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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

Long Island Judge Slams Lender, Attorney For Careless Filings In Foreclosure Action

Posted on January 17, 2011
In Suffolk County, New York, State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Arlen Spinner recently slammed a foreclosing lender and its legal counsel for wasting his time for filing crappy paperwork in an attempt to take the home of a purportedly delinquent borrower...

Federal Appeals Court Reinstates 85-Year Old Widow's 'Fair Debt' Suit Alleging Illegal Fee Gouging After Missing Final Payment On 30-Year Mortgage

Posted on January 17, 2011
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Washington Post reports:An elderly New Jersey widow billed $5,800 after missing the final payment on her 30-year mortgage can pursue her lawsuit against the debt collectors, a U.S. appeals court ruled.(1) Lawyers for Dorothy Rhue Allen call the fees charged by two banks and a law firm "unfair or unconscionable" and say they violate state and federal

Las Vegas Man Gets 9 Months In Jail, Five Years Probation For Ripping Off Homeowners Out Of $36K+ In Foreclosure Rescue Racket

Posted on January 17, 2011
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KVVU-TV Channel 5 reports:A man who pleaded guilty to scamming homeowners facing foreclosure has been sentenced to nine months in jail and probation for five years. Doninador Palalay ran a foreclosure rescue scam under the name PDM Financial Inc...

Disbarred Lawyer Sentenced In $2.37M Client 'Refi' Theft; Cash Meant For Lien Payoffs; Attny Ripoff Reimbursement Fund Expected To Step In, Cough Up

Posted on January 17, 2011
In Saratoga County, New York, The Glens Falls Post Star reports:A Wilton lawyer who prosecutors say was running a "mini-Madoff" scheme to help bankroll a lavish lifestyle that included a home on a Caribbean island was sentenced to up to 15 years in state prison on Friday in Saratoga County Court...

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89-Year Old Widow Dodges Foreclosure, Gets Mortgage-Free Home After Being Tricked Into Signing For $400K+ Loan; Scammer Believed To Have Fled Country

Posted on January 16, 2011
In San Mateo County, California, The Oakland Tribune reports:An 89-year-old Pacifica woman who was conned out of $600,000 by a contractor and faced foreclosure has won a lawsuit that prevents her eviction, an attorney said. As part of the settlement worked out Thursday in San Mateo County Superior Court, the lien on Pauline Reade's house was lifted and she won't have to repay a $420,000 loan that

Massachusetts High Court: Mortgage Does Not Follow The Note

Posted on January 16, 2011
One of the key points from the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in U.S. Bank Nat?l Ass?n v. Ibanez, was that (unbeknownst to me, the Wall Street securitization wizards, the mortgage industry, and maybe a couple of other people) the long-standing principal of common law that a mortgage or deed of trust is a mere incident to the promissory note and that these security agreements

Nassau DA: B'klyn Man Used Bogus Mtg. Satisfactions & Title Policy, Prepared His Own Title Report, Forged Dead Lawyer's Name To Pocket $5.3M In Loans

Posted on January 16, 2011
From the Office of the Nassau County, New York District Attorney:Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced [] that a Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to obtaining $5.3 million in mortgages from two different Nassau County financial lenders by using fake documents, a dead attorney?s signature and forged mortgage satisfactions that showed previous mortgages were paid off...

New Law Allows Fla. HOAs To Begin Muscle-Flexing Against Non-Paying Unit Owners; Cable TV Shutoff Among 'Extreme' Collection Measures Used

Posted on January 16, 2011
The Palm Beach Post reports:Throughout South Florida, where homeowner associations reign over the fading fortunes of gated communities and condominiums, governing boards are using more aggressive - some say guerrilla - tactics to collect late fees.Emboldened by a new law that allows boards to ban non-paying homeowners from community common areas, associations also are restricting residents'

Mortgage Servicer Neglect Adds To Blight In Chicago Neighborhoods As Vacant Homes Left Lingering In Legal Limbo

Posted on January 15, 2011
In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:A new type of property is adding to neighborhood blight: the bank walkaway. Research to be released Thursday, the first of its kind locally, identifies 1,896 "red flag" homes in Chicago ? most of them are in distressed African-American neighborhoods ? that appear to have been abandoned by mortgage servicers during the foreclosure process, the

Nassau DA: Long Island Man Facing Foreclosure Used Phony Raffle Racket In Home-Peddling Scam, Clipping Victims Out Of $100K+

Posted on January 15, 2011
In Mineola, New York, WCBS Radio 880 AM reports:It was too good to be true. A Long Island man is accused of selling more than $100,000 worth of raffle tickets for a million-dollar waterfront home, then reneging on the drawing and pocketing the cash for luxury vacations...

Rogue Bill Collector Contacted, Harassed Friends, Family In Attempt To Illegally Squeeze Cash From Debtor: Federal Lawsuit

Posted on January 15, 2011
In Sherman, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:An East Texas man is suing a collection agency after one of its agents contacted and harassed his friends and family. Jimmy Cotten filed suit against Nelson, Hirsch & Associates Inc. on Dec. 15 in the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division...

Mass. AG Pinches Landlord For Filing Phony Cerification After Being Nabbed For Failure To Comply w/ Lead Paint Law When Renting To Family w/ Young Kid

Posted on January 15, 2011
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:A Worcester area property owner has been arraigned for fraudulently claiming his property was in compliance with lead laws and endangering children, announced Attorney General Martha Coakley. Jaroslaw Pianka, age 40, of Charlton, was arraigned on charges of Child Endangerment, Larceny by False Pretenses, and Uttering (2 counts)...

Massachusetts Landlord's Refusal To Renew Lease After Long-Time Tenant's New Baby Triggered Lead Paint Abatement Obligation Leads To State AG Lawsuit

Posted on January 15, 2011
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:A Boston real estate management company, its agent and property owner have been sued for violating state anti-discrimination law, Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office announced. The Attorney General?s Office filed a housing discrimination complaint on January 3, 2011, against Mediate Management Company (?Mediate?), its agent Deborah

California Attorney Admits Breaking Into Former Homes On Behalf Of Foreclosed Clients At Least A Half Dozen Times

Posted on January 15, 2011
In Southern California, the Los Angeles Times reports:Jim and Danielle Earl had fallen behind on their mortgage payments after a business reversal. But the six-bedroom house that they shared with their brood had already been sold to an investment company, [Ventura County Superior Court] Judge Barbara A...

Georgia Deputies Stumble Into Home-Based Meth Lab While Serving Foreclosure Notice; Score Big Bust

Posted on January 15, 2011
In Tift County, Georgia, WFXL-TV Channel 31 reports:The routine serving of a bank foreclosure notice turns into a big drug bust in Tift County. Tift County Sheriff?s Department Information Officer David Hare tells FOX 31 News that sheriff?s deputies were serving a bank foreclosure notice Wednesday afternoon at 1241 WB Parks Road when they saw signs of a possible meth lab operation...

Ventura County DA Charges Four In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Racket; Group Targeted Primarily Non-English Speaking Homeowners For Upfront Fee Fleecing

Posted on January 14, 2011
In Ventura County, California , the Ventura County Star reports:Ventura County prosecutors have filed a felony complaint against four people alleging they ran a fraudulent home foreclosure rescue program from an Oxnard office. Prosecutors allege that Maria Victoria Santos, 55, of Ventura, along with Felipe Carlos Segovia Castro, 67, of Moreno Valley; Laura Cecilia Carlson, 64, of Hacienda Heights

Central Florida Foreclosure Mill Required Staff To Work "Off The Clock," Says Ex-Employee In Lawsuit

Posted on January 14, 2011
In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:A former employee of a major foreclosure law firm in Tampa says she and other employees were forced to work "off the clock" to keep up with a flood of cases over the past three years. Denise Vasquez has filed a lawsuit and is asking for a jury trial in her case against Florida Default Law Group...

Landlord Gets The Squeeze As Lender Refuses To Renew Short Term Balloon Mortgages; Bank Opts To Foreclose Instead Despite Prompt Payment History

Posted on January 14, 2011
In Springfield, Missouri, KYTV Channel 3 reports:Imagine never being late or missing a payment, but still losing your home to foreclosure. It's happening across the nation to owners of rental properties. An owner of multiple rental properties can't typically get a traditional loan, so he'll get a one-, three- or five-year note that's renewed when it expires...

NC Upfront Fee Loan Modification Racket Gets Clipped For 80K+ In Restitution, Civil Penalties

Posted on January 14, 2011
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Greensboro News & Record reports:A company that operated in Colfax and Charlotte has been banned from doing foreclosure assistance work in the state. The state Attorney General's office said [] that Reginald Keith Turner, who did business as Hazelton Management and The Carley Group, is prohibited from doing foreclosure assistance, loan modification and debt relief

Brooklyn Jurist Continues Slamming Sloppy Lenders, Foreclosure Mills; Charges Law Firm With "Delinquent Conduct"

Posted on January 13, 2011
AOL Daily Finance columnist Abigail Field writes:On Oct. 20, New York state courts cracked down on robo-signing by ordering attorneys for foreclosing banks to swear that they had personally confirmed that the documents they are submitting are true and accurate...

Recent Massachusetts High Court Ibanez Ruling Leaves Question On 3rd Party Bona Fide Purchaser Unanswered (Or Did It?)

Posted on January 13, 2011
One question that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the recent Ibanez ruling left unanswered is noted in this excerpt from Justice Robert J. Cordy's concurring opinion, with whom Justice Margot Botsford joined:What is more complicated, and not addressed in this opinion, because the issue was not before us, is the effect of the conduct of banks such as the plaintiffs here, on a bona fide

Florida AG's Office To State Lawmakers: Foreclosure Process In "Total Disarray" - A "Virtual Morass" Of Fake Documents, Faulty Assignments

Posted on January 13, 2011
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Florida?s foreclosure process has become a ?virtual morass? of fake documents and faulty practices by ?mill? law firms spewing out unverified paperwork, Associate Florida Attorney General Patricia Conners told the Florida Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance Tuesday...

Oneidas Dodge Potentially Adverse Supreme Court Ruling In R/E Tax-Dodging Case; 11th Hour Waiver Of Lawsuit Immunity Moots High Court's Role In Case

Posted on January 13, 2011
The Associated Press reports:The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a case involving two New York counties that are trying to foreclose on land owned by the Oneida Indian Nation to settle a property tax dispute. The court agreed in October to hear the case...

Recent Massachusetts High Court Ruling Triggers Resumption Of Statewide Class Action Alleging Faulty Foreclosures, 'Fair Debt' Violations

Posted on January 12, 2011
In Boston, Massachusetts, Bloomberg reports:A statewide class action in which Massachusetts homeowners accuse U.S. Bancorp and Ally Financial Inc. of faulty foreclosures will resume now that the state?s high court ruled in a similar case last week.(1),The litigation was on hold while the Supreme Judicial Court decided whether state law required foreclosures to be conducted by the mortgage owner.

Sticky-Fingered Closing Agent Gets 12 Yrs, Agrees To Indemnify Title Insurer Left Holding Bag In $3.8M+ Escrow Account Ripoff Affecting 11 Home Buyers

Posted on January 12, 2011
From the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General:Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that the owner of a title company in Red Bank was sentenced to prison [last week] for stealing $3.8 million in loan proceeds intended for payment of mortgage balances and other closing costs...

Closing Attorney Gets 18 Months For Pocketing $500K+ In Clients' Refinancing Proceeds Intended To Pay Off Existing Mortgages

Posted on January 12, 2011
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Buffalo, New York):U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced [] that Robert R. Goods, 49, of Snyder, N.Y., who was convicted of bank fraud, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $521,800 restitution by Chief U...

Judge Says Deportation Constitutes 'Good Cause' For F'closure Rescue Scammer's Failure To Appear At Sentencing 'Buydown' Hearing; Grants 2-Month Delay

Posted on January 12, 2011
In Santa Maria, California, the Santa Maria Times reports:A Superior Court judge has postponed a ruling on whether the former manager of a Los Angeles-based foreclosure consultation business with an office in Santa Maria will have her felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors for committing prohibited foreclosure practices...

Fla. Continues "Burying Its Head In Its Sandy Beaches" In F'closure Mess Despite Recent Actions In Other States; Critics Attack 'Delusional Behavior'

Posted on January 11, 2011
The Palm Beach Post reports:Fed up with the foreclosure chaos, the New Jersey courts demanded that banks prove the integrity of their home repossession systems or face shutdown. To demonstrate the need for the Dec. 20 order, New Jersey cited flaws in six Florida foreclosure cases, including three in Palm Beach County, as examples...

Municipal Group Of Pension Funds Tell Major Mortgage Servicers To Clean Up Flawed Foreclosure Process

Posted on January 11, 2011
Bloomberg reports:A group of seven public-sector pension fund systems called on the boards of the four largest U.S. banks, including Bank of America Corp., to review foreclosure practices, saying there?s a ?fundamental? flaw in the companies? methods...

Bond Insurer: 'Goldman Tricked Us Into Buying $30M In Worthless CDOs!' Firm Seeks To Recover Investment & Impose $90M In Punishment

Posted on January 11, 2011
The Wall Street Journal reports:ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. said it is suing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for "fraud and unjust enrichment" in connection with a soured mortgage-backed investment that led the bank to pay $550 million to settle government charges last year...

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