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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.
By r morris

Post Frequency: 25.7/day

Last Entry: September 06, 2017 at 04:02:00

Ohio Man Charged In Alleged $500K+ Ripoff Of 70-Year Old Woman; Leaves Her Essentially Penniless, Facing Foreclosure

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Springdale, Ohio, the Cincinnati Inquirer reports:A financial planner is accused of stealing a 70-year-old woman?s life savings -- more than half a million dollars ? and leaving her essentially penniless. When Springdale police arrested Martin Morris, 50, at his Mason home Thursday, night, they said he was on the phone with his attorney...

Bay Area Woman Gets 30 Days "Time Served," 3 Months House Arrest For Using Forged POA, Stolen IDs In Attempt To Steal Long-Time Friend's Home

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Alameda County, California, Laney Tower reports:A former College of Alameda counselor was sentenced March 29 to five years probation and 120 days jail time(1) for multiple felony charges including forgery and identity theft. Shirley Robinson, 69, who has been in custody at Santa Rita Jail since a jury convicted her of 10 felonies on March 1, was sentenced at Alameda County Superior Court on

Hubby's Failure To Disclose Cheating Relationship Results In Favorable Ruling In Wife's Attempt To Undo Mortgage Refinancing Of Family Home

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Gorelston, Norfolk (UK), Norfolk News reports:A Norfolk mother has won a landmark court ruling that may give her judicial protection against her home being repossessed - because she was unaware her husband was cheating on her.Top judges ruled that Jayne Hewett was ?unduly influenced? by her husband Darren Hewett, who had kept quiet about his affair when he persuaded her to charge his massive

Caretaker Dodges Charges After Pocketing 2nd Mortgage Cash On Alzheimer's Victim's Home, Then Failing To Make Payments; Cops Say No Crime Committed

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Anderson County, Tennessee, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports:Living alone in his Claxton area house, elderly Auburn Casey apparently became smitten with his caretaker, a detective said. The 86-year-old signed blank checks for the 39-year-old woman to fill in the amount and cash...

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Live-In Caregiver Surrenders State Nursing License After Convincing Now-Deceased 91-Year Old Oregon Man To Sign Over $900K Estate

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Portland, Oregon, Willamette Week reports:A licensed practical nurse accused of manipulating an elderly Portland man into giving up his estate has surrendered her Oregon nursing license. The state Board of Nursing uncovered disturbing new details of the case in the investigation that led to Patricia McIntosh surrendering her LPN license last month...

Oregon Woman Charged With Abusing POA In $224K Ripoff Of 85-Year Old, Now-Destitute Mother; Victim Puts Home Up For Sale To Pay Nursing Home Bills

Posted on April 03, 2010
In Milwaukie, Oregon, KPTV-TV Channel 12 reports:A woman accused of stealing more than $224,000 from her 85-year-old mother's bank accounts was arrested Thursday on charges of aggravated theft and criminal mistreatment. Milwaukie police said Janet Durkee left her mother destitute after taking the money over a five month period...

Fannie-Related Mortgage Foreclosures No Longer To Be Carried Out In The Name Of MERS

Posted on April 02, 2010
DSNews.com reports:In new policy guidelines released this week, Fannie Mae told servicers that they can no longer name MERS [Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems] as the plaintiff in any foreclosure action, whether judicial or non-judicial, on a mortgage loan owned or securitized by the GSE...

More Spotlight On Short Sale Fraud

Posted on April 02, 2010
The Orange County Register reports:The [California] Department of Real Estate is issuing warnings about fraudulent short sales. [...] Short sales, in which properties are legally sold for less than what?s owed on the mortgage as long as the lender agrees, have been on the upswing this year...

Unwitting Family Gets The Boot Six Months After Paying $11K Deposit On Home "Purchase" From R/E Agent Now On Trial On Fraud, Forgery Charges

Posted on April 02, 2010
In Kitchener, Ontario, The Record reports:[Natasha] Embro said she and her former husband, David, had been looking for a house, but didn?t have much money for a down payment, when they saw a newspaper advertisement for assumable mortgages requiring no approval...

Trial Begins For Real Estate Broker Accused Of Using Stolen IDs To Obtain 47 Loans For $17.5M+ On 35 Properties; Two Other Suspects On The Lam

Posted on April 02, 2010
In Orange County, California, The Orange County Register reports:A real estate broker is on trial for allegedly conspiring with her boyfriend and his brother to commit $17.5 million in real estate fraud by buying 35 properties using stolen identities and purposely defaulting on loans to get the money...

Cops Seek Real Estate Agent Accused Of Swiping Cash From Company Trust Account

Posted on April 02, 2010
In Rancho Cucamonga, California, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports:District attorney's fraud investigators are hoping that a woman wanted on suspicion of real estate fraud will turn herself in. Authorities served a search warrant at the Rancho Cucamonga home of Jodi Lee Nazir, 40, [...

Homeowner Accuses Loan Servicer Of Payment Posting Screw-Ups, Improper Charges For Force-Placed Insurance, Erroneous Reports To Credit Bureaus

Posted on April 01, 2010
In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:After being threatened with foreclosure despite properly disputing a number of delinquencies on his mortgage, a Galveston County man has filed a $210,000 lawsuit against a Florida-based loan management company...

State Regulator Clips Loan Modification Operator Out Of $2,500 For Unlicensed Activity; Seeks Refunds For Cash Collected From Homeowners

Posted on April 01, 2010
From the Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending:After investigation, the Division [of Mortgage Lending] found that Las Vegas-based Felipe J. Urbina, dba Conceptos Home Retention Team, was providing loan modification and foreclosure consultant services without a license from the Division...

Bldg Inspectors Shut Down Another NYC Deathtrap, Giving Occupants "Hours" Notice; Illegal Hostels Said To Cram Up To 16 Residents In Each Apartment

Posted on April 01, 2010
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the New York Post reports:Talk about a hostel living environment! City officials raided and cleared a six-story Williamsburg building that contained two allegedly illegal hostels [] after an inspector found that the commercial building was not zoned for residential use...

Lenders File Challenges To Providence Foreclosure Mediation Ordinance

Posted on April 01, 2010
In Providence, Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reports:Wells Fargo and Bank of New York Mellon have joined Deutsche Bank in filing a suit against the city over a recently enacted ordinance dealing with foreclosures,(1) according to Deputy City Solicitor Anthony F...

NJ Feds Squeeze Guilty Plea From Brooklyn-Based Foreclosure Rescue Operator; Admits To Role In Peddling Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Scams

Posted on March 31, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Newark, New Jersey):A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty [] to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, U...

San Bernardino DA Bags Five In Alleged Conspiracy That Used Unwitting Victim's ID To Obtain $1M In Home Loans

Posted on March 31, 2010
From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:[A]ndy Williams, 38, of San Bernardino, surrendered himself to San Bernardino County District Attorney's Investigators for real estate fraud related charges. Williams was arrested for numerous felony counts including grand theft, forgery, and filing forged documents with the County Recorder?s Office...

Missouri AG Obtains Money Judgments Against Two Loan Modification Outfits In Separate Cases; Firms Allegedly Failed To Provide Promised Services

Posted on March 31, 2010
From the Office of the Missouri Attorney General:Attorney General Chris Koster said [] his office has obtained judgments against two foreclosure rescue companies who allegedly took money from distraught homeowners and failed to provide promised services...

Foreclosure Eviction Attempt Lands Lender In Federal Court; Tenant Accuses Bank Of Using Misleading Letter To Intimidate Her Out Of Rented Home

Posted on March 31, 2010
In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports:A College Hill woman sued GMAC Inc. on Monday to stop the company from evicting her and other tenants after their rented homes were sold at sheriff's sales. Rosalyn Pratt said GMAC purchased her home in December after the property fell into foreclosure and then sent her a letter stating she would receive $500 if she left within two weeks...

Lender's Bookkeeping Screw-Up Lands Long Island Homeowner In Foreclosure; Bank Corrects Error, Issues Apology Only After Local Media Intervention

Posted on March 31, 2010
In East Hampton, New York, WABC-TV Channel 7 reports:She's an architect who's helped build scores of homes. But now - the struggling businesswoman is trying to save her own house from foreclosure after she says her bank tried to literally run her out of town - that is until 7 on your side stepped in...

Unwitting Mortgage Cosigner Takes Hit On Credit Report After Daughter, Son-In-Law Subsequently Modify Loan Payments, Despite Never Being In Default

Posted on March 30, 2010
In Cherry Hill, New Jersey, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Roseann Ippoliti, a local woman who recently took a big hit on her credit in connection with a mortgage she had cosigned for her daughter and son-in-law to facilitate a home acquisition, despite the fact that the loan payments were always timely made...

NYC To Offer Free Legal Support In Mandatory Settlement Conferences For Homeowners In Foreclosure

Posted on March 30, 2010
In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:The city announced [] that it will be offering free legal support for New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. The new program will be offered through NYC Service, which was launched last year by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to provide volunteer services to different sectors across the city suffering from the recession...

NY Appeals Court Dismisses Lender's Lawsuit; Says Bank Failed To Strictly Comply With State Anti-Foreclosure Ripoff Law When Filing Legal Action

Posted on March 30, 2010
In Brooklyn, New York, The New York Law Journal reports:Failure to give proper notice to a homeowner under New York's foreclosure fraud law is a defense that can be raised at any time, a Brooklyn appeals court has ruled in a decision of first impression at the state appellate level...

Judge Addresses Attorney BS When Imposing Sanctions Against Lawyer For Role In Attempt To Revoke Valid Loan Modification Agreement

Posted on March 30, 2010
In Oakland, California, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randall J. Newsome recently found himself addressing the conduct of an attorney representing IndyMac Bank (OneWest Bank) for her role in attempting to improperly scrap a valid loan modification agreement between the bank and a homeowner facing foreclosure, and which resulted in an unappreciated waste of the judge's time...

Woman Accused By Siblings Of Using POA To Swipe Dying Father's Home; DC Court Of Appeals Orders Civil Trial On Allegations Of Forgery

Posted on March 30, 2010
A recent court ruling by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals may provide some insight for those who:find themselves in a situation where an individual uses a power of attorney ("POA") to improperly convey title to real property belonging to another, andseek to void/invalidate or otherwise undo the improper conveyance, and any transfers or mortgaging of the subject property occurring

Short Sale "Flopping" Among Current Real Estate Scam Techniques Getting Attention From Feds

Posted on March 29, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, BusinessWeek reports:[Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force] members were in Phoenix to hear about emerging trends in mortgage fraud from professionals who work in the real estate and mortgage industry, and community organizers and lawyers who help homeowners struggling to keep their homes...

Pennsylvania B'kruptcy Court Voids Sale Leaseback Scam; Victimized Homeowners' Continued Possession Leads To Invalidation Of Subsequent Deed, Mortgage

Posted on March 29, 2010
A recent ruling of a Federal bankruptcy court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provides a roadmap for one way in which a sale leaseback, equity stripping foreclosure rescue scam can be undone or unwound, invalidating both the initial title transfer (that was coupled with a contemporaneous leaseback of the premises with a repurchase option) by the victimized homeowner to the foreclosure rescue

Paralegal Gets Three Years For Role In Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Ripoff Targeting Financially Distressed Homeoners In Brooklyn, The Bronx

Posted on March 29, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (New York City):PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARINA DUBIN, a real estate paralegal, was sentenced yesterday to two concurrent three-year prison sentences in connection with her involvement in a multimillion-dollar, sub-prime mortgage fraud scheme and another foreclosure rescue scheme...

NY AG Tags Two Loan Modification Outfits In Civil Suits For Failing To Provide Promised Services

Posted on March 29, 2010
From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [] filed lawsuits against two loan modification companies for engaging in nationwide foreclosure rescue scams. The lawsuits were filed against National Modification Service (?National Modification?) and its founder Joseph Romano, and Infinity Mitigation Corporation, Infinity Funding Group (?Infinity?), and their

"Business Deals Gone Bad" Defense Lets Thief Off w/ Handslap; Some Screwed Over Scam Victims To Get 41 Cents On Dollar Restitution; Others Get Stiffed

Posted on March 28, 2010
In Kennewick, Washington, The News Tribune reports:A Richland real estate developer pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree theft after being accused of bilking Tri-City residents out of $380,000 they had given him for real estate investments.(1) Armen Lucius B...

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