx men(1) have been charged with bilking three people out of more than one point three million dollars ($1,300,000) in an alleged scam involving the sale of property that the defendants did not own and were not authorized to sell...
System Overrun With People Peddling False Promises & Dispensing Horrible Advice Claims Another Victim
Posted on September 07, 2009In Arverne, Queens, New York Magazine recounts the saga Jacqueline Tamaklo, a local resident who was born in Lberia and immigrated from Ghana, and the two-family house she bought in 2006 and is fighting to keep from losing to foreclosure. Her saga starts when she misplaced her trust in her preacher, a bishop and leader of a local church who also happened to moonlight in the real estate business,
SW Fla. Alleged Rent-To-Own Straw Buyer Scam Leaves Would-Be Buyers Booted From Homes, Investors w/ Ruined Credit, Foreclosing Lenders Holding The Bag
Posted on September 06, 2009In Fort Myers, Florida, The News Press reports:A Fort Myers real estate sales associate was arrested Thursday and charged with 61 counts related to a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Southwest Florida. Mark Wallen, 38, [...] was booked into the Lee County Jail [...
South Florida Non-Profit Legal Services Offices Score $700K In Countrywide Lawsuit Settlement Cash To Fund Foreclosure Defense Efforts
Posted on September 06, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum and The Florida Bar Foundation [...] awarded approximately $700,000 in grants to several South Florida non-profit organizations to fund free foreclosure legal defense work...
Justice Department Continues Effort In Targeting Housing Discrimination Against Individuals With Disabilities
Posted on September 06, 2009From the U.S. Department of Justice:The Justice Department [...] filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Riverwalk Condominiums, a condominium apartment complex in Post Falls, Idaho, for violating the Fair Housing Act by constructing apartments that do not have required accessibility for individuals with disabilities...
Cross Burning Incident Results In Federal Felony Charge Against Indiana Man For Interfering With The Housing Rights Of Another
Posted on September 06, 2009From the U.S. Department of Justice:The Justice Department announced that Bruce Mikulyuk, of Mishawaka, Ind., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for charges stemming from a cross burning in September 2007. Mikulyuk made his first court appearance [...
Mass AG Files Suits, Obtains Civil Rights Injunctions Involving Discrimination, Harassment Allegations Affecting Victims' Housing Rights
Posted on September 06, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office has obtained a civil rights injunction against a Norwood woman, Deborah May, based on allegations of her repeated and severe harassment and intimidation of a gay neighbor...
Home Interior Ruined After Roofers Begin, Stop Repairs On Wrong House, Leaving Premises Open To Elements, Says Suit
Posted on September 05, 2009In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Tiki Island man claims workers started roof repairs on his house by mistake while he was out of town, and then left his home exposed to the elements when they learned of their error. Paul Rice is suing Kevin Mitchell of Montgomery, doing business as South Texas RES-COM, and Galveston Flooring Co...
Arizona AG Files Suit Against California-Based Alleged "Property Tax Reduction" Racket
Posted on September 05, 2009From the Office of the Arizona Attorney General:Attorney General Terry Goddard [...] announced that he has filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order to stop the perpetrators of an alleged fraud that claimed a homeowner?s property qualified for a "property tax reduction review...
Florida Woman Sick Over Living In "Chinese Drywall Prison;" Sunk Life Savings Into Now-Worthless House; Safer To Live In Car, Says Doc
Posted on September 05, 2009In Port St. Lucie, Florida, WPTV-TV Channel 5 reports:Gloria Berson loved her house. She had the kitchen she always wanted and big plans to turn it into her private paradise. "It was our dream home," she says. Then things started getting weird. The AC blew and the pipes turned black...
Man Faces Charges Of Ripping Off Senior After Promising To Help Him Get Out Of Reverse Mortgage
Posted on September 05, 2009In Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Star reports:Police have arrested a man accused of cheating a senior citizen out of $4,000. Anthony C. Washington faces charges of forgery, theft and financial exploitation of the elderly. Washington allegedly promised to help a 78-year-old man out of a reverse mortgage but instead stole his checks and cash...
Bad Timing Leaves Central Florida Residents Without Financing On Newly Constructed Homes As Lower Values Lead Lenders To Back Out Of Loan Commitments
Posted on September 05, 2009In Central Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:Every day, Mary McCarthy must drive past the finished dream home in her front yard to the mobile home where she has lived for 20 years. The new home was finished in February, but she can't move in. The home is not legally hers, though it sits on her property...
Home To HUD Regional Office Falls To Foreclosure; Can Eviction Be Next?
Posted on September 04, 2009In Atlanta, Georgia, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:In another troubling sign for commercial real estate, a downtown office tower housing the Atlanta HUD office was sold at a foreclosure auction this week for $7 million. [...] The Atlanta regional office of the U...
Ex-Cowboy "Hitting Machine" Hit With Indictment With Eight Others In Alleged Straw Buyer Mortgage Scam Involving $20M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Loans
Posted on September 04, 2009In Dallas, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports:Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Eugene Lockhart Jr., known in his playing days as Mean Gene the Hitting Machine, was arrested Thursday after being indicted on charges related to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said...
Ex-Met, Philly "Nailed" With Accusation By Creditor Of "Foreclosure Stripping" Home
Posted on September 04, 2009In Los Angeles, California, Bloomberg News reports:Lenny Dykstra, who helped the New York Mets win the World Series in 1986, was accused of taking goods from his home including a $40,000 French stove two weeks before a bankruptcy judge appointed a trustee to oversee his finances...
Sarasota House Flipper Faces Grand Theft Charge In Alleged "Foreclosure Stripping" Incident
Posted on September 04, 2009In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Mark P. Riley, one of the Sarasota area's most successful property flippers, was arrested Friday, accused of gutting a home that he could no longer afford. Riley, 48, and his domestic partner, Richard Waid, 49, were arrested on charges of grand theft related to the disappearance of appliances from their former Lakewood Ranch home...
Phoenix-Area Authorities Get Serious About "Foreclosure Stripping" As Probes, Prosecutions Begin To Pile Up
Posted on September 04, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Tuesday that there has been a significant increase in the number of people charged with gutting vacant or foreclosed homes in Maricopa County. The act, known as ?home stripping,? has been on the rise in neighborhoods and dramatically reduces property values, according to Thomas...
South Carolina Woman Faces Charges Of Using Relative's Social Security Number To Obtain Credit; Victim Finds Out When Rejected For Home Loan
Posted on September 04, 2009In Greenwood, South Carolina, The Index Journal reports:Greenwood woman is charged with stealing a relative?s identity and using her Social Security number to make several large purchases and racked up more than $29,500 in debt. Dixie Lee Nelson, 53, [...
California AG Obtains $1M Judgment Against "Fast Cash" Lender Accused Of Loan Shark Tactics
Posted on September 04, 2009From the Office of the California Attorney General:Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [...] forced CashCall, Inc., an Anaheim-based fast-money lender, to stop using "loan shark tactics" in collecting debt, including abusive calls at all hours of the day and night and empty threats of law enforcement action...
Posing As Cops, Threatening Arrest Or Physical Harm, Abuse & Humiliation All In A Day's Work For Debt Collection Group, Says NY AG In Lawsuit
Posted on September 03, 2009From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [...] announced that his office has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down a Buffalo-based debt collection operation consisting of 13 debt collection companies run by Buffalo residents Omar Smith, Narvell Benning and Keith Marshall (collectively, the "Benning-Smith Group?)...
Vacant Land Affinity Fraud Fleeces 1,000+ Miami-Area Haitians Out Of $10.6M, Say Feds; Bogus Deeds, Closing Docs Used To Make Phony Sales Look Legit
Posted on September 03, 2009In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports on a recent federal indictment in an alleged affinity fraud targeting members of the local Haitian community:Three South Floridians have been indicted in a land scheme that authorities say defrauded more than 1,000 mostly Haitian victims out of some $10...
Cook County Sheriff Faces Federal Suit For Slowdown In Tenant Evictions; Local Landlord Feels Squeezed By Lenient Approach To Booting Problem Renters
Posted on September 03, 2009In Cook County, Illinois, NBC Chicago reports:What made him a star has now made him a defendant. With so many rental properties in foreclosure last year, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for a time halted evictions. It was his contention that many tenants who had been paying their rent were being unfairly removed from their homes, when it was, in fact, their landlords who had not been paying
Texas AG Seeks $4.6M From "Debt Settlement" Outfit For Allegedly Ripping Off Consumers, Violating State Registration & Bond Requirements
Posted on September 03, 2009From the Office of the Texas Attorney General:Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott [...] took legal action to recover $4.6 million that a bankrupt ?debt settlement? company wrongly withheld from its clients in Texas and other states. In June, Debt Relief USA Inc...
Moderate Income Housing Plans For Half-Finished, Half-Empty Condo Projects Cluttering NYC Skyline Face Complications
Posted on September 02, 2009In New York City, The New York Times reports:As a rising number of half-finished and half-empty condo projects clutter the skyline, state and city officials have begun developing programs to turn hundreds of these apartments into moderate-income housing...
Florida Judge Removes Himself From Foreclosure Case After Making Intemperate Remarks To Lender's Attorney Who Missed Several Court Hearings
Posted on September 02, 2009In Volusia County, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:Tensions over how some lawyers from far and wide are handling large numbers of foreclosures for banks came to a head in DeLand on Monday when a veteran judge removed himself from a case after complaints about his comments [to bank attorney Farzad Milani]...
Daughter, Son-In-Law Convicted Of Scamming Alzheimer's-Afflicted Widowed Mom Into Borrowing $350K Against Home & Using It Towards Luxury Home Purchase
Posted on September 02, 2009In Clackamas County, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:Ask Clara Philpot how she's doing, and she'll answer with a beaming smile and a hearty "Fantastic." Ask the 87-year-old who is president or the name of the dog napping in her lap and she can't say. Philpot, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2002, also can't explain how or why she borrowed almost $1 million to finance a luxury home in
Lenders, Mortgage Servicers Flout Local Health & Safety Ordinances When Dealing With Foreclosed Homes, Say Housing Advocates
Posted on September 02, 2009The Washington Independent reports:As bank-owned foreclosed properties pile up across the country, from abandoned houses in hard-hit neighborhoods to empty big box retail stores in failed strip malls, the fight over holding someone responsible for the brick and mortar mess left behind by the mortgage crisis continues to heat up...
Relatives Charged w/ Selling Home From Out From Under Elderly Oregon Widow; Used POA To Pocket $235K Sale Proceeds, Cash Out Bank Accounts, Annuities
Posted on September 01, 2009In Portland, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:Shortly after two women gained power of attorney from a dying 83-year-old relative, they took all of her possessions and sold her house of 56 years, police said. The pair pocketed the $235,000 from the house sale and cleaned out the elderly woman's bank accounts and savings, sharing the money among themselves and family members, police and prosecutors
Two Sentenced For Roles In Theft Of $126M In Client Funds Held In Connection With Real Estate Tax Free Exchange Transactions
Posted on September 01, 2009From the U.S. Department of Justice:Two former employees of Edward H. Okun, who was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Aug. 4, 2009, after a three-week jury trial, were sentenced [...] for their roles in a scheme to defraud and obtain approximately $126 million in client funds held by The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG)...
Nebraska Couple Loses Home After Being Duped By Nationwide Loan Modification Racket
Posted on September 01, 2009In Lincoln, Nebraska, the Lincoln Journal Star reports:One night in February, [Denise and Kevin Barret] saw a television ad for the Federal Loan Modification Law Center, a very official-sounding entity that promised it could reduce homeowners' payments while saving their homes from foreclosure...
Brooklyn Foreclosure Intervention Seminar: Settlement Conferences & Advanced Foreclosure Defense Techniques
Posted on August 31, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle announces:Thurs. Sept. 10, CLE: Foreclosure Intervention: Settlement Conferences & Advanced Foreclosure Defense Techniques, 6-8 p.m.: Speakers: Jaime Lathrop, director, and Jennifer Sinton, deputy director, both of South Brooklyn Legal Services' Foreclosure Prevention Project...
More On The City Of Baltimore v. Wells Fargo "Ghetto Loans" Predatory Lending Case
Posted on August 31, 2009In a recent interview with Democracy Now!, Wells Fargo whistleblower and ex-subprime loan officer and sales manager Elizabeth Jacobson speaks out on some of the predatory lending practices allegedly engaged in by her former employer.(1)I) On the incentives for Wells Fargo loan officers to allegedly bulldoze every would-be borrower into a subprime loan:I was at Wells Fargo for nine years, and I
New York Times Profiles Brooklyn Trial Judge Known For Holding Lenders' Feet To The Fire When Seeking Mortgage Foreclosure
Posted on August 31, 2009The New York Times recently ran a profile on Brooklyn, New York trial judge Arthur M. Schack, a jurist who has developed a reputation for being a thorn in the side of those foreclosing lenders and their attorneys who, in cases over which he presides, persist on filing court papers that are filled with errors and omissions, and who otherwise come to court unprepared to prove that they actually own
Enabling "Buy & Bail" Scams, Breaking Into Foreclosed Homes All In A Day's Work For Las Vegas Real Estate Agents??? Everybody's Doing It, Says One
Posted on August 31, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:A Las Vegas real estate agent who landed a prominent role in a Time magazine cover story is being scrutinized by state licensing officials because of her comments, has left her employer and is lying low...
South Florida Landlord To Cough Up $200K+ In Settlement With Feds Over Civil Charges Of Race Discrimination In Apartment Rentals
Posted on August 31, 2009From the U.S. Department of Justice:The Justice Department [Thursday] announced an agreement with the owner of College Square Apartments, in Davie, Fla., to settle allegations of discrimination against African Americans. Under the consent decree, approved [Thursday] in U...
Cuyahoga Prosecutor Indicts 1st 12 In Alleged $14M+ Cleveland-Area Mortgage Fraud Operation
Posted on August 31, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, WKYC-TV Channel 3 reports:The first 12 defendants(1) in a $14.7 million mortgage fraud case were indicted by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor on offenses involving homes located at 615 North Main Street in Chagrin Falls, 2105 Woodstock Road in Gates Mills, Port Clinton and Toledo, among others...
Central Florida Legal Aid Office Scores $84K In AG Cash To Fund Foreclosure Defense Effort For The Poor
Posted on August 31, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum and The Florida Bar Foundation today awarded $84,000 to the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc. to be used for a new foreclosure defense assistance program...
Florida Closing Agent Admits Pocketing Client's Refi Proceeds, Leaving Retiree Facing Foreclosure; Scammer Moved To State After NY Fraud Conviction
Posted on August 30, 2009In Archer, Florida, The Wall Street Journal reports:Last summer, Lawrence Ford jumped into the fast-growing market for so-called reverse mortgages. The retired auto mechanic and horse trainer used the money he received to pay off his existing $70,000 mortgage and "piddled away" the remaining $24,000 on things like restaurant meals for his four girlfriends, he says...
Iowa Woman Fights Foreclosure Claiming Estranged Hubby Forged Her Signature On Loan Documents; Files Quiet Title Action In Attempt To Void Mortgage
Posted on August 30, 2009In Hamilton County, Iowa, The Daily Freeman Journal reports:Diana Messerly claims she didn't sign most of the loan documents that First State Bank of Webster City holds against her home, implying in a countersuit to the bank's foreclosure measures that her estranged husband, Doug Messerly, forged her signature on at least five separate occasions...
"Greek" Alumni Seek To Void Dubious Sale Leaseback Of College Fraternity House Now Facing Imminent Foreclosure; Criminal Probe Possible
Posted on August 30, 2009In Springfield, Missouri, the Springfield News Leader reports:Seven months after a group of Alpha Gamma Sigma alumni sued over what they said was the illegal sale of their fraternity house, the property is threatened with foreclosure. Should that come true, the eight students in the house must find a new place to live...
Feds Convict Ex-NYS Trial Judge For Attempting To Put A $10K Squeeze On Attorney With Cases Pending Before Him
Posted on August 30, 2009From the U.S. Department of Justice:Former New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo was convicted [Thursday] by a federal jury in Albany, N.Y., of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe. Spargo, 66, was convicted following a three-day jury trial...
Recording Artist Sues Lender In Attempt To Fend Off Foreclosure; Says WaMu Reps Put Bogus Info In Loan Application, Tricked Couple Into Signing
Posted on August 30, 2009In Kaua'i, Hawaii, The Honolulu Advertiser reports:A singer who gained popularity in the late 1960s with the song "Hello It's Me" has filed a lawsuit here against a Washington-based bank, asking a judge to stop the financial institution from foreclosing on his Kaua'i home...
Condo Association Trend Seeking "Blanket Receiverships" In Attempt To Avert Financial Disaster Begins To Take Hold In Central Florida
Posted on August 29, 2009In Central Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reports:Condominiums in Central Florida are cutting back on things like tennis-court lights and are seeking help from the courts because so many condo owners are abandoning their fast-depreciating units and refusing to pay required maintenance fees...
Dozens Of Brooklyn Condo Projects Face Financial Trouble
Posted on August 29, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:Sixty-five residential buildings in central Brooklyn are either financially troubled or on the verge of distress, according to a recent survey conducted by Democratic Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries...
Oregon Man Cops Plea To Foreclosure Stripping His Own Home
Posted on August 29, 2009In Damascus, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:After stripping his foreclosed home of everything from the air conditioning system to the kitchen sink, Grigoriy Bogoslavets was convicted of a crime that is often witnessed but rarely reported. The 33-year-old electrician pleaded no contest last month to aggravated theft after stealing more than $50,000 of property attached to his former Damascus home,
Struggles Continue For Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications
Posted on August 29, 2009A recent story in The Tampa Tribune contained anecdotes of three Central Florida homeowners and their troubles trying to get their mortgage loans modified. For example:It's been more than a year since David Austin asked his mortgage company to modify his loan...
Involvement In Failed Real Estate Scheme Results In Big Drop In Credit Score For Navy Officer, Leaving His Security Clearance, Service Status In Limbo
Posted on August 29, 2009In Fresno, California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports:The ABC7 I-Team has been investigating a statewide, multi-million dollar real estate scheme that ruined credit scores for dozens of Bay Area investors, but one man's story stands out. He's a Navy officer who just volunteered for a tour of duty in Afghanistan...
California Real Estate Agent Gets 90 Days After Admitting To Forging Unwitting Victim's Name On $900K+ In Loan Documents To Purchase Home
Posted on August 28, 2009In San Bernardino, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:A Chino Hills real estate agent was sentenced to 90 days in jail [last week] after pleading guilty to forging more than $900,000 in loan documents. Anita Mendoza, 44, was accused of forging another person's signature to obtain the loans, which she used to purchase a home in Chino Hills in 2006...
Role Of Licensed Loan Modification Consultants In Nevada Mandatory Foreclosure Mediations An Unanswered Question
Posted on August 28, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:Permanent regulations that require licenses for home mortgage modification and foreclosure consultants are expected to become effective [this week], but one important question remains unanswered...
Role Of Attorneys Representing Homeowners In Mandatory Foreclosure Mediations Questioned
Posted on August 28, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:The Nevada legal community is getting behind a new mediation program designed to reduce the state?s ongoing foreclosure problem, but some attorneys are facing criticism for trying to profit from it. [.....
Tennessee Real Estate Operator Screwed Us In Bogus Real Estate Deals, Say Clients
Posted on August 28, 2009In Dickson, Tennessee, WSMV-TV Channel 4 reports:Some families who Jimmy Greene has done business with seem to end up losing their homes. Karen and Doug Young said Greene caused them to lose their house in Dickson to foreclosure. [...] The Youngs wanted to sell their house, and so they signed a contract with Greene and Greene Custom Homes...
Oregon AG Settles Suits With Two Firms, Begins Probe Into At Least Six Others In Effort To Find & Prosecute Crooked Loan Modification Rackets
Posted on August 28, 2009From the Oregon Department of Justice:Attorney General John Kroger [Wednesday] announced a new enforcement effort to protect Oregon homeowners by targeting loan modification companies that engage in deceptive and misleading business practices. [...] The attorney general announced that his Financial Fraud and Consumer Protection Unit has opened more than half a dozen investigations related to loan
Mortgage Servicer's Insurance Payment Screw Up Left Texas Couple "Naked" During Hurricane Ike & Stuck w/ Force-Placed Policy, Says Suit
Posted on August 27, 2009In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Galveston County couple is suing a subsidiary of Citigroup for failing to pay their insurance premium payment on time. Garry and Karrie Higgs' breach of contract suit alleges St. Louis-based CitiMortgage mishandled a payment that was essential to the renewal of their policy with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association ["TWIA"]...
Ohio AG, Cuyahoga County Task Force Bust 41 People In Alleged Straw Buyer Mortgage Scam Involving 453 Houses, $44M In Fraudulently Obtained Loans
Posted on August 27, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, Crain's Cleveland Business reports:Four companies and 41 people(1) have been indicted in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme spearheaded in Beachwood. The scam allegedly included 453 homes and $44 million of fraudulent loans. The Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force(2) and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission allege that Beachwood resident Uri Gofman convinced
South Florida-Based Loan Servicer Scores No Points In New Report
Posted on August 27, 2009The South Florida Business Journal reports:West Palm Beach-based Ocwen Financial Corp. and other subprime lenders are the subject of a critical report released Wednesday by The Center for Public Integrity. Public records show 21 of the top 25 participants in a $21 billion federal program to bail out home borrowers were involved in the subprime loan industry, the center said...
Conn. AG Files Civil Suit Against "Renegade Real Estate Ring" Putting Customers Into Unaffordable Mortgages; Referral To Criminal Prosecutors Possible
Posted on August 27, 2009In Hartford, Connecticut, The Connecticut Post reports:Latinos throughout Southwestern Connecticut were victims of a wide-ranging predatory-lending scheme that used a Stamford real estate office to guide them into unaffordable mortgages, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal charged on Tuesday...
California Real Estate Agent Cops Plea To Investment Scam That Pulled In $1.25M+; Victims Include Senior Who Invested Bulk Of Life Savings
Posted on August 27, 2009From the Office of the Ventura County, California District Attorney:District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced [...] that Veronica Sanchez Gallegos, a licensed real estate agent residing in Ventura, pled guilty on August 6, 2009, to one felony count of theft from an elder, five felony counts of grand theft, and admitted a special allegation of taking more than $500,000...
Westchester DA Indicts Eight In Alleged Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam After Joint Probe w/ NYS Banking Dept.; Four Families Victimized
Posted on August 26, 2009In White Plains, New York, The Journal News reports:Eight people(1) were indicted for a countywide mortgage scheme that defrauded four families and two mortgage lenders of $1.4 million, Westchester authorities announced [Tuesday]. The perpetrators "induced desperate property owners fearing the threat of foreclosure to deed their homes to 'investors' with the promise that they could re-purchase
Ten State AGs, Feds Form Posse To Target Equity Skimming, Bogus Foreclosure Rescue, Straw Purchases, Unethical Lending Practices
Posted on August 26, 2009The New York Times reports:Ten state attorneys general and four federal agencies have announced the formation of a task force to combat mortgage fraud. According to a statement issued by Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna, targets of the enforcement effort include equity skimming, bogus foreclosure rescue, straw purchases and unethical lending practices...
Mississippi Couple Cops Pleas In Bankruptcy Fraud-Related, Deed Transfer Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Wife Goes Down For Failing To Turn In Hubby
Posted on August 26, 2009In Jackson, Mississippi, The Clarion Ledger reports:A Jackson couple will be sentenced Nov. 5 in federal court after pleading guilty to fraud related charges. Robert E. Power Jr. pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and bankruptcy fraud...
Mississippi Feds Hit Title Agents With 38-Count Indictment For Role In Alleged Scam To Fraudulently Obtain $9M+ In Mortgage Loans
Posted on August 26, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Jackson, Mississippi):Acting United States Attorney Stan Harris announced [...] that a federal grand jury has returned a 38 count indictment charging J. Larry Kennedy and Keith M. Kennedy with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, multiple counts of wire fraud, and multiple counts of money laundering in relation to their roles
Cook County Court Clerk Sits On $18M+ Belonging To Foreclosed Homeowners Who Failed To Claim Surplus Money From Courthouse Sales
Posted on August 26, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, WLS-TV Channel 7 reports:Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown says her office has found more than $18 million in mortgage surplus money that belongs to people who lost their homes to foreclosure in the last two decades. The surpluses occur when the bank sells foreclosed homes for more than the homeowners owe...
Upfront Fee Florida Foreclosure Rescue Operator Gets Apparent Hand Slap In Federal Civil Suit; FTC To Suspend $4.1M Judgment After Payment Of $21K
Posted on August 25, 2009The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:The Federal Trade Commission has put a stop to a deceptive foreclosure "rescue" operation that charged homeowners $1,200 based on the false promise that it could save them from losing their homes. The operators of the business(1) are barred from any further deceptive practices under a settlement with the FTC...
Queens Woman Accused Of Swiping Deed To Brooklyn Retiree's Home & Emptying His Savings Account; House & Cash Recovered In Civil Suit
Posted on August 25, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Daily News reports:A Queens mom in a child support battle offered to help an elderly man with his own Family Court problem - and then stole the deed to his home and cleared out his bank account, officials said. Chandra Myers is facing larceny and forgery charges and a possible 15 years in prison if convicted of scamming Brooklyn retiree Levi Latham...
Mississippi Man Gets 20+ Years In Mortgage Fraud, Investment Scam; Used Recruits To Buy Property Using Bogus Financial Info, Title Work, Appraisals
Posted on August 25, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Jackson, Mississippi):James Wynn Threatt of Brandon, MS, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 250 months (20 years and 10 months) in federal prison in relation to a $ 3.5 million mortgage fraud conspiracy [...
"Helpful" Neighbor Gets 57 Months For Ripping Off Cancer Patient; Stopping Automatic Bank Debit For House Payments Leads To Near Foreclosure
Posted on August 25, 2009In Fort Worth, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:Debilitated by breast cancer, Jody Short of Mansfield was grateful two years ago when a neighbor offered to help care for her after she came home from the hospital. Sixteen months later, Short learned that the neighbor, Janice Gast, whom she considered a friend, had begun using her identity, her credit cards and her bank accounts shortly after she
Four Face Federal Charges In Alleged Straw Buyer Mortgage Fraud Scheme Designed To Assist Struggling Oklahoma Homebuilder Unload Unsold Inventory
Posted on August 25, 2009In Muskogee, Oklahoma, Tulsa World reports:Four people, one of them a Tulsa firefighter, were arraigned [last] week in federal court in connection with an alleged mortgage conspiracy that defrauded lenders and homeowners. Home builders Gerald Wayne Snow Sr...
Maryland Federal Judge Grants "Money Store" Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam Lawsuit Class Action Status
Posted on August 24, 2009In Greenbelt, Maryland, the Maryland Daily Record reports:The criminal prosecution of the massive Metropolitan Money Store mortgage fraud, which has yielded 10 guilty pleas since the first indictment was handed up last summer, has grabbed headlines as a particularly egregious example of the foreclosure rescue schemes that prey on people already hard-hit by the recession...
Maryland Lawmaker To Cough Up $109K For Violating State Law Regulating Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Posted on August 24, 2009In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, The Capital Gazette reports:A state lawmaker from Severna Park who lost a lawsuit earlier this year must pay $109,000 in damages and attorney fees, a county judge has ruled. That is 10 times more than what a jury ordered Del...
Federal Suit Says Wells Fargo Illegally Cut Illinois Homeowner's HELOC; Class Action Status Sought
Posted on August 24, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, Reuters reports:An Illinois homeowner accused Wells Fargo & Co, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, in a lawsuit of summarily cutting home equity lines of credit by undervaluing customers' houses. In a federal lawsuit filed in Chicago on Wednesday that seeks class-action status, homeowner Michael Hickman accused the bank of using "dubious" computer models that systematically
Arizona Bankruptcy Judge Orders Wells Fargo Exec Into Court To Explain Mortgage Servicer's Loan Modification Policy
Posted on August 24, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered a top Wells Fargo executive to testify in court about the bank's loan modification policies. The order came in response to a Phoenix woman's complaint that Wells Fargo had ignored her modification request...
Florida AG Brings Civil Suit Against Another Central Florida Loan Modification Foreclosure Rescue Outfit
Posted on August 24, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [Friday] sued a Kissimmee-based company over allegations it targeted Hispanics in a foreclosure rescue fraud scheme. JPB Consulting Inc. and its president, Juan P. Bordali, allegedly charged up front fees of more than $1,000 per customer to homeowners about to lose their homes, but never performed any services.
Minnesota Title Agent Cops Plea To Swiping $400K+ In Clients' Escrow Funds From Real Estate Transactions
Posted on August 23, 2009In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:A Brooklyn Center man pleaded guilty [last week] in U.S. District Court to using as much as $1 million from clients of his mortgage title company for his own benefit. Terry Louis Lemke, 40, owns All Metro Title...
Backpeddling Begins For City Officials Whose Foreclosure Program Referred Strapped Homeowners To Forensic Loan Audit Outfit With History Of Complaints
Posted on August 23, 2009In Carson, California, The Daily Breeze reports:Carson's elected officials are distancing themselves from a city foreclosure program that has steered strapped homeowners to a private firm with a history of complaints. The company, ABS Business Solutions, charges thousands of dollars in up-front fees to perform mortgage "audits...
Consumer Lawsuits Against Companies Alleging Violations Of Federal Debt Collection, Credit Reporting Laws Surge In 2009
Posted on August 23, 2009Credit.com's John Ulzheimer writes:According to Jack Gordon, CEO of WebRecon LLC, a service that tracks FCRA [Fair Credit Reporting Act] and FDCPA [Fair Debt Collection Practices Act] filings, ?we?re on pace to eclipse 8,500 such lawsuits in 2009. That?s a record for any one year...
Unconventional Purchase From Homebuilder Leaves Unwitting Washington Couple Facing Foreclosure, Despite Making All House Payments
Posted on August 23, 2009In Richland, Washington, The News Tribune reports:For 21 months, Tonya and Timothy Stapleton paid the mortgage, insurance and taxes on their new $220,000 Horn Rapids house on time. But today [last Friday] Tonya plans to go to the Benton County Justice Center to make sure her home isn't auctioned in a foreclosure sale...
Dispute Between Concrete Firm & Supplier Leads To Foreclosure Threat For Unwitting Homeowner; Gets Hit w/ Mechanics Lien Over Contractor's Unpaid Bill
Posted on August 23, 2009In Lansing, Michigan, the Lansing State Journal reports:In May, Maurice Jones hired a local company to replace about 340 square feet of driveway at his home on Norburn Way in Lansing. The cement got poured. Jones paid in full. Done deal, right? Not quite...
Ohio AG Tags Home Improvement Firm With Allegations Of Shoddy, Incomplete Work; Accused Of Pocketing Upfront Customer Money, Failing to Give Refunds
Posted on August 22, 2009From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray filed a lawsuit [last week] charging Akron Asphalt, a driveway paving company, with failing to deliver promised services and performing shoddy work. The complaint, filed in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, charges the company with several violations of Ohio consumer law...
Condo Renters Live In Limbo In Boston "Triple Decker" As Investor/Landlords Stiff Mortgage Lenders & Go AWOL
Posted on August 22, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, Open Media Boston reports:Wanda Castle does just about everything the owner of a Boston triple-decker would do to maintain her property, including basic repairs and paying for water and electricity in common areas of the building...
Penn. Man Accused Of Torching Home In Alleged Attempt To Use Insurance Proceeds As A "Foreclosure Bailout" Of Delinquent Mortgage; Blames God For Fire
Posted on August 22, 2009In Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, WNEP-TV Channel 16 reports:They say desperate times mean desperate measures, and perhaps the saying can apply to an arson case in Lackawanna County. Tuesday police arrested Manfred Lennartz, 60, of Jermyn. Investigators said he torched his own home to avoid foreclosure...
NYC Cop Charged With Attempted Section 8 Rent Subsidy Ripoff
Posted on August 22, 2009In New York City, The Associated Press reports:A New York City police officer has been arrested on charges she forged pay stubs to be eligible for city subsidized housing. The Manhattan District Attorney's office says Simone Smith was charged Wednesday with welfare fraud and forgery and has been placed on modified duty...
"Blowout Bash" Promoter Suspected Of Hijacking Vacant Million Dollar Homes For Sale Or In Foreclosure To Throw All-Night Teen Parties
Posted on August 22, 2009In San Diego County, California, North County Times reports:When the market got down, apparently, so did some kids. But the party may be over for a jailed San Marcos man, charged Wednesday with breaking into upscale but empty North County homes to throw large and destructive bashes for profit...
Association With Legal Profession Bad For Pit Bulls' Image, Or Vice Versa???
Posted on August 22, 2009Texas attorney John Browning, a partner in the Dallas office of Gordon & Rees, LLP, offers his commentary on the topic of lawyer advertising in a recent issue of The Southeast Texas Record:As anyone who's ever watched daytime or late night television can attest, "classy" is not a word one would associate with most lawyer advertising...
Federal Court Ruling May Complicate Loan Modifications As Investors In Securitized Trusts Assert Their Rights Against Mortgage Servicers
Posted on August 21, 2009The New York Times reports:A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected an argument by Countrywide Financial seeking certain protections from investor lawsuits under new legislation intended to encourage modifications of home loans. Countrywide, the big mortgage company, had argued that the legislation automatically voided its pledges to buy back loans from investors if those loans were modified for
Indianapolis Feds Indict Ex-Waiter For Alleged Role In Running Massive Mortgage Fraud Scam Involving 110+ Fraudulent Real Estate Deals
Posted on August 21, 2009In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:A former waiter who became a high-profile Indianapolis real estate investor in the easy-money era of the 2000s has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a mortgage fraud case that set off mass home foreclosures on the Eastside...
Canadian Authorities Turn Over Apprehended Fugitive Accused Of Running Loan Modification Racket To State Department For Shipment Back To California
Posted on August 21, 2009In Niagara Falls, Ontario, The Niagara Falls Review reports:A U. S. man wanted in California for fraud and larceny has been arrested at the Rainbow Bridge. Canada Border Services Agency notified their U.S. counterparts Thursday that a 25-year-old man was being returned stateside...
Would-Be First Time Homebuyers Begin Running Out Of Time For $8K Income Tax Credit
Posted on August 21, 2009The Baltimore Sun's Real Estate Wonk blogger writes:Determined to get the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers?(1) Keep in mind that the Nov. 30 deadline isn't about signing a contract -- you need to get to closing no later than that day. So says the IRS, which specifically uses the word "close...
Wisconsin Mortgage Broker License Eligibility Nearing An End For Drug Dealers, Embezzlers, Extortionists, Forgers, Killers & Other Assorted Felons???
Posted on August 21, 2009The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:Drug dealers, embezzlers and extortionists would be among the felons banned for life from obtaining a mortgage broker's license, according to legislation introduced Tuesday by Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee). The bill, which has 11 co-sponsors in the Assembly and Senate, also would slap the lifetime prohibition on those convicted of felonies involving theft,
Arizona Mortgage Broker Cops Plea In Loan Fraud Conspiracy; Will "Sing" To Feds In Prosecution Of Alleged Cohorts; Foreclosing Lenders Take $1M Hit
Posted on August 21, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Phoenix, Arizona):Jake David Abegg Whitman, 33, of Mesa, Ariz., pleaded guilty on August 18, 2009, to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and seven counts of Bank Fraud. Whitman played a leadership role in the underlying conspiracy, which involved 19 unimproved residential properties in the greater Phoenix area...
Residents In Western Pennsylvania Mobile Home Park Face Eviction After Land Owner Loses Property To Foreclosure
Posted on August 21, 2009In Robinson, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports:Off Route 22 in Washington County, doors and loose siding on empty trailers rattle in the summer breeze, and 12 families find themselves facing an eviction order. Many tenants of Maple Grove Trailer Park in Robinson live month-to-month on fixed incomes; some are slowed by age or illness; others own trailers too old to move or that
Beware Of Mortgage Loan Servicers Bearing Gifts: Hi-Credit Score Homeowners Get Slammed After Receiving Loan Mods Despite Never Missing House Payment
Posted on August 20, 2009A recent story in The Oregonian serves as a cautionary tale to those "high credit score" homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments, but nevertheless considering seeking a loan modification:Here's a twist: What if your lender actively encouraged you to modify your loan -- and then reported you as delinquent, prompting credit card companies to treat you as a deadbeat? That's what
Loan Modification Nightmares Begin to Pile Up
Posted on August 20, 2009McClatchy Newspapers reports:A story Sunday on how lenders aren't following through on promises of modifying distressed mortgages, prompted an outpouring of comments and e-mails from others with similar tales of woe.For some of their stories, see More nightmares from the world of mortgage modifications (Borrowers still have little chance of getting payments lowered).
Bogus Fee Complaints Continue Rolling In Against Loan Servicer Despite Settlement In Class Action Lawsuit
Posted on August 20, 2009ConsumerAffairs.com reports:Four months after [Goldman Sachs-owned] Litton Loan Services settled a class action accusing the company of imposing bogus late fees,(1) complaints about Litton continue to roll into ConsumerAffairs.com. Some consumers allege that Litton failed to timely post payments to their accounts, the main issue in the class action...
NYC Convicted Deed Thief, Welfare Cheat Now Faces New Charges In Alleged Straw Buyer Scam
Posted on August 20, 2009In New York City, the New York Daily News reports:Old con men never die - they just find a new scam. Herbert Steed, who famously went to jail in the '90s for collecting welfare while living large in a Trump Tower pad,(1) is now charged with a fresh $1...
Another Foreclosure Screw Up Forces South Florida Family Into Temporary Homelessness
Posted on August 20, 2009In Homestead, Florida, NBC Miami reports:You know times are tough when people are getting kicked out of their house when it?s not even for sale. That?s what happened to Anna Ramirez after she found all of her stuff out on the front lawn of her Homestead home last week and a strange man demanding she get out of his newly purchased house...
State High Court Task Force Issues Report & Recommendations On Florida Foreclosure Crisis
Posted on August 20, 2009In Tallahassee, Florida, the Miami Daily Business Review reports:Florida Supreme Court task force is calling for uniform mandatory mediation for all residential foreclosure cases in the state to deal with the tide of foreclosures that has swamped courthouses...
Show Me The Original Note And I Will Show You The Money!
Posted on August 19, 2009On the Credit Slips blog, consumer bankruptcy attorney O. Max Gardner III writes:As mortgage delinquencies rise each month, and as the number of foreclosures increase each quarter, the ?new mantra? of many pro-se and represented consumers is to demand that the mortgage servicer ?prove up the original note...
Claims Of Deception, Illegal Practice Of Law Unfounded, Says NY-Licensed Attorney In Response To Connecticut AG Probe Into Loan Modification Firm
Posted on August 19, 2009In East Berlin, Connecticut, the Connecticut Law Tribune reports:Kent Gross said he can?t be done with Connecticut soon enough. For him, it?s become impossible to do business here. The New York-licensed attorney said [First Legal Group, a] company he helped set up in East Berlin to assist homeowners facing foreclosure has been unfairly targeted by state grievance officials and Attorney General
Missouri AG Accuses Mobile Home Operator Of Pocketing Buyers' Money & Failing To Deliver Homes; Also Allegedly Swiped Proceeds Of Brokered Sales
Posted on August 19, 2009From the Office of the Missouri Attorney General:Attorney General Chris Koster has charged Edna Kay Jackson of Kirbyville with 12 felony counts for allegedly deceiving people who did business with her to buy or sell mobile or modular homes. The charges, filed in Greene County, accuse Jackson, doing business as Dogwood Homes, of taking money for the purchase of homes and not delivering either the
Maryland Homebuilder Gets 12 Years For Pocketing Customer Deposits & Loan Proceeds, Failing To Build Homes
Posted on August 19, 2009In Prince George's County, Maryland, The Washington Post reports:A District Heights developer was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison for collecting more than $1 million from banks and home buyers for houses that were never built. Leon Coleman promised 11 buyers that he would build homes in Kings Grant, a new subdivision in Upper Marlboro, but he never built them...
North Carolina AG Adds Rent Skimming Rackets, "Subject To" Deed Conveyances To Its "Foreclosure Rescue" Radar
Posted on August 18, 2009In Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports:Like others across North Carolina, [77-year-old Ruth Barbour] fell victim to a type of mortgage scheme that's become more common as businesses target homeowners desperate to get out of their houses...
Mortgage Servicer Encouragement To Default On House Payments To Qualify For Workout A Common Complaint From Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications
Posted on August 18, 2009In Washington, D.C., McClatchy Newspapers reports:Nearly three years into the deepest U.S. housing slump in generations, lenders are modifying only a small number of problem mortgages, and rising foreclosures are restraining the economy's recovery. The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on lenders and their mortgage servicers, who act as bill collectors on behalf of investors who own
"We Will Be Bringing More Lawsuits As Needed" Says Ohio AG To Mortgage Servicers Who Fail To Provide Reasonable Loan Mods To Eligible Borrowers
Posted on August 18, 2009Statement from Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray:?[A recent] report from the U.S. Treasury further demonstrates that most mortgage loan servicers are not doing enough to live up to their commitments to help keep people in their homes. What is it going to take to get these companies to change their behavior and take responsibility? [Recently], Ohio broke new ground by filing a lawsuit against
310-Unit Condo Conversion Complex Struggles To Stay Afloat; Considers "Blanket Receivership" To Grab Rents Away From Deadbeat Owner/Landlords
Posted on August 18, 2009In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Dealing with an ongoing crisis, the company that manages cash-strapped Mirassou Condominium wants to start a blanket receivership system to collect association fees from deadbeat owners.(1)(2) [...] As budgets continue to worsen in South Florida condo associations, Mirassou's situation underscores the consequences communities are facing when unit owners
Overleveraged Apartment Buildings Falling Into Foreclosure Threaten Tenants, Jeopardize Neighborhoods Throughout NYC
Posted on August 18, 2009In The Bronx, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:Linda Kemp remembers when the hallway floors at Robert Fulton Terrace were waxed regularly, when tulips, not weeds, bloomed in the garden, and when mold wasn't growing in the bathrooms of apartments in the 18-story complex that once was the envy of the Morrisania section of the Bronx...
Man Ripped Off Absentee Owners Of Title To Mortgage-Free Properties, Pocketing Proceeds Of Fraudulently Obtained Mortgages In The Process, Say Feds
Posted on August 17, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Orlando, Florida):United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces the arrest yesterday of Edwin M. Lugo-Abreu (age 34, of Orlando) on an indictment(1) charging him with mortgage fraud. If convicted on all counts, Lugo-Abreu faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison...
"There Is Zero Time To Waste" Says Indiana AG In Continuing Effort To Eliminate Loan Modification Scams Targeting Hoosiers
Posted on August 17, 2009In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:The Attorney General's Homeowner Protection Unit has filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County against a Jacksonville, Fla.-based foreclosure consulting company. The lawsuit against National Foreclosure Counseling Services Corp...
"Zero Tolerance" For Loan Modification Scams, Says Missouri AG As Civil Charges Brought On Outfit Allegedly Charging Upfront Fees & Failing To Deliver
Posted on August 17, 2009In Kansas City, Missouri, Missourinet.com reports:Missouri has filed suit against a Kansas City firm, claiming that it is preying on people who are desperate to save their homes. Attorney General Chris Koster has filed suit against Premier Credit Services of Kansas City and principals Michael and Angela Eads...
Using "Qualified Written Requests" In Consumer Bankruptcy Cases
Posted on August 17, 2009On the Credit Slips blog, consumer bankruptcy attorney O. Max Gardner III writes:I have trained over 350 attorneys at my Bankruptcy Boot Camps and to my surprise less than 10 percent know what I mean when I refer to a "QWR." This is shocking in that a reasonable QWR can provide the attorney for the Chapter 13 debtor with some of the very best discovery outside of a contested case or Adversary
Illicit Loan Proceeds From Alleged Long Island Sexual Fantasy Club-Based Mortgage Fraud Ring Now Up To $82M, Says Suffolk County DA
Posted on August 16, 2009In Suffolk County, New York, Newsday reports:A dominatrix, her male personal assistant, two employees at her Manhattan sexual fantasy club and her 65-year-old mother are among the latest defendants charged as part of an $82-million mortgage fraud scheme in which a former Suffolk legislator is accused of having a central role...
Feds Convict Two In Beverly Hills Mortage Fraud Scam Resulting In $40M+ In Lender Losses
Posted on August 16, 2009From the Office of the FBI (Losa Angeles, California):A federal jury [...] convicted a prominent Beverly Hills real estate agent and a licensed real estate appraiser on federal charges for their roles in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused more than $40 million in losses to federally insured banks...
Ex-Real Estate Agent Gets 15 Years In I.D. Theft, Mortgage Fraud Scam; One Unwitting Victim Left Broke
Posted on August 16, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:Former Twin Cities real estate agent Larry Maxwell received a 15-year prison sentence Thursday from a Hennepin County judge who said Maxwell's extensive mortgage and identity fraud scheme merited the term...
Cleveland Grand Jury Brings 96-Count Indictment Against 12 In Alleged $14M+ Straw Buyer, Mortgage Fraud Racket; Left Home Sellers Clipped Out Of $3M
Posted on August 16, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, The Plain Dealer reports:A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted 12 people and three companies Friday in what prosecutors say was a brazen $14.7 million mortgage fraud scheme involving seven upscale houses - some with waterfront views...
Lender Reposseses 500+ Units In Failed Condo Conversion Complex, Leaving Remaining Struggling Unit Owners With Uncertain Future
Posted on August 15, 2009In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:The future is uncertain for another big Tampa Bay area condominium project that was foreclosed on Wednesday. Corus Bank, the lender for the $74.8 million Lansbrook Village Condominiums in Palm Harbor, took back the property after its Atlanta-based developer defaulted on payments, online Pinellas County court records show...
Aging Buildings, Developer Disputes, High Rate Of Absentee Landlords, Underwater Owners, Scarce Buyers Leave Condo Conversions In Deep Trouble
Posted on August 15, 2009In South Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Since 2003, when housing prices took off, more than 74,000 rental apartments were converted into condominiums in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, twice as many as the previous 50 years combined, according to state records of condo conversion applications...
High Cost Of Maintenance Has Struggling HOAs Looking Into Unloading Private Streets Onto Cities
Posted on August 15, 2009In Riverside County, California, The Press Enterprise reports:A Corona homeowners association has made a simple plea to the city: Take our street. Parkview Estates' struggle to come up with more than $10,000 a year to maintain the private 2 ½-block Ruth Circle that runs through its modest 17-home tract is symbolic of trouble faced by homeowners associations everywhere: They are losing hundreds of
Townhome Buyer Sues Developer For Refund As Crime, Foreclosures, Questionable Sales, Unwanted Renters Plague Failed Complex
Posted on August 15, 2009In Riviera Beach, Florida, the South Florida Daily Business Review reports:When Pamela Hart paid $275,000 for a townhouse in one of Cornerstone Group?s new developments in Riviera Beach, she thought she was making a great purchase. The 59-year-old county employee said she received a $10,000 discount when she bought what she believed was the last unit for sale in Sonoma Bay...
Couple Lets Home Go To Foreclosure After Dispute With Condo Association Over Source Of Mold Problem
Posted on August 15, 2009In Golden Valley, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:On July 15, at the roll call of heartbreaks known as the Hennepin County sheriff's mortgage foreclosure sale, a deputy called out the names of Denise Martineau and Mark Bufkin. It was the couple's last chance to pay up before the lender took their condo in Golden Valley...
Countrywide Fights City To Stop Demolition Of Moldy Foreclosed Home
Posted on August 15, 2009In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, The Northwestern reports:A court will decide if an 11-year-old house in the city of Oshkosh that is filled with mold must be razed. [...] The city has issued raze or repair orders for the single-story home, but Countrywide Home Loans Inc...
Suspect In Looting Of Unoccupied Home In Foreclosure Accidentally Busted By Victim; Found Peddling Ripped Off Items At Neighborhood Yard Sale
Posted on August 15, 2009In Severn, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:A woman whose home was burglarized as she stayed with her daughter was shocked to spot her belongings offered at a neighbor's yard sale, Anne Arundel County police say. [...] Police said they found $25,000 worth of her clothes, furnishings and other possessions - even a fur coat - on the property...
California Bar Obtains Attorney Resignations From Two, Files Charges Against Another In Connection With Alleged Loan Modification Scams
Posted on August 14, 2009From The State Bar of California:Continuing its aggressive pursuit of lawyers who commit professional misconduct by taking advantage of vulnerable homeowners, The State Bar of California announced [Thursday] that it has obtained the resignations of two lawyers and filed charges against a third for their loan modification activities...
Cops Seek Ohio Foreclosure Rescue Operator For Allegedly Screwing Homeowners In Foreclosure; Charges Of Theft, Securing Writings By Deception Pending
Posted on August 14, 2009In Columbus, Ohio, WBNS-TV Channel 10 reports:The alleged ringleader of an organization devoted to defrauding homeowners threatened by foreclosure was named to Crime Stoppers' most wanted list on Wednesday. Paul Hairston Jr. is being charged with theft, tampering and securing writings by deceptions, according to Crime Stoppers...
Arrest Warrant Issued For Colorado Foreclosure Rescue Operator Accused Of Selling Houses Out From Under Financially Distressed Homeowners
Posted on August 14, 2009In Denver, Colorado, the Denver Daily News reports:A 31-year-old mortgage broker has been charged with multiple felonies after he was accused of scamming thousands of dollars from borrowers, investors and financial institutions. Kedrick McDuffie is accused of promising homeowners he could save their homes from foreclosure by having their original loans refinanced or taken over by another person.
NY AG Sues Loan Modification Firm; Outfit Runs Illegal Upfront Fee Racket Engaging In Deceptive Practices That Fails To Deliver On Promises, Says Suit
Posted on August 14, 2009From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [Thursday] announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against New York-based American Modification Agency, Inc. (?Amerimod?), one of the largest foreclosure rescue companies in the country, and its owner Salvatore Pane, Jr...
Florida Man Charged With Conning "Fiance" Into Selling Her Home, Then Bilking Her Of $300K In Sale Proceeds
Posted on August 14, 2009In Broward County, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Rose Marie Anglade thought she was building a life with the man of her dreams. After meeting him during a visit to Florida, she sold her home in Queens, moved her family to Miramar and began planning a wedding...
MERS Scores Big Win As Minnesota High Court Says Sale Of Note Not An ?Assignment Of The Mortgage? Which Must Be Recorded Before Initiating Foreclosure
Posted on August 14, 2009In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:Minnesota's Supreme Court on Thursday handed a small victory to the battered mortgage industry. In a 6-1 decision, the court ruled that state law does allow the name of a widely used electronic registry of home mortgages, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc...
California AG Orders 386 Loan Modification Outfits To Immediately Register & Post $100K Bond Or Face Prosecution
Posted on August 13, 2009From the Office of the California Attorney General:Threatening possible criminal and civil prosecution, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [Wednesday] ordered 386 mortgage foreclosure consultants to post $100,000 bonds and register with his office. He also ordered more than two dozen companies to justify suspicious loan modification claims made in "slick advertising," online and through the
Maryland Co-Conspirator Gets 54 Months For Role In Bogus Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Scam; To Forfeit $2.25M In Proceeds From Criminal Acts
Posted on August 13, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Earnest Lewis, age 52, of Takoma Park, Maryland, [Wednesday] to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud arising from a scheme in which the conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from foreclosure,
D.C. Resident Victimized By Bogus Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue; Family Home For Over A Century Lost In Scam
Posted on August 13, 2009In Washington, D.C., Washington City Paper reports:There?s long been an O?Brien on Acker Place, and Anita O?Brien wants to keep it that way. Her great-grandfather, Lewis, purchased the redbrick rowhouse at 660 Acker?a one-block street with narrow brick sidewalks and thin trees?in 1902...
Housing Discrimination Rampant on Internet?
Posted on August 13, 2009From a press release from the National Fair Housing Alliance:In a report released [Tuesday], the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) documents how thousands of illegal housing advertisements appear with impunity on the Internet every day. "FOR RENT: NO KIDS! How Internet Advertisements Perpetuate Discrimination" calls upon Congress to stop the flood of discriminatory housing advertisements on
Foreclosure Rescue Operators Using New Tenant Protection Law, Bogus Sale Leaseback Arrangements To Gum Up Foreclosure Process???
Posted on August 12, 2009The Florida Asset Protection Blog reports:To better protect tenants victimized by foreclosures against their landlords Congress passed a law which required the non-occupant purchasers at foreclosure sales (such as banks) to honor existing leases on the foreclosed property provided that the lease was bona fide and the tenants were not in default...
Schizophrenic Employee Says In Suit Town Stiffed Him On Five Years Back Pay, Then Seized His $200K Property For $11K In Delinquent Real Estate Taxes
Posted on August 12, 2009In Lewisboro, New York, the Lewisboro Ledger reports:Depending on which side you believe, Richard Egloff is either a tax scofflaw whose problems are his own fault or a schizophrenic persecuted by town officials and forced to turn over a $200,000 property to pay for $11,000 in back taxes...
Ex-Michigan Resident Charged With Five Felonies In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Racket Nabbed In Texas
Posted on August 12, 2009In Lansing, Michigan, WLAJ-TV Channel 3 reports:A former Lansing resident faced fraud charges Monday. State police and Attorney General Mike Cox said he's part of a half million dollar mortgage scheme. Officials say Jeffrey Barry was arrested today in Texas, where he's now living...
Las Vegas Man Charged With Forging Quit Claim Deed To Home Into His Own Name; Transfer Dated Nine Months After Owner's Death
Posted on August 12, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:[Calvin] Wynn proclaims he is innocent of six felony charges relating to a real estate transaction in 2006. According to records, Morris Rozet, the 30-year resident of a southeast Las Vegas home, quit claimed his property to Wynn...
Damage To Credit Rating A Consideration For High-Score, Non-Delinquent Homeowners When Seeking Loan Modifications
Posted on August 12, 2009Homeowners who are current on their mortgage loan but nevertheless are seeking to modify their loans to lower their house payments may wish to consider the prospect of how badly their credit scores will be creamed if they go through with a loan modification, based on a recent story on Credit...
Connecticut AG Accuses Two Outfits Of "Lawyer Renting" While Peddling Loan Modifications; Group May Also Have Operations In Florida, Six Other States
Posted on August 11, 2009From the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General:Attorney General Richard Blumenthal [Monday] issued an urgent warning to consumers about two foreclosure rescue companies allegedly masquerading as a law firm in Connecticut. Blumenthal's office is investigating and preparing action against the companies and coordinating with the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel (OCDC), which has filed a
Collapsing Short Sales Contribute To Continuing Flow Of Foreclosures
Posted on August 11, 2009USA Today reports:Scores of homeowners who thought they'd cut a deal with their banks to sell their houses for less than their unpaid mortgages are seeing those agreements fall apart months later, contributing to the mounting foreclosures that threaten the housing market's recovery...
Seller's Failure To Resolve Foreclosure Spells Disaster For Would-Be Rent To Own Homebuyer; Family Booted Despite Making Repairs, Prompt Rent Payments
Posted on August 11, 2009In Syracuse, New York, The Post Standard reports:When they moved in last fall, April and Boliver Marshall thought their family had found the American Dream. "Everyone had been saying, no, you'll never be a homeowner -- and then, finally, I was," April Marshall recalled...
Foreclosure Eviction Forces Couple, Four Kids, Two Elderly Foster Care Clients From Rented Home; Out $2.5K Security Deposit, Cost Of Home Improvements
Posted on August 11, 2009In Eugene, Oregon, The Register Guard reports:Three months into a year long lease, renters Al and Rene Ako had to pack up their children and two elderly foster care clients and move. They had to move out of a house in the Ferry Street Bridge area of Eugene even through they had paid their rent on schedule and otherwise held up their end of the landlord-tenant bargain...
Foreclosure Forces Four Washington Seniors From Assisted Living Adult Home
Posted on August 11, 2009In Marysville, Washington, HeraldNet.com reports:One adult family home has been closed by foreclosure and the state Department of Social and Health Services has warned residents at a second nearby adult family home that theirs could face a similar fate...
Maryland Homeowner Accuses Wells Of "Unclean Hands" In Federal Suit Seeking To Undo Toxic Mortgage Loan
Posted on August 10, 2009In Greenbelt, Maryland, The Business Gazette reports:A Bowie couple is suing Wells Fargo bank, alleging the bank should have known they could not afford the second mortgage they agreed to for their home. [...] According to court documents, the Bahs have asked for "legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate," though lawyers hope that will include a chance to renegotiate with the lender...
Fannie Backs Down On Plans To Use Online Auction To Dump $29M Mortgage Portfolio Secured By Rundown Bronx Bldgs; Will Search For Responsible Landlord
Posted on August 10, 2009In The Bronx, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:In the face of pressure from Sen. Charles Schumer, city housing officials and tenant advocates, Fannie Mae decided to cancel an online auction of 19 Bronx apartment buildings that had fallen into foreclosure...
Florida Suit Claiming Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Paid Inflated Fees To Reinstate Mortgage Certified As Class Action
Posted on August 10, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull [Thursday] certified as a class action a lawsuit against an attorney, along with his law firm, who collected foreclosure-related fees from Wells Fargo mortgage holders...
Failure To Establish Chain Of Title, Prove Debt Sinks Creditor As Consumer Challenges Credit Card Claim In Collection Lawsuit
Posted on August 10, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:Jenny Vo of South Philadelphia ekes by as a manicurist and single mother raising two sons. So when a debt collector told her in February 2008 she owed $14,237.38 on her credit card, she was stunned...
Monkees' Wife Cops Plea In NYC Rent Subsidy Ripoff; Pays 137,000 "Bananas" For "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" After Initially Hit w/ Grand Larceny Charge
Posted on August 10, 2009In New York City, the New York Post reports:Hey, hey, I'm a housing cheat! The wife of Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz was arrested [Thursday] on charges she ripped off an affordable housing program. Investigators said Donna Quinter, 54, had illegally gotten her paws on $136,866 in government rental subsidies aimed at providing affordable housing for the middle class over a five-year period...
Minnesota Suit Seeks To Slam Brakes On Foreclosures Until Feds Implement Better Procedures In Program Borrowers Claim Violates Due Process Rights
Posted on August 09, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:Across the state and the nation, struggling homeowners [...] are growing frustrated with a $75 billion federal program that was supposed to ease the housing crisis by preventing so-called "avoidable foreclosures" by cutting borrowers' monthly mortgage payments...
Mortgage Servicer Forecloses On Home Despite On-Time Payments On Loan Mod Agreement, Says Texas Woman In Suit
Posted on August 09, 2009In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Kemah woman alleges a mortgage processing and servicing company foreclosed her residence even though she was on time with her payments, recent court documents say. Christina Melinder accuses Ocwen Loan Servicing of breaching a loan modification agreement she entered with the Florida-based business back in February...
Plea-Copping Suspect Agrees To Testify Against Confederates In Criminal Prosecution Of Alleged Loan Modification Scammers
Posted on August 09, 2009In Monterey County, California, The Monterey Herald reports:A preliminary hearing began Friday for a Gonzales woman and her nephew who are charged with fraud. They were arrested in August 2008 on suspicion of taking money from 55 people with empty promises of renegotiating their mortgages to avoid foreclosure...
California Men Sentenced For Using Others' I.D. To Obtain Loans, Cars; Victimized Owners Had Home Of 30+ Years Sold Out From Under Them
Posted on August 09, 2009From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:Howard Edwards and John Foster were sentenced to prison for real estate fraud related crimes. Howard Edwards was sentenced to 20 years, four months and John Foster was sentenced to 10 years, four months...
Attorney Suspended For Taking, Failing To Return $308K In Client Trust Funds After Failed Foreclosure Sale Bid
Posted on August 09, 2009In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports on some of the local attorneys recently sanctioned by the Florida Supreme Court for their bad behavior, including:Andrew Stuart Forman of Tampa was suspended until further order. An emergency suspension order states that Forman took $308,000 in trust to be used to bid at a foreclosure sale...
Stumbling Onto Hand Grenade The Latest Surprise For Real Estate Pair As Hazards Increase For Those Selling Foreclosed Homes
Posted on August 08, 2009In Clarke County, Georgia, the Athens Banner Herald reports:Foreclosure specialists Mike Seger and Jackie Quig never know what they'll find when they check on a house that a bank plans to put on the market. They've come across dynamite, a pipe bomb and marijuana grow houses, but Thursday was the first time they'd stumbled onto a hand grenade...
Tear Gas Triggers Gun Battle Between Detroit Cops & 78-Year Old Man Distraught Over Eviction Proceedings
Posted on August 08, 2009In Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports:A standoff involving a 78-year-old gunman distraught over being evicted from his Detroit apartment ended in a hail of gunfire [last week]. The man, who was not identified, was shot multiple times after firing at police, according to Detroit Police spokeswoman Sgt...
Virginia Couple Facing Foreclosure Discover Their Home Listed For Rent On Craigslist By Nigerian Scammer
Posted on August 08, 2009In Lake Jackson, Virginia, InsideNova.com reports:A Lake Jackson couple was shocked to see their house for rent on Craiglist this week. [... T]hey are losing it to foreclosure, and now it appears a scam artist is trying to make a buck by fraudulently listing it for rent...
Ex-Florida Appeals Court Judge Cops Plea To Falsifying Mortgage Application In Alleged Attempt To Help Stripper Cover Up Her Assets
Posted on August 08, 2009In Tampa, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:A former Florida appeals court judge who resigned amid controversy over his financial and personal relationship with a stripper has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Thomas E. Stringer appeared in Tampa federal court Thursday morning...
NY AG Files Criminal Charges Against Judge For Allegedly Swiping Bail Money, Fees From Court Bank Account To Save Home From Foreclosure
Posted on August 08, 2009From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [Tuesday] announced criminal charges against a former town judge for using $27,000 in fees and bail money from a court bank account for personal use. According to the complaint, James Funk, 47, of Hudson, while sitting as a judge of the Stockport Town Court in Columbia County, withdrew funds from the court?s bank
Outfit Accused Of Online "Astroturfing" As Part Of Facelift Peddling Program To Cough Up $300K Settlement In Lawsuit Brought By NY AG
Posted on August 08, 2009From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [...] announced a settlement with cosmetic surgery outfit Lifestyle Lift over the publishing of fake consumer reviews on the Internet. Under the settlement, Lifestyle Lift will stop publishing anonymous positive reviews about the company to Internet message boards and other Web sites, and will pay $300,000 in
High Interest In Low Sticker-Priced SW Florida Homes With Chinese Drywall?
Posted on August 08, 2009In Cape Coral, Florida, WINK News reports:For the first time, we're starting to see homes that are known to have toxic Chinese drywall put up for sale. A never-lived-in, four bedroom, two bath home in Northwest Cape Coral is selling for a steal -- just $19,800...
Michigan Bride Settles For Outdoor Tented Wedding Reception After Being Bounced Twice By Country Clubs In Foreclosure
Posted on August 08, 2009In Holland, Michigan, The Holland Sentinel reports:After twice relocating their wedding reception when both venues they chose went into foreclosure earlier this year, Rachel Selle joked that maybe her marriage wasn?t meant to be. The Hudsonville couple had to change venues after their reception plans at Holland Country Club and then Raleigh Woods were thwarted when both businesses closed...
Feds Sought 400 Years, Get 100 In Sentencing Of Owner Of 1031 Exchange Intermediary Accused Of Using Clients' Escrow Cash As "Personal Piggy Bank"
Posted on August 07, 2009In Richmond, Virginia, Bloomberg News reports:Edward Okun, the Miami businessman convicted of stealing from customers of his tax-deferral firm, 1031 Tax Group LLC, was sentenced to 100 years in prison for running a $126 million fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne handed down the sentence [Tuseday] in Richmond, Virginia, where Okun?s company was based...
Boston Homeowner Dodges Possible Loan Modification Scam As Ex-Employee Warns That Firm Was "Just Flat Out Stealing"
Posted on August 07, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, WCVB-TV Channel 5 reports:On the verge of foreclosure, Nancy Coxall of Boston was ecstatic when she received a flier from Nation's Housing Modification Center, promising to lower her interest rate and erase bad credit. [...] All she had to do was make a one-time payment of less than $3,000...
Feds Move In On South Florida Loan Modification Peddler; Seize Luxury Cars, Boat In Criminal Probe As State Court Judge Upholds Temporary Injunction
Posted on August 07, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:Jason Vitulano reached out to troubled homeowners with the promise that he could save them for foreclosure, an investigator for the Florida Attorney General said in Palm Beach County Circuit Court [Wednesday]...
Major Bay Area Landlord Hit w/ Numerous Foreclosure Actions Now Accused Of Stiffing Former Tenants On Security Deposit Refunds, Lease Buy-Out Payments
Posted on August 07, 2009In San Francisco, California, the San Francisco Examiner reports:Rental security deposits held by one of The City?s largest residential landlords were funneled into an array of bank accounts and plundered, potentially affecting thousands of tenants, according to lawsuits...
El Paso Woman Facing Foreclosure Allegedly Tricked Into Signing Away Home; Investor Rented Out Premises After Taking Possession
Posted on August 07, 2009In El Paso, Texas, KFOX-TV Channel 14 reports:A former El Paso woman says people are living in her Lower Valley home that she never sold. Tammy Diaz asked a real estate investor to help her sell this home more than two years ago. Diaz moved to Corpus Christi, and almost never heard from him again...
Victims Accuse Colorado Man Of Tricking Owner Into Signing Over Home, Then Pocketing Rent From Unwitting Tenant While Allowing House To Be Foreclosed
Posted on August 07, 2009In Colorado Springs, Colorado, KKTV reports:Imagine you and your children being kicked to the curb with all your belongings left in the front yard in an undignified, but very legal way. That's the situation facing this tenant who decided to rent a property in foreclosure...
Judge Orders Wells To Turn Over Evidence, Execs To Appear At Depositions In City Of Baltimore "Ghetto Loans" Case
Posted on August 07, 2009In Baltimore, Maryland, WJZ-TV Channel 13 reports:Baltimore has won an early battle in its lawsuit against Wells Fargo. A federal judge ruled Thursday that the lender must turn over data on its Baltimore loans and make company officials available for depositions...
NJ Feds Bag Brooklyn-Based "Home Savers" Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Racket; High Equity Homeowners Allegedly Conned w/ Bogus Sale Leasebacks
Posted on August 06, 2009From the Newark, New Jersey Office of the FBI:It?s the type of story that is becoming increasingly more common: FBI Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced [Wednesday] the arrests of GARTH CELESTINE, age 44, of [...] Brooklyn, New York; and PHIL A...
Two Lenders Targeted In Mass. Class Actions Over Toxic "Payment Option, Pick-A-Payment" Loans, Could Slam Brakes On In-State Wells, BofA Foreclosures
Posted on August 06, 2009In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:A Boston attorney has filed lawsuits against two major lenders claiming they knew - or should have known - their mortgage loans that can grow bigger over time were unaffordable to borrowers.(1) The suits are being watched locally and nationally because, if successful, they would provide strength to advocates and litigators struggling to make
The Loan Servicing Horror Stories Continue For Homeowners
Posted on August 06, 2009A recent story by The Associated Press gives an "honorable mention" on the fine work of mortgage servicers Bayview Loan Servicing, Select Portfolio Servicing, and Ocwen Financial Corp. in their dealings with the average consumer homeowner. With respect to Bayview:In February 2005, Janet Simmons was more than $30,000 behind on her mortgage...
Recession Drives Increase In Those Representing Themselves In Court; Trend Alarms Observers
Posted on August 06, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:Legal service has never come cheap, but lawyers, judges and other experts say that for many people the recession has made it a nearly impossible expense. That has created a surge of litigants who must navigate the often-bewildering justice system by themselves...
Florida AG Probes Central Florida "Charity" For Allegedly Clipping Homeowners For Upfront "Donations" For Loan Modifications
Posted on August 06, 2009In Oviedo, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:An Action 9 investigation has exposed a local charity that collects thousands in donations to help people avoid foreclosure. Some clients and a former employee claim it's really charging advance fees for loan modifications many homeowners never get...
Lenders Begin Bypassing Foreclosure On Large Projects, Using Receiverships To Unload Collateral Securing Bad Loans While Avoiding Builder Liability
Posted on August 06, 2009The Wall Street Journal reports:Some banks are starting to bypass foreclosure on large, troubled real-estate developments and instead are throwing the properties into receivership, a move intended to reduce some of the headaches associated with taking over problem assets...
Calif. State Bar Gets Serious About Loan Modification Scams; Forms 10-Person Task Force To Work With Law Enforcement In Statewide Eradication Effort
Posted on August 05, 2009The August 2009 issue of the California Bar Journal reports:The State Bar has taken action to lift the law licenses of three California attorneys(1) allegedly engaged in loan modification fraud and is investigating nearly 140 more. One of the three resigned with charges pending, another faces involuntary inactive status and the third has been formally charged with seven counts of professional
Impatience Grows Among Lawmakers With Lenders, Mortgage Servicers On Lack Of Progress On Loan Modifications
Posted on August 05, 2009The Washington Independent reports:A top Democrat on Monday warned the nation?s banks that, unless they get more aggressive in modifying mortgages to prevent foreclosure, Congress will renew previous efforts to empower families to keep their homes through bankruptcy...
Alleged Florida Fraudster Nabbed In Costa Rica; Accused Of Running Lease To Own, Rent Skimming Scam That Left Would-Be Homeowners Out On The Street
Posted on August 05, 2009In Lee County, Florida, WINK News reports:One of the alleged ring leaders of a major mortgage fraud scheme in Southwest Florida has been tracked down in Costa Rica. Erich Heckler allegedly fled Ft. Myers leaving behind 61 felony charges and a host of victims homeless and broke...
"It's Almost Like A Scary Movie" Says Unit Owner As Weak Sales Leave Family With 32-Story, 200-Unit Florida Condo Tower All To Themselves
Posted on August 05, 2009In Fort Myers, Florida, CBS News reports:The Vangelakos' southwest Florida condominium has marble floors, a large pool overlooking a river and modern furnishings that speak of affluence and luxury. What they don't have in the 32-story building is a single neighbor...
Feds Begin Releasing Monthly "Hall Of Shame" List Of Foot-Dragging Mortgage Servicers Failing In Effort To Modify Home Loans
Posted on August 05, 2009The New York Post reports:Uncle Sam yesterday released its "hall of shame" for banks that haven't lifted a finger to help struggling homeowners prevent foreclosures -- with Bank of America as one of the worst offenders. Even after taking tens of billions in bailout aid from Uncle Sam, BofA and dozens of other banks have helped just a tiny fraction -- just 9 percent -- of the desperate 2...
Queens Homeowner Fights To Hold Onto Home Stolen In Deed Theft Scheme; May Lose House Anyway Despite Successful Forgery Prosecution Against Scammers
Posted on August 04, 2009In Queens County, New York, The Black Star News reports on the story of Sun-Ming Sheu, a local resident and immigrant from Taiwan who had his home ripped off from out from under by scammers in 2001 in a straw buyer scam which utilized a forged power of attorney to complete a fraudulent trandfer of the title to the house...
Use Of "Deadbeat Lists" Gaining In Popularity With Florida Condo Associations Seeking To Boost Unpaid Maintenance Collections From Delinquent Owners?
Posted on August 04, 2009In South Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:In defiance of state laws, some condo associations are seeking to use all means at their disposal to get condo owners who are behind on fees to pay up, including public humiliation. A few years ago, not many boards would have asked to see a list of condo owners who were behind on association fees, because not many were delinquent...
Builder's Unpaid Bill From Stiffed Sub Leaves New Home Buyer Stuck With Unrecorded $42K Mechanics Lien & Unprotected By Title Insurance
Posted on August 04, 2009In Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Northwest Arkansas Times reports:Banks aren't the only ones losing money thanks to the developer who built the mostly empty luxury condo development near Dickson Street known as the Legacy Building. A Fayetteville couple faces possible foreclosure of their home because one of troubled developer Brandon Barber's companies did not pay for the materials to build it...
California Man Charged With Using Forged Docs To Swipe Estranged Wife's Share Of Home; Notary Stripped Of Commission, Faces Felony For Role In Scam
Posted on August 04, 2009From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Unit arrested Omar Paz, 52, of San Bernardino [...]. Co-defendant, Christi Fry, 56, of West Covina was also arrested [...
NY Homeowner Tired Of Crappy Conditions Living Next To House In Foreclosure With Failing Septic System
Posted on August 04, 2009In Putnam Valley, New York, The Journal News reports:Belynda Rella has a really smelly problem and she can't seem to get it fixed. She lives at 17 Oriole St., and her neighbor's septic at 19 Oriole drains into her yard, which is a health hazard and downright unpleasant...
Illinois Charges Wells Fargo Of Race Bias In Home Loan Originations; Minority Neighborhoods Became "Ground Zero For Subprime Lending" Says State AG
Posted on August 03, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Sun Times reports:Illinois filed a lawsuit on Friday against Wells Fargo & Co. accusing it of discriminating against black and Latino homeowners by employing racially biased lending practices.(1) San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co...
Ohio AG Tags Loan Servicer With Suit For Failure To Work Out Delinquent Mortgages; Follows Thru On Promise To Sue Foot-Dragging Lenders On Loan Mods
Posted on August 03, 2009From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray [Friday] filed a joint lawsuit with the Ohio Department of Commerce against Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC. The lawsuit alleges that Carrington breached its agreement with the state to offer reasonable loan modifications to eligible borrowers...
State High Court Slams Ohio Lawyer With "6-Month Time Out" For Bad Acts Committed While Associated With Loan Modification Foreclosure Rescue Operator
Posted on August 03, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court announced last week:The Supreme Court of Ohio [Thursday] suspended the law license of Hamilton attorney John T. Willard for one year, with the final six months of that term stayed, for professional misconduct arising from Willard?s participation in a ?foreclosure rescue? business in which he accepted client referrals and shared legal fees with non-attorneys who engaged in
Report: Loan Modification Firm Used Craigslist To Round Up "Lawyer Renting" Prospects; "Rents" Ranged Between $125-$300 Per File
Posted on August 03, 2009A recent lawsuit was filed jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorneys General for the states of California and Missouri against a group accused of clipping homeowners for upfront fees while purportedly peddling loan modifications through the use of an alleged boiler room operation, and the use of a relationship with a pair of attorneys to create the impression that lawyers were
Connecticut Feds To Form Mortgage Fraud Task Force; Focus To Be On Fraudulent Foreclosure Rescue Deals, Short Sale Scams
Posted on August 03, 2009In New Haven, Connecticut, The Associated Press reports:Federal authorities are creating a mortgage fraud task force in Connecticut to investigate schemes that contributed to the economic crisis and emerging crime trends associated with the growing tide of foreclosures...
Supreme Court Nominee Faces Attack By Some Over Non-Issue Involving Homestead Tax Exemptions For Florida Property
Posted on August 02, 2009In Broward County, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Political bloggers are demanding an investigation of property tax exemptions that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor?s family receives on a condo in Margate. But local officials say there is no problem...
Anaheim Woman Fights To Recover Home Lost To Scammers; Forged Documents Used In Refinancing Racket
Posted on August 02, 2009In Anaheim, California, Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3 FM) reports:Swindlers have been bilking homeowners in trouble since the housing market meltdown began. But some scam artist are getting bolder. They figured out a way to ?steal? houses through forged signatures and phony appraisals...
Arkansas Regulator Sues California Outfit For Illegally Targeting State Homeowners For Loan Modifications
Posted on August 02, 2009In Little Rock, Arkansas, ArkansasBusiness.com reports:Avoid doing business with 21st Century Legal Services Inc., Arkansas Securities Commissioner A. Heath Abshure warned Thursday, after taking the company to court.The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., company promises mortgage loan modification services to people in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure...
Florida Appeals Court OKs "Blanket Receiverships" In Condo Association Battle Against Rent Skimming Unit Owners, Deadbeat Investors
Posted on August 02, 2009In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports:Condominium associations faced with increasing delinquencies now have an appellate court ruling that backs their right to appoint receivers to collect rent on delinquent condo units. Florida?s 3rd District Court of Appeal recently validated the use of "blanket receivership," which has been used by at least 18 condo associations in
RI State Cops Bust Alleged Flipping Fraud Investment Scam Coupled With Rent To Own Racket; Investors Left In Financial Ruin, Homes Fall To Foreclosure
Posted on August 02, 2009The Rhode Island State Police recently announced:[Thursday], members of the Rhode Island State Police Major Crimes Unit, in conjunction with the United States Postal Inspector?s Office and Office of Attorney General, arrested Pierre (?Peter?) Chabot, age 75, of [...
Attorney For The Poor Squeezed By Philly Budget Cuts Now Faces Foreclosure; Says City Is Stiffing Him Out Of $10-15K For Work Representing Abused Kids
Posted on August 01, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:THIS WEEK, 1,500 frantic state workers rallied in Harrisburg to protest the state's budget impasse, which has resulted in them receiving only partial paychecks this month. Until a deal is done, future paydays may also be slashed or even postponed...
Unanswered Questions As To Possible Displacement Of Buried Bodies In Cemetery Facing Foreclosure Sale
Posted on August 01, 2009In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, NewsOK.com reports:An Oklahoma City cemetery was foreclosed on recently, prompting questions about what will happen to bodies buried there. Adding to the plight is a possible FBI investigation into mortgage improprieties by the matriarch of the family that owns the cemetery...
Landlord's Troubles Leave Tenants Fearing The Boot; Water Bill Unpaid, Building Conditions Deteriorating, Mortgage Fraud Suspected
Posted on August 01, 2009In Pickens, South Carolina, WSPA-TV Channel 7 reports:When we first met Windwood Gardens apartment manager Donna Bryant she was worried her tenants would have their water cut off. That all changed when the City of Pickens decided to work with the property owner and give him 30 days to pay off a $10,000 water bill...
Abrupt Shutdown For Purported Non-Profit, ?Christ-Centered Foundation? Peddling Loan Modifications After Feeling Heat From Florida AG Probe
Posted on August 01, 2009In Fort Myers, Florida, The News Press reports:A Fort Myers foreclosure-relief business is a target in the state attorney general?s investigation of 81 mortgage help companies statewide. Foreclosure Help Center Inc., a nonprofit organization [...] faces allegations of collecting fees before completing services, according to the Office of the Attorney General...
Error In Condo Docs Could Leave "White Shoe" Law Firm Holding The Bag As Disgruntled Buyers Demand Deposit Refunds; Tab For Typo Could Run $100M
Posted on August 01, 2009In New York City, the New York Post reports:The law firm that drew up a contract now at the center of a dispute between the residents and developers of a new apartment tower finds itself in hot water after a typo may cost the developers as much as $100 million...
Miami Feds Bag 41 Suspects In Fraud Scams Involving Double HUD-1s, Complicit Straw Buyers, "Shotgun" Apps, I.D. Theft, Forgery, Pocketing Loan Payoffs
Posted on July 31, 2009In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports:State and federal agents announced that charges have been filed against 41 people in six separate cases(1) totaling more than $40 million in fraudulent mortgages. Tuesday?s announcement is part of a crackdown on mortgage fraud, begun in September 2007, that has targeted mortgage brokers, bank employees, title agents, attorneys and
Milwaukee Mortgage Scam Probe Triggered By Torched Home In Foreclosure; Owner Suspected In Attempt To Force Insurer To Pick Up Tab For Loan Payoff
Posted on July 31, 2009In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, WISN-TV Channel 12 reports:Milwaukee Police are trying to unravel a mortgage fraud scam involving rundown homes on the city's north side. The investigation started after a house fire investigators ultimately determined was arson...
Caretaker Holding POA Charged With Ripping Off ALS Victim; Failure To Make House Payments Leaves Home Facing Foreclosure, Say Cops
Posted on July 31, 2009In New Orleans, Louisiana, The Times Picayune reports:A Kenner woman has been booked with theft for allegedly stealing money from a woman with Lou Gehrig's Disease that she helped take care of, Kenner police said. Cherri A. Desporte, 43, lived in the victim's house [...
SW Florida Man Accused Of Pocketing Cash At Real Estate Closings In Exchange For Seller-Held Promissory Notes, Then Stiffing Sellers With Hot Checks
Posted on July 31, 2009In Collier County, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:After he was charged with felonies relating to alleged shady real estate practices twice in a week?s time, it appears that things may still get worse for Douglas Lee Carter. [...] Carter, 63, 1100 Dana Court, Marco Island, who was charged [...
Taxable Income From Debt Cancellation Not An Issue For Many "Underwater" Homeowners Where Lender Refuses To Cancel Unpaid Loan Balance On Short Sales
Posted on July 31, 2009Many people owing more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth are often concerned about the income tax they may have to pay in a short sale if their mortgage lender agrees to accept less than what is owed in order to agree to such a sale.However, before a homeowner starts wondering how much income tax may have to be paid on such a transaction, he/she must first find out if the lender
Foreclosure Rescue Bailout Schemers Are "Opportunistic Thieves" Says NJ FBI Agent As Charges Are Filed Against Equity Stripping, Straw Buyer Operation
Posted on July 30, 2009From the Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: (Newark, New Jersey):FBI Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced [Monday] the arrest of Daniel Verdia, Don Apolito, Jaye Miller, and Chrystal Paling (all on Tuesday, July 21), as well as the surrender of Robert Gorman and Philip Blanch (on Friday, July 24)?all in connection with a mortgage fraud scam(1) operated out of an office in
Court Stalls Eviction Of Elderly Chicago Woman Victimized In Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Ripoff While She Fights To Recover Home
Posted on July 30, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, WLS-TV Channel 7 reports:A 75-year-old Chicago woman will be allowed to stay in her South Side home - at least for now. Lessie Town's bungalow is threatened by foreclosure. Towns and others say she is the innocent victim of mortgage rescue fraud...
Schumer To Private-Equity Landlord That Abandoned 19 Bronx Buildings: "You Are The Lowest Of The Low!" - Also Slams Fannie For Facillitating Bad Deals
Posted on July 30, 2009In The Bronx, New York, the New York Daily News reports:The vultures are coming home to roost. Affordable housing advocates sounded the alarm during the real estate boom, as private equity firms bought up dozens of rent-controlled buildings across the Bronx...
West Virginia Woman Accuses Ex-Fiance Of Swiping Her Interest In Real Property Through Forgery, Then Pledging It As Collateral For Mortgage Loan
Posted on July 30, 2009In Ripley, West Virginia, The West Virginia Record reports:The ex-fiancee of a Charleston businessman says she never really was his fiancee, and before he claims any interest on property they own in Jackson County, he needs to account for an alleged slight-of-hand he pulled on another piece of property they own in Kanawha County...
Soon-To-Be Ex-Real Estate Agent Cops Plea To Forging Name Of Unwitting Victim On Loan Documents To Acquire & Finance Home Purchase
Posted on July 30, 2009In San Bernardino, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:Chino Hills real estate agent who forged more than $900,000 in loan documents to purchase a home pleaded guilty to two felonies Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court. As part of a plea bargain reached with prosecutors, Anita Andres Mendoza, 44, will be sentenced to 90 days in jail and be placed on probation for three years, Deputy
Lenders, Mortgage Servicers Continue To Force Borrowers To Waive Legal Rights As Part Of Loan Modification Process
Posted on July 30, 2009The Washington Independent reports:Even as the Obama administration presses the lending industry to get more mortgage loans modified, the practice of forcing borrowers to sign away their legal rights in order to get their loans reworked is a tactic that some servicers just won?t give up on...
Lust For Late Fees Keeping Mortgage Servcing Companies From Making Loan Modifications?
Posted on July 30, 2009The New York Times reports on what many industry insiders are saying as the real reason mortgage servicers are dragging their feet on modifying delinquent home loans:[I]ndustry insiders and legal experts say the limited capacity of mortgage companies is not the primary factor impeding the government?s $75 billion program to prevent foreclosures...
Admistration, Mortgage Servicers Meet; Agree To Increase Pace Of Loan Modifications
Posted on July 29, 2009Bloomberg News reports:Mortgage servicers meeting with Obama administration officials pledged to step up the pace of loan modifications, according to the U.S. Treasury. ?With over 200,000 trial loan modifications already under way, we are on track to meet our goals,? Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement today...
Change In Arizona Foreclosure "Anti-Deficiency" Law Has Homeowner Advocates Howling
Posted on July 29, 2009In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:A new law passed by the Arizona Legislature that makes homeowners liable for tens of thousands of dollars on homes lost to foreclosure is now the focus of an intense repeal battle. An amendment to the state's foreclosure laws, passed in the recent legislative session, was designed to protect small community banks from people buying speculative new
California AG Continues Assault On Loan Mod Rackets; Exposes Outfit Said To Be A "Well-Appointed Boiler Room" Operation Holding Itself Out As Law Firm
Posted on July 29, 2009In LosAngeles, California, Legal Newsline reports on H.E. Servicing Inc., a loan modification company that was sued last week jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorneys General for the states of California and Missouri . The outfit is accused of using aggressive telemarketing tactics to swindle homeowners out of thousands of dollars, and is briefly described below in the following
Contempt Charges, Loss Of Lien Status Among Proposed Penalties For Foreclosing Lenders Leaving Ohio Homes In Legal Limbo
Posted on July 29, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, an editorial in The Cleveland Plain Dealer comments on the practice known as the "bank walkaway," wherein a lender, after getting a foreclosure decree in court, decides against actually having a foreclosure sale and avoids taking title to the home, leaving it in legal limbo (and technically, still in the financially strapped homeowner's name):(1)No one knows precisely how many
Florida AG Suit Targeting Loan Modification Group Includes Allegations Of Unauthorized Practice Of Law, "Running & Capping"
Posted on July 29, 2009In a recent lawsuit (among others) brought by the Office of the Florida Attorney General against a South Florida group peddling loan modification services, allegations of unauthorized practice of law and "running and capping," (ie. the practice of non-attorneys hustling up business for an attorney) have been made in the complaint against the operators...
Frank Threatens To "Cramdown" Lenders, Mortgage Servicers For Foot-Dragging On Loan Modifications
Posted on July 29, 2009The Associated Press reports:A senior House Democrat threatened banks Wednesday that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them. In a sternly worded statement, Rep. Barney Frank said Congress will revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges write down a person's monthly mortgage payment if the number of loan modifications remain low...
Florida AG To Make $4M Available To In-State Non-Profit Legal Services Firms For New Foreclosure Defense Assistance Program
Posted on July 29, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum and The Florida Bar Foundation [Tuesday] announced a new foreclosure defense assistance program, funded by money obtained by the Attorney General through a settlement with Countrywide Financial...
Questionable Short Sale Services Alleged By California AG In Recent Suit Against Group Accused Of Squeezing Homeowners For Upfront Fees For Loan Mods
Posted on July 28, 2009A recent lawsuit brought by the Office of the California Attorney General against a loan modification group lays out how the operation (herein referred to as "Defendants") allegedly screws financially distressed homeowners by entering into agreements with them to modify their loans with their lender in exchange for upfront fees, and then turns around and allegedly sells its "short sale services"
Georgia Woman With 30-Year "Lease Purchase" Agreement Seeks To Invoke New Federal Law Protecting Homeowners From Foreclosure Eviction
Posted on July 28, 2009In Dalton, Georgia, the Times Free Press reports:When April Arrieta signed a 30-year lease-purchase agreement for a house in November 2008, she thought her family was finally home. "I told my kids we won't ever have to move again," she said. But at the beginning of June, the mother of five learned that First Georgia Banking Co...
Loan Modification Firms, Foreclosure Rescue Operators Show Little Interest In Complying With Licensing Requirements Under New Nevada Law
Posted on July 28, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:Mortgage modification and foreclosure consultants are showing little interest in complying with a new Nevada law that requires them to obtain licenses. The law took effect on July 1, and Gov. Jim Gibbons issued emergency regulations for licensing on July 8...
L.A. Cops Sting Pair Accused Of Running Phony Rental Scam, Renting Foreclosed Homes They Didn't Own To Unwitting Renters
Posted on July 28, 2009In Los Angeles, California, KABC-TV Channel 7 reports:L.A. police warn residents of a rental scam involving foreclosed properties. Two suspects have been arrested, but more could be at large. Police said the scam artists would pose as property owners, and then collect cash in exchange for a promise to rent homes to victims...
Las Vegas Couple Facing Foreclosure Swindled By One Scammer, "Hijacked" By Another
Posted on July 28, 2009In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:When people face foreclosure they can become desperate and look for help in all the wrong places. One Las Vegas family was scammed -- not once -- but twice. Evelina King and her husband ran into financial trouble when she was laid of from her job...
Advocacy Group Files Federal Suit Seeking To Halt Home Foreclosures In Minnesota; Says New Law Lacks Proper Notice & Appeal Provisions
Posted on July 28, 2009In Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Associated Press reports:A federal lawsuit seeks to block all home foreclosures in Minnesota. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Minneapolis on Tuesday. It says a new federal program that's meant to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages fails to give them proper notice of why they've been rejected, or the right to appeal...
Foreclosing Better Than Loan Modifications For Banks?
Posted on July 28, 2009The Washington Post reports:Government initiatives to stem the country's mounting foreclosures are hampered because banks and other lenders in many cases have more financial incentive to let borrowers lose their homes than to work out settlements, some economists have concluded...
Mortgage Servicers To Explain Themselves Today To Administration Officials Regarding Failure To Keep People In Their Homes
Posted on July 27, 2009In Washington, D.C., ABC News reports:Mortgage servicers accused of not doing nearly enough to stem the nation's foreclosure crisis will sit down with the Obama administration today to tell their side of the story. The meeting, the results of which are not expected to be made public until early next month, comes amid escalating criticism that both mortgage servicers and the government are
35 Law Firms Named In Suit Seeking To Void 100,000+ Money Judgments; 20+ Add'l Firms Currently In NY AG's Crosshairs In Ongoing "Sewer Service" Probe
Posted on July 27, 2009From the Office of the New York State Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [Wednesday] announced his office has sued 35 law firms and two debt collectors(1) in New York State in order to throw out an estimated 100,000 default judgments improperly obtained against New York consumers...
Unauthorized Practice Of Law, "Running & Capping" & "Lawyer Renting" Among The Issues Raised In Recent Loan Mod Lawsuit By California AG
Posted on July 27, 2009In a recent lawsuit brought by the Office of the California Attorney General against a group peddling loan modification services, allegations of unauthorized practice of law, "running and capping," (ie. the practice of non-attorneys hustling up business for an attorney) and "lawyer renting" (ie...
Washington AG Uses Courtesy Letter To Inform 138 Loan Mod Firms They're On The Radar Screen; Urges Compliance With State Law To Stay Out Of Hot Water
Posted on July 27, 2009Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna recently announced that his office has joined the Federal Trade Commission and other states in a nationwide crackdown on foreclosure rescuers and loan modification rackets that charge hefty upfront fees and often provide no help...
Battle For Bankuptcy Cramdown Legislation - Round 2 Begins In U.S. Senate
Posted on July 27, 2009The Washington Independent reports:Roughly three months after Senate lawmakers killed legislation empowering homeowners to escape foreclosure through bankruptcy, some upper-chamber Democrats are looking to revive the corpse. They hope to pressure the White House into spending valuable political capital on a cause fallen by the wayside...
Judge Orders Shutdown Of Loan Mod Firm Accused In $8M Ripoff; Garbage Bag Full Of Shredded Docs Given As Proof Outfit Is Destroying Evidence In Probe
Posted on July 26, 2009In West Palm Beach, Florida, WPEC-TV Channel 12 reports:Late Friday a judge in West Palm Beach granted the state Attorney General's request for a temporary injunction, shutting down FHA All Day and three other mortgage modification companies.(1) Jason Vitulano and his four companies are accused of ripping off customers to the tune of $8 million dollars...
Orange County DA Raids Homes Of Foreclosure Rescue Operators Currently Facing Civil Suits By State AG Alleging Bogus Loan Modifications, Short Sales
Posted on July 26, 2009In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:Investigators with the Orange County district attorney early Thursday morning searched three Ladera Ranch homes believed tied to a foreclosure rescue scam. Agents served search warrants on two homes on Roshelle Lane and one on Merrill Hill...
Sleazy, Shifty Appraisers Booted From Industry Now Shifting Into Real Estate Sales?
Posted on July 26, 2009The Tampa Tribune reports:Some appraisers who lost their licenses after unethical behavior during the housing boom are staying in the real estate business. They're becoming real estate agents, according to a report by the national Center for Public Integrity...
California Regulator To Consumers Saddled With Unaffordable Mortgages: Stay Away From Loan Modification Outfits Engaged In "Lawyer Renting"
Posted on July 26, 2009A recent New York Times' story featuring the loan modification operation Federal Loan Modification Law Center(1) contains this excerpt describing an arrangement that some might refer to as "lawyer renting," in which a company, attempting to circumvent laws prohibiting the collection of upfront fees for its services, enters into a deal with an attorney that allows the outfit to conduct its
Memphis-Area Sheriff, Legal Services Firm Join To Spread Word Of New Federal Rights For Renters Facing Foreclosure Eviction
Posted on July 26, 2009In Shelby County, Tennessee, the Memphis Buisiness Journal reports:As a result of the rise in foreclosures and evictions in the city, the Shelby County Sheriff?s Office and Memphis Area Legal Services are working to educate citizens on the subject. As part of the partnership, sheriff?s deputies and civil process servers are delivering pamphlets about the process to property owners and renters
Unwitting Prospective Buyer Gets Caught Up In Controversial Short Sale Flipping Attempt Involving Vacant Home In Foreclosure
Posted on July 25, 2009In DeWitt, Michigan, columnist John Schneider of the Lansing State Journal recounts the story of a local woman who got screwed over in an attempt to buy a vacant home in foreclosure from a local real estate operator, himself attempting to acquire the property through a short sale, to be followed by an immediate "flip" of the home at a higher price to the woman (all without the apparent knowledge
NYC Woman Busted For Clipping $50K In Upfront Rent Deposits From Low Income Residents Seeking Help In Obtaining Affordable Section 8 Rentals, Say Cops
Posted on July 25, 2009In New York City, the New York Post reports:A slick-talking woman posing as a real-estate agent conned about $50,000 from low-income residents looking for affordable housing in Manhattan and The Bronx, cops said [Wednesday]. Josie Almonte, 32, a blond-haired beauty with a sophisticated look, would approach her victims promising to help them expedite their applications for Section 8 housing,
Lender Reverses Position After Media Applies Heat; Now Agrees To Waive $9K Prepayment Penalty For SW Florida Couple Nearing Foreclosure
Posted on July 25, 2009In Charlotte County, Florida, WINK News reports:Punished for paying a mortgage early? That's what one Charlotte County couple says happened with their lender, but now WINK News Call for Action helps that couple avoid foreclosure. [...] Janice and Rick Brooks could no longer afford their Charlotte County home, so they put it up for sale...
Feds, State AGs Go On Attack Against Debt Settlement & Collection Firms Engaged In Allegedly Fraudulent Activities
Posted on July 25, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] announced that a settlement has been reached in a case brought by Chase Card Services against affiliated Hess Kennedy companies which engaged in fraudulent debt settlement activities...
?We Want To Send People To Jail!? Says Prosecutor Referring To Loan Modification Scams; Cites "Lawyer Renting" As Attempt By Some To Avoid State Law
Posted on July 24, 2009In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:The Orange County District Attorney has expanded efforts to combat foreclosure rescue scams and other real estate fraud cases, as the worst housing downturn in decades results in thousands of potential victims...
California Woman Faces Grand Theft, Forgery-Related Charges For Allegedly Impersonating Another In Buying, Financing Home With $917K Loan
Posted on July 24, 2009From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:On July 15, 2009, Investigators with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Unit arrested Anita Mendoza, 44, of Chino Hills, for eight felony counts including grand theft, forgery, and filing forged documents with the County Recorder?s Office...
Last Minute Closing Delays Hit Foreclosed Home Buyers As Some Lenders Drag Their Feet When Recording Legal Title To Repossessed Collateral
Posted on July 24, 2009In Central Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:Stacee Maurer thought she'd found her perfect first home: a three-bedroom Cape Cod off High Street north of Graceland Shopping Center. On May 22, she signed a contract to pay $93,000 for the foreclosed property -- almost $30,000 less than it had sold for in 2006...
Vacationing Campers Threatened With Utilities Shutoffs, Face The Boot As New Hampshire Campsite Falls Into Foreclosure
Posted on July 24, 2009In Webster, New Hampshire, The Associated Press reports:Renters at a Webster, N.H., campground told by the owner that electrical power would be shut off have gotten a temporary court order to keep electricity flowing to their homes. A notice posted last week by Cold Brook Campground owner Tina Shindlewig said electricity would be cut off Tuesday and that residents wouldn?t be able to stay because
Nassau County DA "Stings" Unlicensed Long Island Contractors; Some Accused Of Pocketing Upfront Homeowner Deposits & Failing To Deliver
Posted on July 24, 2009In Nassau County, New York, the New York Post reports:Nearly four dozen unlicensed Long Island contractors were more skilled at pulling in thousands of dollars for jobs -- than actually doing the work, officials said today. Nassau DA Kathleen Rice announced the results of a 5-week investigation, including the running of a "Sting House" to lure a dozen unlicensed contractors in and capture them on
Canadian Cops Nab Fugitive California Couple Accused Of Running Loan Mod Scam; Now Await Extradition In Toronto After Fleeing San Jose Police
Posted on July 23, 2009In Toronto, Canada, the San Jose Mercury News reports:A San Jose couple suspected of operating a fraudulent real estate home loan modification business have been arrested in Toronto following a six-month investigation. San Jose police say Amir Rashidifar, 25, and Mary Delvecchio, 28, opened their business, Legal Support Services, in September and offered to modify real estate loans for homeowners
Long Island Attorney Swipes $73K+ Of Client's Money Given As Deposit In Real Estate Transaction, Says Nassau DA
Posted on July 23, 2009From the Office of the Nassau County, New York District Attorney:Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced [...] the arrest of a Plainview attorney who has been charged with stealing more than $73,000 from a couple he was representing in the sale of a piece of property...
Homeowner Invokes TILA, State Lending Law In Attempt To Void Home Improvement Loan Gone Bad
Posted on July 23, 2009In St. Clair County, Illinois, The St. Clair Record reports:A woman with learning disabilities claims she should not have to repay a loan for more than $45,000 she took out more than two and a half years ago because she was not fully explained the terms of the loan...
Aussie Legal Non-Profit Helps Vulnerable Senior Beat Bank In Foreclosure; Son's Manipulation Resulted In Improper Mortgaging Of Family Home For $200K
Posted on July 23, 2009In Sydney, New South Wales, The Sydney Morning Herald reports:AN INTELLECTUALLY disabled pensioner has won a court battle to stave off foreclosure in a case said to have broad implications for consumers who offer their home as security for a business loan...
Builder Pocketed Customer Deposits, Failed To Build Homes Or Provide Refunds While Stiffing Subs, Says Maryland AG In Civil Suit
Posted on July 23, 2009From the Office of the Maryland Attorney General:Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced [...] that the Home Builder Registration Unit of the Consumer Protection Division has filed charges against Altieri Enterprises, Inc. t/a Altieri Homes, Athlone, LLC of Columbia, Altieri Homes at Castle in the Woods, LLC, R & L Livezey, LLC, and Milltown, LLC of Columbia for failing to comply with
Florida AG Continues Loan Modification Scam Sweep w/ Civil Suits Against Group Accused Of Making Automated Robo-Calls Using President "O's" Voice
Posted on July 22, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [Tuesday] announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against four related South Florida companies that allegedly charge up-front fees for loan modification services to homeowners facing foreclosure...
Loan Modification Firm Targeted By Florida AG Coughs Up $500K In Partial Restitution Payments; Says It's Now Tapped Out
Posted on July 22, 2009From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:To date, [now-defunct loan modification firm] Lincoln Lending [LLC] has distributed approximately $500,000 in restitution payments. They are currently claiming that funds available for restitution have been exhausted...
"Loan Modification Industry Is Teeming With Confidence Men & Charlatans!" Says California AG In Announcing Suits Against Five Operators
Posted on July 22, 2009From the Office of the California Attorney General:As part of a massive federal-state crackdown on loan modification scams, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. at a press conference [last week] announced the filing of legal action against 21 individuals and 14 companies who ripped off thousands of homeowners desperately seeking mortgage relief...
Court Voids Delinquent Mortgage & Subsequent Forced Sale Of Property Earlier Conveyed By Forged Deed; Lender Called A "Mortgagee/Buyer In Bad Faith"
Posted on July 22, 2009In Quezon City, The Philippines, the Manila Buletin reported that a Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling voiding a foreclosure sale where the property owner who lost the title to a 5-unit building by forced sale originally acquired her interest by forging the true owner's name on a deed, and who then subsequently used the property as collateral for a loan from the private lender who
Texas Mortgage Fraud Flipper Gets 25 Years; Prosecutor Credits "Citizen Sleuth" For Key Effort In Busting Scam Ring
Posted on July 22, 2009In McKinney, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports:Jocelyn Sapp smelled a rat. She noticed a vacant house with overgrown weeds in her McKinney neighborhood, then another and another. Sapp started sleuthing, checking county records on the deteriorating homes...
Sarasota Title Agent Dodges Hot Water; Remains In Good Standing Despite Admitting To Screwing Around With Escrow Funds Resulting In Six-Figure Losses
Posted on July 22, 2009In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:As the closing agent on the [real estate] deal, it was Sarasota title agent Lisa Rotolo's job to make sure the [existing mortgage] loan got repaid. Instead, in 2004 Rotolo partially paid off the old loan and handed her clients $100,000, according to a 2008 foreclosure case filed in Sarasota County's circuit court...
Two Foreclosure Rescue Operators Get Five Years Each In Scam That Stripped Homeowners Of Their Equity & Left Lenders, Straw Buyers Holding The Bag
Posted on July 21, 2009In New York City, Courthouse News Service reports:Two foreclosure profiteers in Brooklyn and the Bronx were sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for conspiracy, wire and bank fraud. Andrea Moore and Michael Irving, who ran the scam before the nationwide economic crisis hit, also must pay $1...
Central Florida Media Probe Identifies At Least 37 Real Estate "Flipping Groups" In Sarasota/Manatee Area Involved In $450M+ In Mortgage Defaults
Posted on July 21, 2009In Central Florida, an investigative report by the Sarasota Herald Tribune states that it examined more than 3,000 property flips that occurred since 2000 in Sarasota and Manatee counties, interviewed over 100 investors and real estate professionals, and reviewed thousands of pages of deeds, mortgages, foreclosure filings and other public records...
"Equity Is No Longer The Game" - Loan Modification Scams Proliferate As Home-Snatching Equity Stripping Scams Subside
Posted on July 21, 2009A recent report by the National Consumer Law Center makes this observation on the current state of foreclosure rescue scams:Homeowners facing foreclosure have always been vulnerable to scammers, con-artists, and thieves. Whether desperate for options or frustrated by uncooperative mortgage servicers, many homeowners are attracted to slick advertisements with bold promises to rescue them from
Michigan AG Files Criminal Charges Against Loan Modification Firms As Part Of "Operation Loan Lies"
Posted on July 21, 2009Unlike most of the other participants in the the joint Federal/state law enforcement effort to eliminate loan modification scams who have brought civil lawsuits or initiated administrative proceedings (and issued cease and desist orders), the Office of the Michigan Attorney General has taken a different route by bringing criminal charges against the alleged scammers...
Ex-Subprime Toxic Mortgage Peddlers Now Coming To The Rescue As Loan Modification Specialists???
Posted on July 21, 2009The New York Times recently published a story reporting on how many of the operators of so-called loan modification firms are the same people who, only a couple of years ago, peddled the risky subprime mortgages that has gotten the now-financially distressed homowners in trouble in the first place...
First Wave In Nationwide Loan Modification Scam Eradication Effort Results In 189 Legal Actions In Coordinated Federal, State Sweep
Posted on July 20, 2009Last week, the coordinated nationwide sweep, called "Operation Loan Lies," began with prosecutors filed 189 legal actions against loan modification firms accused of cheating homeowners desperate to adjust the terms of their currently unaffordable home loans...
Foreclosing Lenders To Face Lawsuits For Failing To Deliver On Promises Of Loan Modification Help, Says Ohio AG
Posted on July 20, 2009In Columbus, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:Mortgage lenders who promise to work with clients facing foreclosure and fail to follow up could find themselves in court. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said [Friday] that he will soon sue mortgage lenders who violate consumer-protection laws...
Minnesota Real Estate Agent Gets Three Years In Alleged Foreclosure Redemption, Equity-Snatching Scam
Posted on July 20, 2009In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:Michael R. Wayman Jr. was a top-tier real estate agent for ReMax before he discovered the lucrative business of redeeming properties after foreclosure to snatch their equity. [...] But somewhere Wayman's quest for profits veered into illegality, and the 35-year-old Ramsey man was sentenced Friday to just over three years in
Florida AG Tags Another Outfit With Lawsuit Alleging The Targeting Of Homeowners In Foreclosure With Illegal Loan Modifications
Posted on July 20, 2009The Office of the Florida Attorney General (which apparently is not a part of the recently-announced, joint Federal/State "Operation Loan Lies" loan modification scam eradication effort) announced last week:Attorney General Bill McCollum [Friday] announced his office has filed a lawsuit against a Central Florida company that allegedly charges homeowners facing foreclosure up-front fees for loan
Maryland Home Builder Cops Plea To "Playing Fast & Loose" With Buyers' Escrow Deposits
Posted on July 20, 2009From the Office of the Maryland Attorney General:Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced [...] that Walter Osborne Ely, Jr., 46, and his sister and business partner Kimberly Zahrey, 44, plead guilty before Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Vicki Ballou-Watts to 6 counts of failure to hold new home sums in escrow...
Habitat-New York City's "Loan Rangers" Public Awareness Campaign Targets Financial Scams With Free Educational Workshops
Posted on July 20, 2009Habitat For Humanity - New York City announces:Habitat for Humanity ? New York City invites congregations, schools and community groups to host workshops for your members about credit repair and predatory lending and foreclosure scams. Habitat-NYC will provide free workshop trainers and materials...
NY Senator To Fannie: Stop Online Horse Trading In Delinquent Bronx Building Mortgages As Deteriorating Conditions May Force 500+ Families Onto Street
Posted on July 20, 2009In The Bronx, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:Sen. Charles Schumer will join Bronx tenants Monday to demand that Fannie Mae abandon its effort to sell distressed mortgages on a portfolio of 19 Bronx buildings via an online auction and instead work with the city to find a buyer who will fix up the rundown properties and keep them affordable...
Massachusetts Closing Attorney Cops Plea To Illegally Pocketing $1M+ In Real Estate Escrow Funds Earmarked For Satisfying Existing Mortgage Loans
Posted on July 19, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Massachusetts):[R]oxbury attorney [ANDREA GOODE-JAMES, age 44,] was convicted [...] in federal court of mortgage fraud for pocketing more than $1 million in proceeds of loan closing transactions.(1) At [the] plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government?s evidence would have proven that GOODE-JAMES performed
California Man Faces 147 Felony Counts In Alleged Real Estate Investment/Ponzi Scheme; Parents, Friends Head List Of Victims Claiming Losses Of $5M+
Posted on July 19, 2009In Santa Barbara, California, The Tribune reports:Hard money lender Mike L. Wilson, a Santa Maria mortgage business owner with many San Luis Obispo County clients and real estate investments, was arrested at his Santa Maria home [...] on 147 felony counts...
Now-Disbarred Georgia Attorney Cops Plea To Phony Real Estate Investment Scam Ponzi Scheme; Accused Of Stealing $1.9M From Clients, Friends
Posted on July 19, 2009In Atlanta, Georgia, the Fulton County Daily Report reports:For nearly four years, McDonough, Ga., attorney Steven H. Ballard capitalized on his credibility as a real estate and business law attorney to bilk friends and clients of more than $2 million in what federal prosecutors say was a Ponzi scheme(1) in which Ballard siphoned more than $200,000 for his personal use...
Dad's Death Spurs Bitter Sibling Battle Involving Allegations Of Forged Mortgage, Title Transfers Of 80-Year Old Mom's Real Estate
Posted on July 19, 2009In Perth, Western Australia, The West Australian reports:Perth property developer Joe Scaffidi, [...] has been accused in the Supreme Court of forging his mother?s signature to secure loans and the sale of a commercial property worth a total of $3 million...
Ex-Aussie Footballer Accused Of Using Forged Deed To Score $320K In Loan Funds Secured By Property Owned By Another
Posted on July 19, 2009In Manly, New South Wales, The Daily Telegraph reports:FORMER Sydney Swans player Daryn Cresswell allegedly obtained $320,000 in fraudulent loan funds using a forged title deed, a court heard [last week]. The alleged scam went unnoticed for years until the rightful owner of the Coolum Beach property on the title deed applied for an investment loan and was told the astonishing news his home was
Florida Judge Refuses To Halt Foreclosure Sale Despite Lender's Willingness To Work Out Loan, Says Homeowner
Posted on July 18, 2009In Volusia County, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:President Obama helped create the federal loan modification program so families could stay in their houses. However, a Volusia County father, who took advantage of the plan, lost his house to a bank Thursday morning...
Non-Profit Fair Housing Group Files Suit Against Publisher Of Allegedly Discriminatory Classified Ads Against Families With Children
Posted on July 18, 2009According to a press release from the National Fair Housing Alliance:The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and its member organization Fair Housing Council of Central California (FHCCC) [last week] announced a housing discrimination lawsuit against the nation?s largest classified advertisement publisher, American Classifieds, LLC for publishing housing ads that state children are not
Tenants Pocket Thousands In $ettlements In Discrimination Lawsuits Brought By Massachusetts AG
Posted on July 18, 2009From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:AG Obtains Court Order Requiring Malden Landlords to De-Lead Rental Apartment in Settlement of Housing Discrimination Case: Attorney General Martha Coakley obtained a consent judgment against Wai On Chan and Qi Ling Huang-Chan, the owners of a three-bedroom rental property in Malden, resolving claims that they discriminated against a
City Of Bridgeport Withdraws Foreclosure Suit After Homeowner Forks Over $50 In Back Taxes
Posted on July 18, 2009In Bridgeport, Connecticut, The Connecticut Post reports:The city has withdrawn its foreclosure case against a man who owed $51.69 in back taxes. Castro Jean-Gilles paid the charge and the city agreed to drop the case. [...] In May, a Superior Court judge granted the city's foreclosure action and ordered Jean-Gilles's Harral Avenue home sold in December to satisfy the back taxes as well as the
Arizona Feds Indict Contractor For Attempting To Use $5M+ In Counterfeit Checks To Buy Real Estate, Pay Expenses
Posted on July 18, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Arizona):A federal grand jury returned a 34-count indictment yesterday against Frank Anteri, 44, of Anthem and Peoria, Ariz., and the president of defunct WC Contractors, Inc., charging him with bank fraud, mail fraud and the making and possession of counterfeit securities...
Arizona Cop Faces Charges Of Ripping Off Foreclosed Home
Posted on July 18, 2009In Florence, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:Pinal County Sheriff's deputies arrested one of their own [last week] on suspicion of burglary and theft. Deputy Ian Quick, 33, is accused of stealing livestock corral panels worth more than $2,000 from a property in Florence...
N. Virginia Real Estate Agent Charged In Scam Involving $50M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Loans, 100+ Homebuyers; Suspect May Have Left Country, Say Cops
Posted on July 17, 2009In Loudoun County, Virginia, the Loudoun Independent reports:An Ashburn real estate agent stands accused to profiting from falsifying financial documents to enable clients to qualify for homes they could not afford. Real estate agent Diane Atari, an Ashburn native, has been indicted by the Grand Jury of Loudoun County for ten counts of False Statement to Obtain Credit, one count of Racketeering
SWAT Team Called In After Washington Man Allegedly Hijacks Home In Foreclosure While Owners Are Away
Posted on July 17, 2009In Shoreline, Washington, KOMO-TV Channel 4 reports:Sharon and Doug Larson were on their way back from the Oregon coast last week when neighbors told them a stranger had hijacked their house. Neighbors called 911 when James Vanvolkenburg moved into the Larson's home Friday night, claiming the house belonged to him...
Landlords Abandon Overleveraged NYC Buildings; Predatory Investors, Unrealistic Profit Projections, Shoddy Lending Practices Leave Tenants In Limbo
Posted on July 17, 2009In New York City, The New York Times reports:As property owners run into trouble paying their mortgages, neighborhoods around New York City have been witnessing a disturbing consequence: Small and large apartment buildings are being abandoned in a state of disrepair, leaving tenants in limbo without basic services or even landlords...
Rent Skimming Landlord Facing Foreclosure Arrested For Stealing Electricity; Utility Shutoff Leaves Two Dozen Tenants Temporarily Homeless
Posted on July 17, 2009In Pinellas County, Florida, Newschannel 8 reports:A Pinellas County landlord was arrested [last week], accused of stealing electricity from apartments he owns in Clearwater. Lawrence Ayers, 42, of [...] Safety Harbor, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on a grand theft charge...
Cuyahoga County Treasurer To Overseas eBay Real Estate Speculator: "Next Time, Try Las Vegas"
Posted on July 17, 2009In Cleveland, Ohio, The Plain Dealer reports on British real estate speculator Dr. Sheo Prasad who, despite living in England, purchased distressed Cleveland real estate on eBay:On May 30, Prasad sent an e-mail to Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis concerning a six-unit apartment building that Prasad owned on East 107th Street...
Nationwide Loan Modification Scam Sweep Begins As FTC Announces Coordinated Effort Of 25 Federal, State Agencies Involving 189 Legal Actions
Posted on July 16, 2009The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday:Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, joined by California Attorney General Jerry Brown, [Wednesday] announced Operation Loan Lies, a coordinated national law enforcement effort to crack down on mortgage modification scams...
Lenders' Foreclosure Sale Cancellations An Attempt To Slow Growing Stockpile Of Repossessed Inventory, Leaving Abandoned Homes In Legal Limbo
Posted on July 16, 2009In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Across Florida, tens of thousands of foreclosed homes are being left in limbo, between homeowners who have abandoned them and banks that have not yet taken possession of them. Over the past year, banks and other lenders have canceled up to 50 percent of foreclosure sales in some parts of the state, adding to a growing stockpile of unclaimed
"Now It's The Lenders Who Are Doing The Walking" - Milwaukee Feels The Sting Of Homes In Foreclosure Being Left In Legal Limbo
Posted on July 16, 2009In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:For years, lenders complained about debtors who left the keys on the kitchen table and skipped town, leaving it to the bank to file for foreclosure and eventually take title by buying it at a sheriff's sale...
Failure To Inspect For Meth Contamination Could Create Future Financial, Health Havoc For Homebuyers
Posted on July 16, 2009The New York Times reports:The spacious home where the newly wed Rhonda and Jason Holt began their family in 2005 was plagued by mysterious illnesses. The Holts? three babies were ghostlike and listless, with breathing problems that called for respirators, repeated trips to the emergency room and, for the middle child, Anna, the heaviest dose of steroids a toddler can take...
Title Company's Failure To Discover Lien Leaves First Time Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Over Prior Owner's Debt
Posted on July 16, 2009In Highlands Ranch, Colorado, KDVR-TV Channel 31 reports:Brandi Hager just bought her first home 6 months ago, made every payment, but now she's facing foreclosure over someone else's debt. "I haven't been sleeping. I haven't been able to take my mind off of it...
Homeowners Running "Everything Must Go" Foreclosure Stripping Sales May Face Criminal Liability In Colorado
Posted on July 16, 2009In Aurora, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports:The "everything must go" sales are back and experts say they cost other homeowners money. The sales involve homeowners selling everything inside just days before it goes into foreclosure. 9Wants to Know found a woman selling fixtures in a condominium [...
Arizona AG Tags Upfront Fee Loan Mod Firm With Civil Suit, Alleging Violations Of State Consumer Fraud, Consumer Services Acts
Posted on July 15, 2009From the Office of the Arizona Attorney General:Attorney General Terry Goddard has filed a lawsuit against a Phoenix-based mortgage loan modification company, Santoya Financial Company, LLC and its owners, Thomas Montoya and Robert Sanchez, for engaging in deceptive practices...
Shaky Loan Modifications That Turn Into Questionable Short Sales?
Posted on July 15, 2009A new form of foreclosure rescue involving purported loan modification services coupled with questionable short sale arrangements has arrived on the scene and possibly gaining in popularity, according to DESPERATE HOMEOWNERS: Loan Mod Scammers Step In When Loan Servicers Refuse To Provide Help, a recently issued report by the National Consumer Law Center:Information is beginning to surface about
Fire Damage, Code Violations, Growing Fines, Unresolved Insurance Claim, 50+ Apts. In Foreclosure May Spell Doom For 182-Unit C. Florida Condo Complex
Posted on July 15, 2009In Titusville, Florida, Florida Today reports:Code violations keep racking up at Bay Towers Apartments, the fire-scarred riverfront complex facing a crippling cash crunch. The south tower remains condemned after a May 2008 fire. Since Feb. 6, Titusville officials have fined the property?s South Florida owners up to $1,400 per day for damaged elevators, stairwells, plumbing and other problems...
Indiana Man Gets One Year Home Confinement In Flipping Scam That Left Homes In Foreclosure, Unwitting Investors Holding The Bag
Posted on July 15, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Indianapolis, Indiana):Marvin G. Hampton, 66, Noblesville, Indiana, was sentenced to 12 months home confinement months [last week ...] following his guilty plea to mortgage fraud, announced Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana...
Ex-Twin Cities Loan Officer Taken Down By Jury Verdict Finding Guilt To 17 Counts In Mortgage Fraud Racket
Posted on July 15, 2009In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:A former loan officer at a Twin Cities mortgage company was convicted [last week] of 17 counts of theft by swindle and two counts of racketeering for his role in a sprawling scheme involving homes in north Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and Golden Valley...
Recruiting Drive For Philadelphia Lawyers To Provide Pro Bono Representation To Local Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Continues
Posted on July 15, 2009In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WPVI-TV Channel 6 reports on a local non-profit legal agency tasked with recruiting local attorneys to represent financially strapped homeowners through the Philadelphia Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program:Stefanie Seldin of Philadelphia VIP told Action News that there are 300 lawyers mostly from small to medium-sized and solo firms...
FTC Identifies Individuals Accused Of Making Deceptive Claims Of Affiliation With Free Federal Foreclosure Assistance Programs
Posted on July 14, 2009The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:A U.S. district court has ordered newly named defendants to stop making deceptive claims that they are affiliated with free federal government programs, such as Making Home Affordable.On May 14, 2009, the FTC charged that Internet search ads were diverting homeowners from free counseling available through government-endorsed
Consumer Advocate Calls For Ban Against Upfront Fees For Loan Mod Help Or Any Comp Unless Mortgage Workout Actually Helps Distressed Homeowners
Posted on July 14, 2009The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:The National Consumer Law Center [NCLC] is calling for a ban on advance fees for loan modification help and a federal rule that no one can charge homeowners fees unless the loan modification actually helps homeowners avoid foreclosure...
Defeated Bankruptcy Cramdown Proposal Being Reconsidered By Some Lawmakers In Light Of Failing Voluntary Loan Modification Program
Posted on July 14, 2009The Washington Independent reports:The Obama administration has all but abandoned it, and the Senate has already voted it down. But a proposal to allow struggling homeowners to escape foreclosure through bankruptcy got a boost [last week] from a small band of House Democrats convinced that voluntary mortgage modifications aren?t alone solving the housing crisis...
Orlando Cops, Ex-Wife Nab Alleged ID Thief Accused Of Defrauding Non-Profit Home For The Mentally Challenged; Took Out Loan, Leaving It In Foreclosure
Posted on July 14, 2009In Orlando, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:Police say a man took identity theft to a whole new level. He didn't steal a person's identity. He stole it from a non-profit house that helps mentally challenged people. Police say Afries Rodriguez even took out a second mortgage on the Kat Cadogan Home for the mentally challenged...
Mass. Man Charged In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Allegations Include Collecting Rents From Victim's Properties, Failing To Make Mortgage Payments
Posted on July 14, 2009In Fall River, Massachusetts, The Herald News reports:City businessman Joseph Pereira is facing more larceny charges after two victims told police they were swindled in a scam that resulted in the loss of their homes. Pereira, 44, [...] has been charged with two counts each of larceny over $250 by a single scheme and unauthorized practice of law, subsequent offense...
BofA Moves Against Judge For Refusing To Boot Ailing Elderly Couple Onto Street Following Foreclosure Of Dilapidated Bungalow Over Unpaid $7K HELOC
Posted on July 14, 2009In Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Michigan Messenger reports:Bank of America is suing a Grand Rapids District Judge Michael Christensen for allowing an ailing, elderly couple to remain in their foreclosed home until the couple can move, the Grand Rapids Press is reporting...
Nevada Governor Signs Emergency Regulations Imposing Tougher Controls In Fight Against Foreclosure & Loan Modification Scams
Posted on July 14, 2009In Carson City, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:Gov. Jim Gibbons has signed emergency regulations to allow the state to impose tougher controls to stop foreclosure and loan modification scams. The regulations permit the state Division of Mortgage Lending to license loan modification and foreclosure consultant companies and their agents...
Connecticut's Voluntary Foreclosure Mediation Program Now Mandatory
Posted on July 14, 2009In Hartford, Connecticut, the Hartford Courant reports:As mortgage delinquencies continue to mount in Connecticut, the governor has signed three bills to help homeowners struggling with mortgage payments ? including making participation in the state's foreclosure mediation program mandatory as of July 1...
Missouri AG To Testify At Senate Hearing On Growing Complaints Of Mortgage, Debt Repair Fraud
Posted on July 14, 2009In Jefferson City, Missouri, The Associated Press reports:Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is scheduled to testify before a U.S. Senate committee(1) about growing complaints of mortgage and debt repair fraud. [...] Koster said he planned to outline the growing number of complaints his office has received about fraudulent schemes to help people with mortgage or debt problems...
Central Florida Feds Expect To Bag 100+ Suspects In Upcoming Mortgage Fraud Indictments
Posted on July 13, 2009In Central Florida, the Bradenton Herald reports:Federal authorities are investigating several suspected cases of mortgage fraud in Manatee and Sarasota counties as part of a larger statewide crackdown, the Bradenton Herald has learned. Those investigations are zeroing in on organized groups and industry insiders suspected of defrauding mortgage lenders out of tens of millions of dollars during
Trustees In Mortgage Securitizations May Begin Finding Themselves In The Crosshairs As "Joint Venturers" In Lawsuits Seeking To Impose Fraud Liability
Posted on July 13, 2009The New York Times reports on the hot water facing many of those big institutions who played any part in the creation and peddling of mortgage securitized interests in toxic loans:Some legal experts point to a number of cases in which plaintiffs contend that firms involved in the securitization process, like trustees hired to oversee the pools of loans backing securities, worked so closely with
Onslaught Of Chapter 11 Filings Expected From Condo Associations Suffering From Decrease In Maintenance Fee Collections, Deadbeat Unit Owners?
Posted on July 13, 2009In South Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:In a move an increasing number of condo associations are expected to follow, the Maison Grande in Miami Beach has filed for bankruptcy.(1) Facing almost $1 million in claims by unsecured creditors, a troublesome recreational lease, and at least 100 unit owners [out of 502] delinquent on payments of their fees, the association filed a Chapter 11
$900K Real Estate Deposit Part Of $2.2M In Escrow Cash Ripped Off From Clients By NYC Attorney, Says Manhattan DA
Posted on July 13, 2009From the Office of the Manhattan District Attorney:Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced [Wednesday] the second indictment charging a lawyer with stealing settlement and escrow monies from his clients. This second indictment charges the defendant with stealing more than $1...
NYC Man To Pay $95K Restitution For Home Sold Out From Under Elderly Stroke Victim; Agrees To Cough Up $40K By Sept. To "Buy Out" Of 3-9 Year Sentence
Posted on July 13, 2009From the Office of the Queens County District Attorney:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [Thursday] announced that a St. Albans an has pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of a 68-year-old Jamaica, Queens, man who had been disabled as a result of a stroke and then secretly selling his house out from under him and pocketing the profits...
Obama Administration About To Turn Up The Heat On Mortgage Servicing Industry Over Sluggishness In Making Loan Modifications?
Posted on July 13, 2009A column in The New York Times reports on an invitation recenly extended(1) by the Treasury & HUD Secretaries to the top 25 mortgage loan servicers to get together in Washington on July 28 for a chat:The subject of the meeting is going to be loan modifications...
Chicago-Area Homeowners In Foreclosure Urged To Show Up To Court "Case Management Call" To Seek Assistance
Posted on July 13, 2009In Chicago, Illinois, the Southwest News Herald reports:Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown said a recent administrative order issued by a Chancery Court judge represents a second chance for many homeowners facing foreclosures to have their cases heard in July and August, noting that some may be able to save their homes through mediation...
Ohio Woman Gets Help From Non Profit Law Firm In Saving Home From Foreclosure, Filing Suit Alleging Loan Modification, "Rescue" Scam
Posted on July 12, 2009In Hamilton, Ohio, the Middletown Journal reports:A Middletown woman filed suit Thursday, July 9, in Butler County Common Pleas Court against two Cincinnati-based companies and a Kentucky attorney alleging a foreclosure rescue scam, according to the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio...
Rent Skimming Landlords Pocketing Gov't Rent Subsidies While In Foreclosure; Section 8 Tenants Forced Out Onto Street With Trampled Legal Rights
Posted on July 12, 2009In Central Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:A growing number of Central Florida's poorest residents are being forced out of their rental homes because their landlords aren't making the mortgage payments. Eyewitness News reporter Berndt Petersen found out that more and more Section 8 landlords are taking the federal rent payments while they default on the mortgages...
Wells Fargo Suing Itself In Foreclosure Actions Becoming Common??? Proliferation Of 80/20 Mortgages During Housing Boom Cited As Reason
Posted on July 12, 2009In Hillsborough County, Florida, Dow Jones Newswires columnist Al Lewis opines:You can't expect a bank that is dumb enough to sue itself to know why it is suing itself. Yet I could not resist asking Wells Fargo Bank NA why it filed a civil complaint against itself in a mortgage foreclosure case in Hillsborough County, Fla...
Long Island Man Found Guilty Of Hijacking Homes In Foreclosure & Renting Them Out To Unwitting Tenants
Posted on July 12, 2009In Riverhead, New York, North Country Gazette reports:After a three week trial and three hours of deliberations, a Suffolk jury convicted a Medford man Friday of burglary, grand larceny and fraud charges for breaking into foreclosed houses in Patchogue, Medford, Shirley, and Holbrook and renting out the homes to unsuspecting tenants...
Notice Of Disciplinary Charges Filed By State Bar Against California Attorney In Connection With Disgruntled Loan Modification Client
Posted on July 12, 2009In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:One state regulator has faced a hurdle in trying to stop companies from scamming people who need help avoiding foreclosure. But this week another agency stepped in to join the fight. The California State BAR on July 7 filed its first disciplinary case against an attorney related to the burgeoning, and sometimes messy, loan modification
Cook County Sheriff Charges Four With Digging Up Graves & Reselling Plots, Allegedly Netting Scammers $300K
Posted on July 12, 2009In Aslip, Illinois, The Associated Press reports:Prosecutors on Thursday charged three gravediggers and a manager in an elaborate scheme in which hundreds of corpses were dug up at a historic black cemetery near Chicago and strewn in a weeded area or reburied with other bodies so that plots could be resold, authorities said...
Sentencing Phase Finally Begins In Maryland Equity Stripping, Straw Buyer, Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam; 1st Of 10 Defendants Gets 10 Years
Posted on July 11, 2009From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Kurt Fordham, age 39, of Ft. Washington, Maryland, [Friday] to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair
NYC Controller Urges All Brooklyn Residents To "Make Out A Will ASAP!" To Avoid Risk Of Getting Fleeced By Public Administrator's Office
Posted on July 11, 2009In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Daily News reports:Brooklyn's scandal-plagued court system gets a new black eye in a scathing audit that found the borough's public administrator's office riddled with "mismanagement and laziness." The city controller's office uncovered shoddy recordkeeping, suspicious real estate deals and auctions run by a shadowy company that vanished when auditors started
NYC Controller: Bronx Public Admisistrator's Office Plays Fast & Loose With Dead People's Property
Posted on July 11, 2009In The Bronx, New York, the New York Daily News reports:Bronx court officials broke the law by investing $21 million in risky securities with money from the estates of dead people, a new audit charges. City Controller William Thompson charged the public administrator's office in Bronx Surrogate's Court violated state law three years ago, when it placed 30% ofthe cash it was holding for heirs with