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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

More On The City Of Baltimore v. Wells Fargo "Ghetto Loans" Predatory Lending Case

Posted on August 31, 2009
In 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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...

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Cuyahoga Prosecutor Indicts 1st 12 In Alleged $14M+ Cleveland-Area Mortgage Fraud Operation

Posted on August 31, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
A 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
From 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

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