Ratings Agencies Sign Settlement Agreement With NY AG In Subprime Mortgage Probe

Reuters reports:

• Moody's Investors Service and other rating agencies have signed an agreement with the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo addressing rating practices, including fees, Moody's President Ray McDaniel said on Thursday. The New York Attorney General is expected to sign the agreement later on Thursday, said McDaniel, speaking at a Moody's investors conference in New York.

Source: Moody's says has signed agreement with NY AG.

See also:

• The New York Times: Rating Firms Seem Near Legal Deal on Reforms,
• Bloomberg News: Moody's, S&P Reach Settlement Agreement With Cuomo, People Say.

Texas AG Sues Nine In Alleged Deed Theft From 40+ Dead Homeowners; Accusations Include Illegal Foreclosure Rescue

In Fort Bend County, Texas, FortBendNow.com reports:

• Five Fort Bend County residents and four associates have been accused of a scheme to steal homes from families of recently deceased homeowners. A statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the nine "orchestrated a complex residential real estate scheme by relying on forged and backdated signatures on fraudulent deeds and trusts," and "fraudulently obtained titles to at least 40 Houston-area properties, which were subsequently sold to other conspirators and unsuspecting buyers." Abbott filed a lawsuit against the nine, and named Edward Charles Gray, of [...] Fresno, and James Lanier King of Houston as ringleaders in the alleged scheme.

***

• The lawsuit accuses Gray of operating "an illegal foreclosure rescue scheme" in which he offered to help homeowners prevent foreclosure. In one case, he allegedly convinced an elderly woman to pay him $350 a month and temporarily transfer her home title to him. Then, according to the suit, Gray got the woman to sign a warranty deed transferring the home to another defendant, Erik Lamont Campbell, whose address is listed at the same [...] Fresno home as Gray.

• A spokesman for Abbott said Wednesday that no criminal charges have been filed in the case, and thus none of the defendants has been arrested.

For more, see AG Sues 5 Fort Bend Residents Over Scheme To Steal Dead People's Homes.

From the Texas Attorney General's Office:

• Lawsuit - State of Texas v. King, et al,
• Temporary Restraining Order - State of Texas v. King, et al.,
• Texas AG Press Release - Attorney General Abbott Takes Legal Action To Halt Houston Area Mortgage Scheme (Charges defendants with conspiring to defraud deceased homeowners, heirs of property titles).

California Homeowner Seeking Home Equity Refinancing Gets Cleaned Out In Equity Stripping Deal

In American Canyon, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:

• Three years ago, Donna Robbins tried to use her soaring equity to remodel her house in this Napa Valley community.Instead, she says she got cleaned out. Robbins claims that friends from church who ran a finance company agreed to arrange a home equity loan to pay for a new kitchen, bathrooms and landscaping.

• As with most financial transactions, there were papers to sign. But Robbins says that what she was told were loan documents were in fact papers that transferred the title to her property. These new owners subsequently defaulted on the mortgage, according to public property records and a lawsuit Robbins filed in Napa County Superior Court. Now, the house she had inherited from her parents is in foreclosure and Robbins is facing eviction, along with her boyfriend and their seven children.

For more, see Compounding the pain (Allegations of mortgage fraud are on the upswing).

Summit County Enacts Rule Designed To Eliminate Sloppy Practices By Foreclosing Lenders & Their Attorneys

The Summit County, Ohio judiciary has recently adopted a local rule in mortgage foreclosure actions requiring the foreclosing lender's attorney to file a 14-point certification (known as a Certificate of Readiness) along with the lawsuit initiating the foreclosure action. Among the certifications that the lender's attorney is required to make is the following:

• The Plaintiff has in its custody and control the original note and mortgage, and said documents are available for inspection upon order of the Court.

In addition, the foreclosing lender's attorney no longer has 60 days to file with the court the required property title report (known as the Preliminary Judicial Report - serves as evidence of the state of the record title of the real property in question). The Preliminary Judicial Report is to be filed contemporaneously with the lawsuit and the attorney's 14-point Certificate of Readiness.

If the foregoing are not filed together when initiating a foreclosure action, the Summit County Clerk of the Courts has been ordered to reject the action for filing.

It will be interesting to see how lenders' counsel deal with the 14-point cerification when promissory notes have been lost, assignments of mortgages have gone unrecorded and that are dated on a date subsequent to the filing of the foreclosure action, and other well reported screw-ups that foreclosing lenders have heretofore been getting away with in foreclosure actions.

For more on the Summit County, Ohio court rule, effective June 1, 2008, together with the standard form Certificate of Readiness containing all 14 points that lenders' attorneys are now required to certify to the court when filing foreclosure actions, see Order - In re: Certificate of Readiness For Foreclosure Actions Filed In The Court of Common Pleas - General Division.

Many thanks to William A. Roper, Jr. for the heads-up on the new rule. missing mortgage foreclosure docs beta SloppyForeclosuresAlpha

Deceptive Real Estate Practices, Exorbitant Interest Rates Alleged In Attempt To "Steal" Property

In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports:

• The owner of [a] Boston Hill property joined a growing list of businessmen and developers yesterday who have accused David G. “Duddie” Massad and Commerce Bank and Trust of operating a criminal enterprise that engaged in loan sharking, racketeering, extortion, fraud and conspiracy.

• Charles T. Sanderson III of Kingston, who owns the 118-acre Boston Hill property that straddles Shrewsbury, Westboro and Northboro, charged in federal court papers that Mr. Massad, of Westboro, his daughter, Pamela Massad of Westboro, Commerce Bank and Trust Co., and Gemstone Investment Company of Worcester operated a criminal organization that used illegally high interest rates and deceptive real estate transactions in an attempt to steal the property from him. Mr. Sanderson also alleged that Mr. Massad’s actions forced him into bankruptcy. He asked a jury to award him $40 million in damages.

For more, see Property owner accuses Massad (Extortion, racketeering alleged).

In related stories, see:

• (1-18-09) Area mob figure alleges ties to LBM Financial (Mastrototaro claims he’s among those ripped off),
• Judge delays Boston Hill auction (A federal judge has temporarily halted a foreclosure auction on the Boston Hill property, without ruling on allegations of racketeering and loan sharking made against local businessman David G. “Duddie” Massad).

Go here for other posts related to this story.

80 Year Old Dementia Patient Facing Foreclosure Tricked Into Signing Away Eight Parcels Of Land Worth $520K+, Says Suit

In Central Florida, WFTV Channel 9 reports:

• A couple in Lake Mary is accused of walking into a Seminole County nursing home and tricking a woman diagnosed with dementia into signing away the rights to her property, worth more than half a million dollars. The couple is not related to the victim. The lawsuit says they didn't know her, but they found her property on a list of properties nearing foreclosure.

• David and Laura Jane Roquemore are accused of sneaking into the secure dementia unit at the Florida Living Nursing Center two years ago and tricking 80-year-old Theolia Marin into signing multiple documents transferring eight parcels of land worth more than $520,000 [...] into their names. "They came in with prepared deeds and prepared contracts, ready to do business," said Marin's attorney Kyle Fletcher.

For more, see Couple Accused Of Tricking Woman With Dementia Into Giving Away Property.

Central Florida Tax Certificate Auction A $20M Bust?

In Central Florida, The Orlando Sentinel reports:

• Millions of tax dollars that Central Florida governments were counting on may never arrive. And thousands of struggling homeowners may get another shove toward foreclosure. It's all because last week's sale of tax certificates was a giant bust. For the first time, investors didn't snap up tax certificates, which local governments auction off to recoup unpaid taxes.

***

• Losses from last week's auctions were still being added up Tuesday but are expected to total more than $20 million for cities, counties and schools, all of which were already reeling from statewide tax cuts and downturns in property values. [...] Throughout the region, tax collectors said they were surprised that bidders changed course this year and rejected nearly 15,000 tax certificates. [...] The certificates sold out in the past. But this year bidders rejected more than a third of late tax bills in Lake County. Osceola and Volusia counties reported similar numbers.

***

• Because officials have never dealt with such a mass of unpaid taxes, they are not certain how much will ever be repaid.

For more, see Tax-auction bust could cost $20M.

Celebrities In Foreclosure

Among the better known in the general public who are reportedly facing foreclosure problems are:

• Ex-Tonight Show second banana Ed McMahon; see The Associated Press: McMahon fighting foreclosure on Beverly Hills home, and
• Ex-Heavyweight boxing champion of the world Evander Holyfield (Scheduled sale date - July 1, 2008); see (1) Fayette Daily News: Champ’s Fayette estate in foreclosure; and (2) Atlanta Journal Constitution: Evander Holyfield behind in child support; and (3) Forbes: Holyfield: Not Broke, Just Not Liquid.

More On The Mass AG's Suit Against Option One, H & R Block Alleging Discriminatory Predatory Lending Practices

Among the predatory practices alleged in yesterday's Massachsuetts Attorney General 's lawsuit against Option One, H & R Block, and others, The Wall Street Journal reports:

• Option One "steered even prime borrowers into more costly subprime loans",
• Loan officers were paid a $750 commission for each completed subprime mortgage loan versus $375 for a prime mortgage; they could also receive a bonus for exceeding certain targets,
• Option One was accused of "recklessly facilitating the foreclosure of borrowers' homes." In negotiating with distressed borrowers, Option One often proposed terms "that are as unfair and unsustainable as the original loans," and offered forbearance agreements with "oppressive terms" that allow the lender to foreclose if the borrower missed a payment "for even one day."

For more, see State Sues Option One.

See also, The Boston Globe: Minorities hit with higher fees, AG says (Lawsuit accuses former H&R Block mortgage arm of discrimination).

Mass AG Accuses Lender Of Race-Based Discrimination In Predatory Lending Practices In Civil Suit

(originally posted 6-3-08)
In Boston, Massachusetts, Reuters reports:

• Massachusetts authorities sued H&R Block Inc. on Tuesday, charging that its mortgage unit discriminated against black and Latino borrowers and escalated a crisis over property foreclosures in the state. The lawsuit is the first by a U.S. state to accuse a subprime-mortgage lender of civil rights violations following a wave of foreclosures of homes in poor, often black, neighborhoods nationwide. The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, accuses H&R's subprime-lending subsidiary, Option One Mortgage Corp, of engaging "in unfair and deceptive conduct on a broad scale."

According to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in the lawsuit, Option One and its corporate parent, H & R Block, allegedly marketed loans with layers of risky features, including:

1. 100% Financing,
2. 2/28 Loans with “Teaser Rates”,
3. “Stated Income,” “No-Doc” or “Low-Doc” Loans,
4. Substantial Prepayment Penalties,
5. Lucrative Broker Incentives to Sell Expensive Subprime Loans.

For more, see Mass. sues H&R Block over mortgages to minorities.

From the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office:

• Lawsuit - Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. H&R Block, Inc., et al.,
• Press Release - Attorney General Martha Coakley Files Lawsuit Against National Mortgage Lender Option One and Parent H&R Block for Deceptive and Discriminatory Lending Practices.

Go here and go here for other posts on alleged race bias in real estate transactions. race bias predatory lending

Nevada Lawmaker To Push Making Rent Skimming A Felony In Attempt To Stop Rentals Of Homes In Foreclosure To Unwitting Tenants

In las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:

• There are thousands of homes in the Las Vegas valley in default and in numerous cases, those homes are being rented out to unsuspecting tenants. Now, the legislature wants to make it a crime for homeowners to rent out their homes if they are in the process of foreclosure.

***

• Senator Bob Beers, who wants to go after greedy homeowners, is so upset he said he wanted to "whack" the delinquent homeowners. "It's just wrong, I have no problem dealing with this as a felony," he said.

For more, see Lawmakers Target Delinquent Homeowners (read story) (watch video). equity skimming unwittingly digamma

Loan Servicers Feeling Heat From Scorched Mortgage Investors

Reuters reports:

• Mortgage investors, watching homeowners default on their loans in record numbers, are fighting back to limit the losses on their assets. Dire forecasts for the slump in the U.S. housing market have spurred investors to turn up scrutiny on the management of the loans they own, which can make the difference between profit and loss. What they are finding is companies overwhelmed by the volume of loans that need special attention due to delinquencies that show little signs of slowing.

***

• Disillusioned, investors are looking for help or simply taking their business elsewhere. As a result, a breed of mortgage servicer that was out of the limelight during the housing boom is becoming more prominent. Known as "special servicers," the companies are geared toward taking bad loans and making them current, rather than the basic servicing business of collecting and distributing payments.

• This year Fannie Mae, the Washington-based mortgage finance giant that owns or guarantees $3 trillion in loans, has pulled loans from some servicers and handed them to others including Litton Loan Servicing LP. Marathon went a step further last year and started its own servicer.

For more, see Burned mortgage investors seek "high-touch" healers. MortgageServicingIssuesAlpha

Stiffed Suppliers Slap Liens On Homeowners As General Contractor Files Bankruptcy

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

• Two weeks ago, Ken and Laura Weiskopf were waiting for kitchen cabinets to arrive. The Milwaukee couple would then install flooring, add appliances and soon move into their new home on N. 117th St. near W. Brown Deer Road. But the cabinets never came, and the Weiskopfs soon discovered that the company supposedly shepherding their project hadn't paid suppliers for the cabinets or for other materials used to build the two-story home.

• The Weiskopfs are among dozens of home buyers nationwide who are realizing that building their dream home is turning into a nightmare. The company, President Homes, filed Friday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which provides protection from creditors while a company reorganizes.

• In the meantime, unpaid suppliers are refusing to deliver more material and are filing liens against homeowners' property. That means in many cases construction is halted, loans are delayed and homeowners are left with major headaches. Some people could even end up paying twice for their building materials.

Among the suggestions in the story for homeowners to protect themselves from financially strapped general contractors:

• Get a payment or performance bond that acts as an insurance policy. If the contractor doesn't pay subcontractors, the bonding company will.

For more, see 'I just want my house' (Unpaid suppliers stop deliveries, file liens against property owners).

For other posts on homeowners left in the lurch due to actions by builders/contractors, go here, go here, and go here. contractors stiff subs customers yelbow

Two Cop Plea In Texas Mortgage Scam Involving 200+ Newly Built Homes

In Sherman, Texas, the U.S Attorney - Eastern District of Texas announces:

• United States Attorney Rebecca A. Gregory announced [yesterday] that [Michael Guy Cary, Sr., 53,] a Florida businessman and [Richard Kirkpatrick, 53,] a Fort Worth real estate appraiser have pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas.

***

• According to information presented in court, between August of 2004 and May of 2006, CARY's scheme involved the purchase and sale of 211 homes in the Eastern District of Texas in a variety of fraudulent transactions. CARY purchased the homes directly from home builders after which he arranged the transfers of the deeds into names deceptively similar to that of the home builders. Once the transfers had been completed, CARY had real estate appraisers artificially inflate the values of the homes and arranged their subsequent sales to out-of-state investors, who believed that they were purchasing the homes directly from the home builders and who qualified for mortgage loans on these inflated amounts based on fraudulent loan applications. KIRKPATRICK provided the inflated appraisals on 89 of the 211 homes.

For more, see U.S. Attorney Press Release - Florida Businessman And Fort Worth Home Appraiser Plead Guilty In Mortgage Fraud (Fraud Involved Over 200 Homes in the Eastern District of Texas).

Brooklyn Judiciary Reaches Out To Local Religious / Community Leaders; Break Bread, Discuss Local Foreclosure Problem

In Brooklyn, New York, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports:

• With the growing concern of foreclosures accelerating nationwide, judges of the Kings County Supreme Court invited religious and community leaders from Brooklyn over for breakfast last week. In conjunction with The Interfaith Center of New York, dozens of community activists, pastors and priests, reverends and rabbis, convened on the top floor of the Brooklyn Supreme Court early in the morning on Thursday. The administrative judge of the courthouse, Hon. Abraham G. Gerges, explained why [...]

For more, see Leaders & Judges Convene To Discuss Fairness & Foreclosure (Community Advocates Discuss Protecting Brooklynites).

Tampa Developer To Stick Bank With Half-Sold Condo Project; Will Sign Over Deed Before Taking A Hike

In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:

• Facing foreclosure, the developers of the Ventana condominiums in the Channel District have agreed to hand the keys to the project's lender and walk way, according to documents filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Ventana, completed early last year, has 85 units, but the developer has sold only 41 units, county property records show. None of the six retail condominiums have sold.

For more, see Channel District Condo Developer To Turn Units Over To Bank.

Florida Foreclosure Rescue Firm Unravels As Authorities Arrest One; Two Others Flee; Alleged Supporting Cast Face Civil Suits

In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports the latest story on now-defunct foreclosure rescue operator 4 Solutions and the financial mess a number of its homeowner/clients find themselves in. To date, one individual has been charged with crimes by local Tampa cops, two others have fled, and there are a number of ongoing civil suits targeting the 4 Solutions principals and others allegedly involved in equity stripping, foreclosure rescue transactions. A federal investigation by the Secret Service is also currently ongoing.

• [T]hings started unraveling when Tampa police got a tip about 4 Solutions last summer. In August, they arrested Carmen Oliveri, the wife of 4 Solutions director Jose Oliveri, after she accepted a check from a 4 Solutions client at his Tampa home. Carmen and Jose Oliveri entered into a scheme to defraud the homeowner by presenting loan terms without disclosing that he was signing over his Tampa home, an arrest report states. Carmen Oliveri is facing grand theft and fraud charges. Her attorney, Frances Perrone, declined to comment.

• Jose Oliveri and Mario Quiroz, the director of Frontier Capital, have been harder to track down. They stopped replying to lawsuits early last year and summonses served to their Seffner homes came back. They're probably in Peru, attorneys and homeowners say.

Reportedly, closing documents showed that almost $30,000 went to 4 Solutions' Coral Gables law firm, Scaglione & Quesada, in one transaction.

• Todd Mackey, an attorney for several homeowners who entered into deals with 4 Solutions, said he has seen other closing documents with that same instruction that gives tens of thousands of dollars to the law firm.

Reportedly, some homeowners claim that 4 Solutions slipped sale documents into their paperwork and other times, it has been alleged that employees forged signatures or falsely notarized documents.

For more, see Homeowners find big problem in 'Solutions'.

Go here for earlier posts on 4 Solutions.

For more on equity stripping scams, generally, see DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams (4.61 MB approx.).

Central Florida Attorney Charged With Theft Of Client's Foreclosure Sale Surplus Proceeds

In Central Florida, the Ocala Star Banner reports on the experience of a couple who lost their home in a foreclosure sale where, apparently unbeknownst to them, the sale price at auction exceeded the amount due to the foreclosing lender by $36,000 - an amount that rightfully belonged to the couple:

• After the foreclosed home was sold, the $36,000 in surplus equity was held by the Marion County Clerk of the Court Registry. In January 2007, [foreclosed homeowner Nicolas P. Cabrera Jr.] received a letter from Citivest Group, LLC in Apopka, telling him that they had found his money in a records search and offered to recover the money for him for a fee. Cabrera signed a contract with Citivest in June. Citivest then hired [Orlando attorney Norman Sanders] Moss to recover Cabrera's money.

***

• In December 2007, Cabrera received a letter from Moss stating that, after signing an affidavit, Cabrera would receive a check for $31,453.10. That would be the balance owed to Cabrera after Citivest was paid its $4,289.06 fee and Moss was paid his $789.86 fee. Cabrera signed the affidavit and returned it to Moss. But the $31,453.10 check never materialized.

***

• In the meantime, Citivest filed a civil suit and, on April 16, received a $320,381.97 final judgment against Moss. Moss allegedly has absconded with more than $107,000 from four Citivest clients, including Cabrera.

***

• Moss was arrested and charged with grand theft, a second-degree felony. He will be arraigned June 20 in an Orange County courtroom. Also, at the request of the Florida Bar Association, the Florida Supreme Court granted an emergency suspension of Moss' license. The final hearing on Moss's law license is scheduled for June 6 at the Seminole County Courthouse.

For more, see Couple says lawyer took their money.

Second Lien Holders Feel The Pinch As "HELOC Hell" Begins To Spread

Financial Week reports:

• As the housing market continues to deteriorate, problems for lenders and insurers are spreading from first-lien mortgages to home-equity lending. Those who engage in this form of lending have a weaker claim on collateral, and so face a greater risk of loss. As a result, this development promises to throw cold water on claims that the credit crisis is abating.

For more, see Now lenders are facing HELOC hell (Second-lien creditors have a greater risk of loss, so credit crisis may not be abating after all).

Financial Pinch Being Felt Amongst The Wealthy As Some Struggle To Maintain Appearances

In New York City, The New York Times reports on the apparently devastating problems being felt by some amongst the wealthy caused by recent financial struggles:

• One of [Manhattan divorce attorney Nancy Chemtob's] clients recently confessed that his net worth had decreased to $8 million from more than $20 million, and he thinks that his wife will leave him. He has hidden their fall in fortune by taking on debt to pay for her extravagant clothes and vacations.

• Hairstylists and private jet rental companies say the wealthy are cutting back on luxuries like $350 highlights and $10,000-an-hour jet rentals.

• “Even if they’re not in danger of not paying their mortgage, there’s still a psychological change,” said Chris Del Gatto, chief executive of Circa, which has watched its business jump by 50 percent in the last year as wealthy clients sell their spare diamonds and Rolexes.

• Some older couples, he said, are selling estate jewelry to help support their children who have lost Wall Street jobs. Bankers are paring down their collections of Patek Philippe watches. Wives from Greenwich and Scarsdale are selling 2-carat to 35-carat single-stone diamond rings. One recent client explained to Mr. Del Gatto that she was selling $2 million in diamonds she rarely wore, because her friends wouldn’t notice that they were gone. “She said, ‘If I sold my Bentley or my important art, they would notice,’ ” he said. “That we hear, in differing examples, every day.”

• One New York real estate developer cut his budget to less than $250,000 a year from $1.5 million a year. “A year ago, he would have only flown Gulfstreams,” [Justin Sullivan, managing director of Regent Jet, which leases private airplanes] said. “Now it’s moving to the point where he’s flying Beech jets and Learjets.”

For more on the devastating effects of the recent financial downturn being felt by the wealthy, see It’s Not So Easy Being Less Rich.

Non Profit Law Firm Continues Free Legal Clinic Reviewing Loan Document Making Referrals For Predatory Lending Victims

In Watsonville, California, the Register-Pajaronian reports:

• The Watsonville Law Center will offer a free legal advice clinic today between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The clinic is for low-income clients who believe they have been victims of predatory home loans and now face mortgage foreclosure. Clients must call WLC and make an appointment ahead of time to attend the clinic and meet with one of the three volunteer attorneys.

• The goal is to help homeowners identify any legal claims and remedies, and evaluate any options regarding their homes. After the lawyers review documents, they will refer clients to appropriate resources, including law enforcement, if they have been victims of predatory lending and fraud.

Information: 722-2845, www.watsonvillelawcenter.org.

For the story, see Mortgage foreclosure legal advice clinic meets today.

Go here for more on the WLC Predatory Mortgage and Mortgage Foreclosure Clinic.

Hawaii Feds Indict Five In Alleged Straw Buyer Foreclosure Rescue Scam

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Advertiser reports:

• Five people have been indicted on federal charges in a scheme in which they allegedly profited from home mortgage loans that were obtained by falsifying applications, court documents show. An indictment handed down May 15 and unsealed the next day alleges that John Gilbert Mendoza, Antonio Alcantara Jr., Ira Altwegg, Albert A. Alimoot Jr. and Evan M. Koizumi illegally obtained more than $400,000 from lenders after securing mortgage loans under false pretenses. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements on loan applications.

***

• The [alleged] schemes began when Mendoza and unidentified co-conspirators found homeowners in financial trouble facing possible foreclosure, the indictment said. According to the indictment, the defendants pitched the distressed homeowners a plan that would allow them to stay in their home while making money in exchange for "the owner's acquiescence in a sham real estate sale." The owners agreed to transfer the deed of the properties to the defendants.

• Separately, Mendoza allegedly recruited "straw buyers" of the properties, promising them cash if they would agree to fill out fraudulent mortgage applications. The indictment defines straw buyers as "a third party who is willing to purchase a property without any intent to occupy the property." Alimoot and Koizumi agreed to act as straw buyers and lied on loan applications by misrepresenting their income, the indictment said.

For more, see Five indicted in Hawaii mortgage scam (Suspects get $400K in mortgage scheme; FBI gets 5 indictments).

See also:

• KHON-TV Channel 2: Mortgage scammers caught in federal sweep,
• Star Bulletin: Mortgage fraud crackdown (More than 80 people in Hawaii's mortgage loan industry are under FBI investigation. Five have already been indicted).

To view the charges, see Indictment - U.S. v. Mendoza, et. al.

Lying On Loan Application Not A Bar To Mortgage Debt Discharge Where Negligent Bank Fails To Follow Its Own Lending Guidelines, Says Bankruptcy Judge

In Oakland, California, The Wall Street Journal reports:

• In a ruling that backs borrowers even when they have lied on loan applications, a federal bankruptcy judge held that borrowers who inflated their income to get a loan don't have to pay back a bank because the lender should have noticed a "red flag" about the deceit. The case, which the Oakland, Calif., judge called "a poster child for some of the practices that have led to the current crisis in our housing market," places responsibility on the lender for vetting information in loan applications.

With respect to the falsely inflated income figures contained in the borrowers' loan application:

• [T]he judge said that the income figures "would alert the reasonably prudent lender of the possibility that the information was inaccurate" and that the bank didn't follow its own guidelines, which required that it "evaluate the reasonableness of the stated income based on job type, tenure, and geographical location among other things."

For more, see Are Borrowers Free to Lie? (Lender Held Responsible for Vetting Data on Home Loan); (If the link doesn't go to the full story, then go here - then click link for the full story; you may also have to click the "Refresh" button on the web page to get to the story).

For the judge's written decision, see National City Bank v. Hill (in re Hill), Case No. 07-41137; A.P. No. 07-4106 AT (May 23, 2008).

Arizona Foreclosure Rescue Operator Ordered To Pay $1.2M In Home Sale, Leaseback Program

In Phoenix, Arizona, KTAR-Radio 92.3FM and 620 AM reports:

• A Phoenix company and its owner have been ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution and penalties for violating the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act by claiming they could help homeowners who were behind in mortgage payments avoid losing their homes. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Edward Burke ruled against Virtual Realty Funding Co. and Kenneth D. Perkins in a consumer protection lawsuit filed in 2005 by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

***

• ''This case represents the worst in our community,'' said [Arizona] Attorney General Terry Goddard. ''This company took advantage of homeowners desperate to save their homes from foreclosure and deceived them into turning over their homes.''

***

• According to court documents, although neither VRF nor Perkins were licensed by the Department of Financial Institutions as mortgage brokers or bankers, VRF loaned money to more than 60 homeowners facing foreclosure or in need of money. VRF designed its loans, which it called reverse sales, to evade laws protecting mortgage borrowers by structuring them as an outright sale of the property by the borrower, who then rented back the home with an option to repurchase it. [...] If homeowners were late on a rental payment or unable to repay the loan and funding fee within two years, they could lose their homes and any equity in them.

For more, see Realty firm ordered to pay $1.2 million for mortgage scam.

From the Arizona Attorney General's Office:

• Court Judgment - State of Arizona v. Virtual Realty Funding Company LLC, et al.,
• Court Orders Realty Firm to Pay $1.2 Million for Violating Fraud, Banking Laws,
• Terry Goddard Files Fraud Suit Against Virtual Realty.

Bankruptcy-Based Foreclosure Rescue, Fractional Interest Deed Transfer Scams Finding Their Way Across The Country

In Kansas City, Kansas, The Kansas City Star reports:

• Federal investigators in Kansas are trying to derail a foreclosure scam that began in California and is sweeping the United States using bogus bankruptcies to dupe homeowners and lenders. The scams take advantage of the fact that a bankruptcy automatically delays home foreclosures, which are at record levels.

***

• The Department of Justice is investigating at least nine suspicious bankruptcies filed recently in bankruptcy courts in Kansas City, Kan., Topeka and Wichita, The Kansas City Star has learned. Kansas officials confirmed the federal investigation but declined to discuss it in detail. Bankruptcy officials in Missouri said they were aware of the scam and were reviewing court filings carefully. So far, they have not seen signs of the fraud. But legal experts said the phony filings also are turning up in Maryland, Nevada and Texas. They suspect it is just a matter of time before more are discovered in other states.

***

• Generally, the fraud works like this: Scammers approach people facing foreclosure and offer to save their property for an upfront or monthly fee. They persuade the homeowner to assign them a legal interest in the property. Then the scammers — often without the homeowner’s knowledge — transfer fractional shares in the property, often 5 percent or less, to third parties. These third parties are usually fictional, investigators say, although in some cases the scam artists have recruited homeless individuals. They then file bankruptcy petitions in the names of these third parties. Sometimes, as in the Kansas cases, it is in courts thousands of miles from where the property is located.

For more, see Foreclosure rescue scam makes its way to Kansas.

For a 1998 report issued by a California Federal Bankruptcy Court task force that details the types of foreclosure scams involving the abuse of the bankruptcy courts, see Final Report Of The Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scam Task Force.

Go here for other posts on fractional interest deed transfer, foreclosure rescue bankruptcy scams.

Northern Florida Attorneys Form Group To Assist Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Due To Dishonest Lending Practices

In Nassau County, Florida, the Fernandina Beach News Leader reports on the efforts of local attorneys Dan McCranie and John Taylor in setting up a free program to help homeowners victimized by mortgage fraud.

• [I]n an effort to educate other attorneys in Nassau County on how to identify victims of mortgage fraud, McCranie contacted Lynn Drysdale, a Jacksonville consumer protection attorney. Along with Taylor, they have been putting together a program that will offer free services to people who are in foreclosure due to dishonest lending practices.

***

• McCranie said the free foreclosure program would be "a primer on what attorneys should look for, and what to look at." There are now at least 15 local attorneys on board with the program, McCranie said, a large number of them specializing in real estate. [...] "I think quite frankly they've seen our enthusiasm and want to be part of it," he said. "There's a hell of a lot you can do with foreclosures."

According to the story, McCranie, a personal injury attorney in Fernandina Beach, was unfamiliar with real estate law when he initiated the effort when an 83 year old woman, suffering from glaucoma and cataracts and who was nearly blind, walked into his office and informed him that her home of close to sixty years was scheduled for foreclosure sale in less than a week. A review of her documents indicated to him that the woman had been the unknowing victim of unscrupulous lending practices. McCranie called in Taylor and, together, they stayed the foreclosure sale, sued the mortgage company and the broker who falsified the loan documents, and are now efforting an attempt at settling the case.

For more, see Keep foreclosure at bay from the unscrupulous.

Recent Seminar Guides New York Attorneys On "Truth In Lending" Issues In Home Foreclosure Defense

In Poughkeepsie, New York, a legal seminar in defending home foreclosures was held last week by a senior consumer attorney at the Empire Justice Center in Albany, that covered some of the legal tools provided by the federal Truth in Lending Act. For more, see Seminar for lawyers addresses foreclosure.

Minnesota Governor Vetoes Bill Providing One-Year Moratorium On Home Foreclosures

In Minnesota, My Fox TV Channel 9 reports:

• As forewarned, Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the Minnesota Subprime Borrower Relief Act Thursday, citing a negative impact on the credit market and a potential clash with the constitution.

For more, see As Warned, Pawlenty Vetoes Mortgage Relief Bill.

Network Of Recruiters With Connection To Organizations Of Trust Used To Target Scam Victims

Last week, law enforcement officials in California arrested a five person ring on charges of conspiracy and grand theft for allegedly running a foreclosure rescue scam.

The North County Times reports that, according to division chief for economic crimes Michael Groch at the county district attorney, scam artists often operate in organizations of trust; and officials are trying to piece together a network of recruiters used to net the troubled homeowners allegedly targeted by this group.

• Groch, the district attorney division chief, said fraudulent schemes routinely employ a network of recruiters who will use organizations that people feel comfortable with, such as churches, baseball teams or Boy Scout troops, to ensnare victims. "Oftentimes they will utilize their trust, and for a lot of people, that's their faith," Groch said. "There's plenty of good services promoted at church. But just because you hear about something in a church environment, you shouldn't give it any additional credence."

For more, see Churches used to ensnare foreclosure victims, officials say (One recruiter says scheme was legitimate).

States With Laws On Foreclosure Rescue On The Increase

Stateline.org reports:

• States are leading the effort to help homeowners avoid these scams; at least 18 states have laws banning foreclosure-rescue scams by limiting some of practices that lead to them, and six of them — Idaho, Maine, Nebraska, Oregon, Virginia and Washington — enacted laws just this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

For more, see States act to stem foreclosure scams.

A Connection Between World Savings' Bad Loans & Bay Area Blight?

In Oakland, California, CBS 5 reports:

• It was one of the Bay Area's most trusted banks. Now some consumer advocates question its lending practices in certain East Bay neighborhoods. The bank was World Savings, bought by Wachovia in mid-2006. They were a popular lender. But now some advocates want to know why so many of their loans were made in some of Oakland's low-income minority neighborhoods.

• "It's very frightening, it's upsetting," said Annie McKenzie. "Our neighborhoods are becoming blight because of all the foreclosures," said Diane Busby. Welcome to zip code 94621, where homes are going vacant and residents are uneasy.

For more, see Bank Facing Questions Over E. Bay Mortgage Lending.

City Of Fort Lauderdale Accused Of Race-Based Selective Code Enforcement Against Homeowners

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Times reports:

• A controversial program that fines and forecloses on unkempt properties in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods continues to draw fire from the homeowners and their attorneys. A lawsuit filed earlier this month alleged that the city violated the constitutional right of a property owner to due process under the law.

***

• City officials have said in published reports that they are simply enforcing laws designed to improve the appearance of neighborhoods in the city. [...] Legal Aid [Service of Broward County, Inc.] and the plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit, [...] , say the city unfairly targets black homeowners. The suit argued that the city’s foreclosures for unpaid code-enforcement fines are really an effort to remove people from their homes and make way for redevelopment.

For more, see Legal Aid challenges foreclosures. race bias predatory lending

Tenant Stuck In Middle Of Dispute Between Landlord Facing Foreclosure & Homeowners' Association; Refused Pass To Access Front Gate

In Palm Beach County, Florida, WPEC-TV Channel 12 reports:

• A Riviera Beach woman is caught in the middle of a dispute between a homeowners association and the condo owner she rents from. Kateshia Johnson is a single mom with four small kids. She rents a condo from a private individual at Thousand Oaks, a gated community [...]. She says the person who owns the condo at Thousand Oaks is going through foreclosure, and has stopped paying the association dues and mortgage.

• Because of that, Kateshia says the homeowners association won't issue a bar code decal for Kateshia's car to access the front gate. That means they won't let her car in and she and her kids have to park it outside the gate at Thousand Oaks and walk to and from their condo everytime they want to go somewhere. She has four children between the ages of twelve and three, and they live about three blocks from the gate.

For more, see Tenant Caught in the Middle.

19 Elderly Residents Face Threat Of Eviction As Lender Forecloses On Michigan Assisted Care Home

In Traverse City, Michigan, the Traverse City Record Eagle reports:

• Fears of eviction prompted tears and uneasiness for some local elderly assisted-living home residents, as well as for their friends, family and caretakers. French Manor Inn on Seventh Street was foreclosed this week after Irwin Union Bank rejected the business' restructuring plan under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Owner Trish Gilroy hopes an interested buyer will purchase the facility and prevent it from closing. "I'm worried about how they're going to adjust to transition," Gilroy said of the 19 residents. "These people are fragile; there are a lot of women here in their 90s."

For more, see Assisted-living residents may face eviction.

June 1, 2008 update:

For story update, see WPBN-TV Channels 7 & 4: Assisted living home remains open (French Manor was set to close but after an emergency hearing on Friday, it's doors will remain open). Assisted Living

Some Homeowners In Foreclosure Loot Fixtures, Improvements Before Walking Away

Phoenix Business Journal reports:

• Some homeowners facing foreclosure are selling everything they can in their houses before the bank comes calling -- even the kitchen sink. Distressed, cash-starved homeowners are hawking everything from cabinets, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and hardwood flooring to pool pumps, air conditioning units and water heaters before they lose their houses to foreclosure.

• Dozens of ads for such sales are posted on Internet classifieds such as Craigs­list. One ad from Goodyear offers 1,600 square feet of hardwood flooring for $500 and cherry cabinets for $10,000. Other ads ask $5,000 for maple cabinets that the seller says are worth $14,000, and $225 for a water heater.

Source: Pre-foreclosure homes gutted by owners seeking cash.

The Stresses Of A Housing Counselor On Front Lines In Foreclosure Fight

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Weekly reports on the stresses experienced by a newly trained housing counselor who is working for a national non-profit group helping people save their homes from foreclosure.

• [O]fficially, the job of a housing counselor is to mediate between lenders and homeowners, always with the goal of averting the foreclosure. Unofficially, they’re part therapist, part best friend, part rescue worker. A day’s work involves calming down panicked homeowners, asking uncomfortable questions about finances and making pleading phone calls to unsympathetic lenders—knowing all the while the clock is ticking toward every foreclosure’s final destination, a sheriff’s sale.

For more, see “I’m All They’ve Got" (Dealing with the stress that comes with counseling people who could lose their home).

Military Town Foreclosure Rate Increase Quadruple U.S. Rate?

Bloomberg News reports:

• In the midst of the worst surge in mortgage defaults in seven decades, foreclosures in U.S. towns where soldiers live are increasing at a pace almost four times the national average, according to data compiled by research firm RealtyTrac Inc. in Irvine, California.

***

• Foreclosure filings in 10 towns and cities within 10 miles of military facilities, including Norfolk, Virginia, home of the Navy's largest base, rose by an average 217 percent from January through April from a year earlier. Nationally, the rate was 59 percent in the same period, according to RealtyTrac, which tallies bank seizures, auctions and default notices.

***

• The Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act protects soldiers and sailors from losing homes for nonpayment of mortgages only while on active duty and for 90 days after they return home. Members of Congress, including Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, and Representative Bob Filner, a Democrat from California, are trying to extend that to a year, saying three months isn't enough. Another flaw in the current law is it puts the burden on the soldiers, sailors or the families they left behind to come up with the paperwork and notify the bank, said Sullivan of the Washington Veterans' group. Unlike in other wars, members of the military often are able to telephone home or receive e-mails, creating a "morale problem" as they try to deal with foreclosure notices, he said.

For more, see Foreclosures in Military Towns Surge at Four Times U.S. Rate.

Go here for posts on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Editorial Note:

As I understand this story, it's not the foreclosure rate that's quadrupled, it's the foreclosure rate increase that's quadruple.

Fire-Damaged Home A Thorn In The Side For Community As Both Last Titleholder, Mortgage Holder Disclaim Ownership

In Rockford, Illinois, the Rockford Register Star reports on a:

• [s]ingle-family home that was destroyed when a garage on the property caught fire in May 2007. The grass stands about a foot high. The front yard is littered with debris, a fence around the backyard is falling apart, and neighbors say the backyard and rear porch are strewn with soiled clothes and fire-damaged items from the house.

Both the last owner of record and the mortgage company holding the loan deny being the current owner of the property, each claiming that the other is the current owner. The last owner claims that the bank has already foreclosed on the home; the bank denies the claim. Consistent with their claims, neither have stepped up to maintain the home.

For more, see Ownership squabbles prevent yard maintenance.

More On The Abandoned Home Decimation Of Slavic Village

In Cleveland, Ohio, National Public Radio reports:

• In Cleveland's Slavic Village, a neighborhood on the southeast side of the city, "termites" have decimated a house once occupied by a couple. The intruders haven't chewed through the wood or even destroyed the carpets. These termites, as Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli calls them, are vandals who've stripped the recently foreclosed house of its fixtures, plumbing pipes, windows and wiring.

For more, see In Cleveland, Foreclosures Decimate Neighborhoods.

Go here, go here, and go here for other posts on vacant homes leaving its mark on neighborhoods. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures zach neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Abandoned Homes A Problem In KC As City Bulldozes At Least Three A Week

In Kansas City, Missouri, The Kansas City Star reports:

• A front-loader loudly punches a huge hole through the old house. The structure shudders. In seconds it’s reduced to rubble, another victim of the nation’s vacant house epidemic. [...] “This is typical,” said Dalena Taylor, an officer with Kansas City’s dangerous buildings department. “It happens more than not — people abandoning a home when they can’t care for it anymore.” City officials estimate there are 6,000 abandoned homes, many of them in the urban core. But experts say the number is more likely twice that high.

***

• [W]hile the city demolishes at least three houses a week, Pare said, inspectors find hundreds more. If they have to be torn down, the cost and environmental cleanup can rise to $8,000 per structure — money the city tries to recover from the owners, if they can be found.

For more, see KC tackles problem of vacant homes (for story on one web page, try here). neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Abandoned Foreclosed Homes Keep Some Contractors Busy

In Jacksonville, Florida, The New York Times reports on a story featuring David Law and Trey McCallister, two local contractors who have had their hands full with business as a result of the ongoing Florida foreclosure mess. From the story:

• Mortgage companies hire contractors like these men to inspect and maintain houses that once-proud owners can no longer afford and no one else wants. These days, business is brisk.

• These contractors and thousands like them see first hand the detritus of the subprime era: peeling paint, gutted interiors, family dogs left behind to starve, overgrown lawns infested with snakes.

• In Florida, the crisis can seem overwhelming at times. It can take months, even years, for some homes to wind through foreclosure in the backlogged local courts. The longer a home sits vacant, the more vulnerable it becomes. After a few months, the Florida weather starts to takes a toll. Mold and mildew creep. Algae chokes forsaken swimming pools. Sometimes vandals strike. And sometimes wiring or plumbing just give out.

For more, see Abandoned Houses Are Keeping Contractors Busy. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Vacant, Foreclosed Northern Virginia Homes A Boon For Local "Animal Kingdom"; As Weather Warms Up, "Opportunistic Wildlife" Get "Rocking & Rolling"

In Northern Virginia, The Washington Post reports:

• [I]t was a pastoral scene Carl Berry could do without. He lives two doors down from the [foreclosed] house, which he said was abandoned about six weeks ago by a family that used to keep the property tidy. Now there's a real estate agent's lockbox on the door, rain-sopped newspapers in the driveway and, until repeated complaints brought it down, uncut grass so unruly it was attracting other occupants. Such as rats. [...] He and his wife have seen snakes in the reedy thicket, too.

***

• As more people move out, the grass grows taller, the water puddles up and the wild things move in. Mosquitoes thrive in the empty swimming pools and junk piles that have been filled and refilled by the recent rains. Ticks flourish in the tall grass. So do rodents, which also like the shelter of dry, empty houses and whatever garbage they might contain. Then come the snakes, with the rest of the animal kingdom not far behind.

***

• "Anything that is not maintained creates a potential attraction for a lot of opportunistic wildlife," said Scott McCombe, general manager for Critter Control of Northern Virginia, an animal-removal agency that specializes in nonlethal methods. "And this is typically the season when things start to get rocking and rolling."

For more, see Shuttered Homes, Thriving Wildlife. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Maricopa Public Health Officials Beg Delinquent Borrowers Abandoning Homes To Drain Pools Before Leaving In Battle Against Disease-Carrying Mosquitos

In Maricopa County, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:

• County health officials are bracing for an unprecedented surge in mosquito-infested swimming pools this summer, as home foreclosures and temperatures continue to rise. Complaints to the county about algae-laden "green pools" behind vacant or abandoned homes have leaped almost 250 percent since a year ago, increasing to 2,069 during the first five months of 2008 compared with 597 during the same period in 2007, said Johnny Dilone, spokesman for Maricopa County Environmental Services.

***

• Public-health officials are urging delinquent borrowers to drain swimming pools before surrendering their house keys to the bank. "It's easier for us to treat it if it's drained," said John Townsend, manager of the Vector Control Program in Maricopa County. Townsend's department is doing its best to respond to the foreclosure-fueled surge in green pools, which provide a handy nest for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

For more, see Foreclosures lead to Valley health risks (Foreclosed-on homes lead to Valley health risks). neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Swarming Bees In Vacant Foreclosure Terrorize Tucson Neighborhood; Family Pet Succumbs To Injuries From 250 Stings

In Tucson, Arizona, KOLD-TV News Channel 13 reports:

• In one local Tucson neighborhood when the humans moved out, the bees moved in. These pests have become well established and are creating serious problems for the neighborhood. The owners walked away from their house a year ago. The bees are now terrorizing the entire area. The residents in the neighborhood say they feel helpless; they believe the homeowners association has just made it worse.

• Brandi Comeau was hit extra hard by the bees infesting her neighborhood, "my dog Stubby was here by the door covered in bees and being attacked. He died last night at 10:30 p.m. with over 250 stings."

For more, see Bees Buzz Tucson Neighborhood.

See also, Couple cites vacant home in fatal bee attack on dog.

For more on bees and foreclosures, see:

• Don't Let The Bees Be! (Charlotte County, Florida),
• Tens Of Thousands Of "Squatters" Swarm Into Vacant Foreclosed SW Florida Homes. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa

Tenant Foreclosure Evictions Make No Distinctions In Economic Status

CNN reports on the individual stories of Southern California two tenants, each on different ends of the economic spectrum, who both face eviction on homes they are renting. In each case, their respective landlords have been pocketing their rent while stiffing their mortgage lenders out of their mortgage payments, thereby allowing the homes to go into foreclosure.

1. Charles Nelson has paid about $30,000 in rent since moving into a spacious four-bedroom home in August. He was stunned when a real estate agent knocked on his door recently and said the home was in foreclosure. His landlord had not paid the mortgage since he moved in and the bank is now demanding the house back. Nelson will also lose his $7,700 security deposit. [...] Nelson, the owner of PCH Auto Sales, lives in the upper-middle class enclave of Laguna Hills, south of Los Angeles, with his girlfriend and two sons from previous marriages.
.

2. More than 100 miles away in the working-class city of Palmdale, Fai Nomaaea -- a 35-year-old mother of eight -- can relate. The single mom was cleaning the yard when a man handed her a notice of foreclosure. Like Nelson, she had been paying her rent on time every month. She now lives in fear every day. "I don't know what's going to happen the next day," she said. "I don't know if they're going to come to the door and tell us that we have to move, and I don't have anywhere to go." For Nomaaea, getting booted from the home presents another hardship: She lives on a fixed income and can afford about $1,200 a month in rent. It also means finding a new school for her children.

For more, see Man pays $30K in rent, faces eviction.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly digamma

Ohio Women Cop Pleas In Theft Of $65K From 81-Year Old Woman's Bank Account; Scam Disguised As Phony Land Sale

In Hamilton, Ohio, the Middletown Journal reports:

• Middletown sisters accused of bilking an elderly woman out of 64,900 in September have entered pleas to felony crimes in Butler County Common Pleas Court. Penny Shepherd, 45, and Christina Hensley, 35, were charged with theft, forgery, securing writing by deception and tampering with records.

• The victim, Orneda Hale, 81, wasn't aware the money was gone until her bank sent her a canceled check made out to Shepherd's husband, Harmon, along with an offer to purchase 7.6 acres of land south of Lexington, Ky., in September.

***

• Hale told police she is an elderly woman with no use for land in Kentucky and had not agreed to buy the property. She said Shepherd, who lives next door, sometimes came to her house to help care for her, according to police reports. Frank Schiavone, the sisters' lawyer, said Hale was competent and decided to purchase the property.

For more, see:

• Sisters admit stealing from elderly woman,
• Sisters' attorney: Land sale no scam (Women accused of bilking 81-year-old out of $64,900 in fradulent real estate transaction).

For story update, see Bilking elderly woman gets one sister 7 years in prison. elder financial abuse valedictorian