Thursday, October 13, 2011

Daughter Cops Guilty Plea To Ripping Off Now-Deceased Parents In Home Equity Scam; Pocketed Proceeds From Fraudulently-Obtained Reverse Mortgage

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Rochester, New York):
  • U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced [] that Mary Ann Fulbright, 60, of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty [...] to bank fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both.


  • Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant fraudulently obtained a Home Equity Conversion Loan, a type of reverse mortgage, on a Rochester home owned by her now-deceased parents, Stephanie and Michael Geremesz.


  • Fulbright obtained the mortgage in Michael Geremesz’s name, knowing that it was based upon a fraudulent quitclaim deed that falsely purported to relinquish all of Stephanie Geremesz’s rights to the property.


  • As a result of the fraud, a mortgage in the amount of approximately $176,000 was levied against the property, the proceeds of which the defendant kept for herself.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Woman Pleads Guilty To Mortgage Fraud.

Georgia Woman Falls Prey To Apparent Rent-To-Own Racket; Made Payments To Outfit In Hopes Of Future Ownership; Now Faces The Boot As Fannie Forecloses

In Ellenwood, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:
  • An Ellenwood woman says she rented a home thinking she could eventually buy it from the company who leased it to her only to have her dream of ownership come apart when Fannie Mae showed up at her front door.


  • The company that rented the home to Chiquella White said they got approval to rent the house out from the original owner who walked away from it. White said when she signed her contract, she was under the impression it was a lease-to-own contract.


  • The company said had she kept paying them rent, it would've been. "Nobody should have to go through this. This is wrong," White said. White rented her home from New Life Granted and said they told her she could eventually buy it from them. "This was their exact words. We are in the process of purchasing the home," White said.

For more, see Woman fears for her home over questionable business.

Faulty Water Meters Driving Homeowners Into F'closure? Bogus H2O Bills Lead To Mtg. Payment Hikes; City Admits Knowledge, Says Empty Coffers Block Fix

In Brockton, Massachusetts, WCVB-TV Channel 5 reports:
  • Some Brockton homeowners are up in arms over a certified letter they received from the city giving them seven days to sign an agreement to pay an abated water bill that they say doesn't reflect the true cost. This latest development stems from a controversy that began in July 2009, when thousands of homeowners got bills totaling thousands of dollars. One woman's bill was $100,000.


  • After an extensive audit, the city's water department admitted knowing that faulty meters were giving false readings, but said there was no funding to replace them.


  • In the meantime, homeowners were saddled with liens on their properties. Some of those liens were paid by mortgage companies that caused monthly mortgage payments to go up by several hundred dollars.


  • Because of the problem, some homeowners are even facing foreclosure. Homeowners say they are willing to pay what they owe, but they want to know what formula the city is using to come up with its figures. They said they also want to know what the balance on those bills are before they sign anything.

Source: Homeowners Continue To Battle City Over Water Bills (City Sends Letters Giving Residents Days To Pay Bills).

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Feds, Mortgage Servicers Begin Paving Road To Robosigning 2.0?

Georgetown University Law School Professor Adam J. Levitin writes in Credit Slips:
  • Do you have what it takes to be a Mortgage Foreclosure File Reviewer Level 2? An intrepid researcher forwarded to me a job ad for a mortgage foreclosure reviewer who will be reviewing bank foreclosures per the OCC/Fed servicing fraud consent orders.


  • I have seldom seen a document that says more about the bullshit malarkey [striken language in the original] that the OCC and Fed are trying to pass off to cover for the banks than this job ad.


  • I think it demolishes even the thin fiction that the OCC/Fed servicing consent orders are anything more than Potemkin villages. Instead, what we have here is nothing less than a federally-blessed Robosigning 2.0.

For more, see Robosigning 2.0: Mortgage Foreclosure File Reviewers.

Thanks to Mike Dillon at GetDShirtz.com for the heads-up on the post.

Reports On Federal Government Effort To Sweep Foreclosure Fraud Scandal Under Rug Continue

American Banker reports:
  • Can you count on the emperor’s handpicked ministers to tell him when he’s naked? Banking regulators seem to think so.


  • The April consent orders against mortgage servicers let the companies pick one or more professional-services firms to review their foreclosure actions for abuses and report the findings to the agencies.


  • Allowing the banks to choose their own judge, jury, and jailer presents almost untenable conflicts of interest. All of the consulting firms that were initially being considered to do the work serve the banks already. The banks, and their mortgage servicing operations, are existing or prospective clients.

For more, see Banks Hire Friendlies for ‘Independent’ Foreclosure Reviews.

Chase Sues To Collect On Erroneously-Released M'tgage; Homeowner Admits Owing Money, But Leans On Statute Of Limitations To Tell Bankster To Get Lost

In San Antonio, Texas, the San Antonio Express News reports:
  • In a strange twist in the ongoing saga of shoddy record-keeping surrounding mortgage documents, Chase bank last month sued a San Antonio couple because they were mistakenly released from having to make any more house payments — nine years ago.


  • Chase filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Antonio last month against Ramiro and Delia Guerrero Jr. to rescind a mortgage-lien release recorded in 2002. The bank also wants the mortgage declared valid so the couple will have to resume making payments.


  • Stephen Cochran, the Guerreros' lawyer, acknowledged that the couple never made their mortgage payments after a 2001 refinancing, blaming that on the then-lender apparently losing the note and the couple's confusion over where to send their payments.


  • Nevertheless, Chase, which was assigned the loan last year, waited too long to fix the problem, Cochran said. A lawsuit to correct it needed to be filed within four years of the release-of-lien filing under the statute of limitations, he said.


  • We play by the rules all the time, and one of those rules is a statute of limitations,” Cochran said. “Lots of good cases ... have been lost because you're just out of time.”

***

  • Collection efforts, including three or four foreclosure actions, were taken against the Guerreros, but each time the couple presented the release of lien, and the matters were dropped, Cochran said. He didn't know why efforts to fix the problem weren't taken sooner.


  • In March 2010, the mortgage was transferred to Chase by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., acting for Fleet. Chase both owns and services the mortgage. MERS is a private company that tracks loan ownership and servicing.


  • The transfer was signed by Whitney K. Cook, a MERS vice president. Various websites show that her name appears on numerous other mortgage assignments and that she holds various titles for different companies — raising doubts that she actually reviewed the documents and had the authority to sign them.

***

  • In August, MERS recorded a rescission of release of lien in Bexar County property records. But that document isn't signed by the Guerreros. Chase followed up by suing the Guerreros on Sept. 16.


  • While Cochran maintains that Chase is way past the deadline for seeking to void the lien release, the bank possibly could argue that it didn't learn of the mistake until recently.

For the story, see Mortgage error sparks lawsuit (Bank wants a San Antonio couple to restart their payments nine years after a mistake).

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Sneaky Lender Uses Loan Modification 'Pre-Negotiation' Agreement To Dupe Borrower Into Inadvertently Ratifying Void Mortgage, Waiving All Rights

Lexology reports on the use of loan modification pre-negotiation agreements that lenders use to screw over property owners:
  • The son and wife of the sole shareholder of an entity owning real property arranged for a mortgage loan to be made to the entity without the shareholder's knowledge or consent.


  • The son and wife represented to the lender that they had the authority to enter into the financing transaction in the borrower's name. After the mortgage loan went into default, the lender filed a foreclosure action.


  • In an effort to avoid foreclosure and reach a settlement or modification of the mortgage loan, the shareholder, on behalf of the borrower, signed a pre-negotiation agreement required by the lender, which:

    a) confirmed that the borrower's obligations were legal and enforceable;
    b) waived the borrower's defences, counterclaims and offsets; and
    c) acknowledged that the lender waived none of its rights or remedies under the mortgage loan documents.

  • After the parties failed to reach agreement on a modification of the mortgage loan terms, the borrower filed for bankruptcy and argued that the mortgage loan transaction was unenforceable because the son and wife lacked authority to enter into the transaction in the name of the borrower.

***

  • [For various reasons discussed in the story], the court held that the pre-negotiation agreement was enforceable.


  • The court also held that the mortgage loan transaction was enforceable because, among other reasons, the pre-negotiation agreement evidenced a ratification of the underlying mortgage loan by the shareholder of the borrower despite the fact that the mortgage loan was originally entered into by parties which lacked authority to enter into the mortgage loan transaction.

For more, see Enforceability of distressed mortgage loan pre-negotiation agreements (may require subscription; if no subscription, GO HERE; or TRY HERE - then click the appropriate link for the story).

See also, Borrower’s inaction ratifies unauthorized corporate loan (may require subscription; if no subscription, GO HERE; or TRY HERE - then click the appropriate link for the story).

For the court ruling, see In re Vargas Realty Enterprises, Inc., 440 BR 224 (S.D. N.Y. 2010).

Loan Servicer Screw-Up Suspected By Families Threatened By Foreclosure Despite Claim That No Payments Have Been Missed

In Orlando, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:
  • Several local families claim an Orange County loan company is threatening to foreclose, even though they haven't missed a payment. Michelle Martinez can't believe she's fighting to keep her parents Deltona home out of foreclosure.


  • Since she says the bank records show they have not missed a payment and yet foreclosure warnings keep arriving. "Countless calls to this company and never get a straight answer."


  • Michelle blames Litton Loan for creating the problem. Litton was sold to Ocwen Loan Servicing near UCF. She claims it's done nothing to resolve her parents nightmare. "Instead of resolution the problem it just gets bigger."

For more, see Action 9 Investigates Mortgage Loan Mess (Families fight mortgage company).

Title Company Paperwork Screw Up Leaves Houston Couple Facing Foreclosure, Despite Having Made All Mortgage Payments

In Houston, Texas, FOX Channel 26 reports:
  • For two years, a Houston couple diligently paid the monthly mortgage on their new home. Then came the unbelievable news that the home was never theirs; the title had never been transferred.


  • Soon after Brian and Khanklink Pyron bought their home in 2008, the title company they used, Esquire Title, filed for bankruptcy.


  • Therefore, the title to the home was never legally transferred to the Pyrons. It still belonged to Wells Fargo, the bank that held the previous owner's mortgage.


  • "We did everything we were supposed to do. All this had been going on for two years. Nobody has communicated with us, notified us. We had been paying our mortgage and everything," Brian said.

For more, see Family Hit by Surprise Foreclosure.

Monday, October 10, 2011

County Recording Official Discovers Robosigning Not Limited To F'closure Docs; Mortgage Release On His Own Home Signed By Notorious Signature Scrawler

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, The Journal Gazette reports:
  • Allen County Recorder John McGauley knew property documents with suspect signatures were prevalent. After all, there were so many that a year ago the nation’s largest banks had to halt foreclosures to deal with the sea of paperwork that could not be trusted.


  • The problem was so big it spawned a new word to describe it: “robo-signing,” meaning offices filled with low-paid workers signing documents they had never read, documents they were not qualified to sign and often signing someone else’s name.


  • Still, McGauley was surprised to hear that robo-signing was not limited to foreclosure documents but was being found on thousands of homeownership documents having nothing to do with seized homes.


  • He was even more surprised when a quick check of Allen County records revealed more than 8,000 suspect documents have been filed here since 2006 – records McGauley’s office is charged with preserving as the final word in property ownership. “It was just like reaching into a hat where your number was on more slips of paper than it wasn’t on,” McGauley said. “Everything you pulled out was another one.”


  • But the real surprise was when McGauley looked through the documents for his own home. The mortgage release on the house he and his wife sold in 2005 bears the signature of Linda Green – the most notorious robo-signer in the nation. “This is the kind of thing that can really upset people because the biggest investment most people will ever make is their home,” McGauley said. “It’s frustrating me.”


  • It could be frustrating millions soon and frustrating an already-battered real estate market. If invalid documents are discovered in the chain of ownership, it could delay a home sale or make it difficult for buyers to get a mortgage because title insurers will not write a policy for the property, said Justin Ailes, vice president of government affairs of the American Land Title Association, which represents the title insurance industry.


  • Banks and other mortgage lenders will not write a home loan without title insurance. That means your house – even if you’ve never missed a payment or had an ownership dispute – could be impossible to sell until the documents are verified, or it could be impossible to buy your dream home.(1)

For more, see Signing scandal hitting home (Dubious names affect verification of deeds).

(1) County Recorder McGauley had this observation on the state of affairs created by the robosigning scandal and its affect on all title to real estate, including those titles unaffected by foreclosure:

  • For a hundred years, the property ownership system in Indiana was based on trust. You assumed you could trust the documents recorded in the recorder’s office. That has deteriorated,” he said. “This is supposed to be the public record. It becomes history. … At best, it muddies that process; at worst, it turns it into garbage.”

5th Circuit Tells Judgment Creditor To 'Take A Hike!' Improper Attempt To Snatch Bankrupt Debtor's Home Sale Proceeds Violates Texas Homestead Law

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:
  • A creditor with a pre-bankruptcy judgment lien doesn't automatically have a secured claim in proceeds from the sale of a homestead in excess of the homestead exemption, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled on Oct. 4.


  • The case involved an individual saddled with a pre- bankruptcy judgment for $538,000. The judgment was recorded before bankruptcy and became a lien on the home. After bankruptcy, the owner sold the homestead with approval from the court and the Chapter 7 trustee, generating over $500,000 in proceeds in excess of the mortgage.


  • The judgment creditor claimed to have a valid lien in the net proceeds in excess of the $125,000 limitation on the homestead exemption in Section 522(p) of the Bankruptcy Code.


  • Circuit Judge Priscilla R. Owen rejected the argument. She read from Texas law where a judgment lien creditor cannot enforce a lien against a homestead. Therefore, Owen said that the lien likewise was unenforceable against the property after bankruptcy.


  • She explained that Section 522(p) limits the amount of a bankrupt's exempt interest in property. The section “does not speak” to the judgment creditor's interest in the property.


  • Owen ruled that the lienholder “does not have a right specifically enforceable in the excess proceeds.” Nonetheless, Owen said that the appeals court was not ruling on whether the creditor “has an otherwise enforceable interest in the estate.” The case was returned to the bankruptcy court for further proceedings.

Source: Homestead Limit Doesn't Make Judgment Enforceable (2nd story from the bottom).

For the ruling, see In re McCombs, 08-20171, (5th Cir. October 4, 2011).

Dyck's Deeds Drive Homeowners, Recording Officials 'Wild' In Sovereign Citizen Title Snatching Scam; 'Paper Terrorist' Responsible

In Osceola County, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:
  • Last year, Olga Aponte sold the New York home she'd owned for 32 years and paid cash for a foreclosure house in Kissimmee. The 67-year-old wanted a solid retirement investment. For months, she lived in peace.


  • That was, until she learned about the intruder. It happened this summer, when her son saw the name of a stranger on her property records, on a deed filed one month after she bought her house: Jacob Franz Dyck.


  • But Aponte had never met Dyck, or agreed to sign anything. And she wasn't the only one. Dyck, the Times has learned, has filed more than 100 "wild deeds" laying claim to properties in Osceola county. The deeds bear no signatures of the rightful homeowners or any evidence of their consent.


  • What is he doing and what does he stand to gain? It's unclear. Authorities can't find him to answer that question, but his track record gives them cause for concern.


  • Dyck, 72, is a self-proclaimed "sovereign citizen," purporting to be above the laws of government. He's also a felon. The St. Petersburg Times wrote about him in August after homeowners said he misled them into thinking they could avoid foreclosure by deeding their houses to him to put into a "pure trust." For this, he charged a fee. Owners lost their homes anyway.


  • "Sovereign citizens" have declared themselves free from government and believe banks don't have a right to foreclose on properties; they often flood the courts with documents, a practice known among critics as "paper terrorism."


  • The theories for Dyck's actions matter less than the implication: There is little to stop this from happening to you.

For more, see Jacob Dyck's wild deeds perplex homeowners.

Baltimore Feds Nail Two More Sale Leaseback Peddlers That Ripped Off Homeowners In Foreclosure Of At Least $1.2M In Equity Stripping Scam

In Baltimore, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:
  • A Severna Park mortgage broker pleaded guilty Friday in a mortgage fraud case that left lenders with more than $940,000 in losses, robbed homeowners of at least $1.2 million in home equity and pushed 16 homes into foreclosure, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said. Mary Anne Dean, 60, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Charles Donaldson, a loan officer described as her co-conspirator, pleaded guilty last week.


  • The Maryland U.S. attorney's office said Donaldson, 57, recruited homeowners struggling with their mortgages for what he said would be a foreclosure rescue plan: They would sell their homes to investors, remain there as renters for a year or so and then buy the properties back after repairing their finances.


  • Dean brokered loans for the "investors" — Donaldson's relatives and acquaintances — by submitting mortgage applications with inflated income and other false information, according to their plea agreements. Donaldson promised participants that he would hold most of the homeowners' equity in an escrow account to help with the payments.


  • Instead, Donaldson spent much of the homeowners' equity, according to the plea agreement. That left both the investors and the former homeowners in dire straits, unable to make payments. Thirteen homes have been taken back by lenders and three more are tied up in foreclosure proceedings, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said.


  • Dean and Donaldson are scheduled for sentencing in January. The maximum punishment is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.(1)

Source: Broker, loan officer plead guilty in mortgage-fraud case (Mary Anne Dean pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud).

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Mortgage Broker and Loan Officer Plead Guilty in Fraudulent Mortgage Rescue Scheme Resulting in Losses of over $1.2 Million to Homeowners in Financial Distress.

(1) See Criminal Prosecutions Of Sale Leaseback Peddlers In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Deals for other prosecutions of the lowlifes that perpetrate this type of racket.

See generally, DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Feds' Ongoing Crackdown On Upfront Fee Loan Modification Ripoffs Leads To Shutdown Of Two More Rackets

From the Federal Trade Commission:
  • At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a U.S. district court has shut down two related operations as a result of settlements with defendants who allegedly failed to provide promised debt relief services and jeopardized their clients’ privacy by tossing their personal information into unsecured dumpsters. In addition, one of the operations allegedly charged consumers a $1,495 up-front fee based on phony promises that they would get mortgage relief assistance.


  • The settlements with Residential Relief Foundation, LLC; Silver Lining Services, LLC; Mitigation America, LLC; and their principal owners are part of the FTC’s ongoing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress. The settlements ban the defendants from working in the mortgage assistance and debt relief business, prohibit them from the alleged privacy violations, and impose judgments totaling more than $11 million – the amount of consumer harm they caused.

For the FTC press release, see At FTC’s Request, Court Shuts Down Deceptive Mortgage and Debt Relief Operation (One Firm Charged $1,495 for Loan Modification Program, but Provided No Services).

See Federal Trade Commission v. Residential Relief Foundation, Inc., et al. for links to the lawsuit and the Stipulated Final Orders for Permanent Injunction and Settlement of Claims.

Indiana AG Tags Two More Out-Of-State Loan Modification Outfits With Civil Suits Alleging Upfront Fee Ripoffs, Failure To Register, File Bonds

In Lake County, Indiana, the Northwest Indiana Times reports:
  • Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller alleges two out-of-state firms targeting Hoosiers with mortgage foreclosure or credit problems are operating illegally in Indiana.


  • Zoeller personally filed court papers in the Lake County clerk's office here Tuesday morning naming the Florida-based Marucci Law Firm and Illinois-based EAC Financial in lawsuits alleging their "rescue" businesses violated several state laws including the Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.


  • He is seeking injunctions to stop the firms from collecting upfront fees while failing to provide services. He wants court orders forcing them to pay restitution to their Hoosier customers as well as civil penalties and attorney fees. Zoeller said both firms failed to register with the Indiana Secretary of State or file a bond with the state.


  • He alleges a Lake County resident contacted Marucci through an online service and paid the law firm $2,600. He said EAC Financial contacted another local resident by telephone who paid them $750.

For more, see AG sues to stop 'rescue' firms from targeting locals.

Oregon AG Targets Outfit With Civil Suit In Alleged Upfront Fee Loan Modification Ripoffs That Pocketed About $90K From 30+ Homeowners

In Salem, Oregon, KTVZ reports:
  • Attorney General John Kroger announced a lawsuit Friday accusing California-based loan modification company NOD Consultants, LLC of illegally collecting about $90,000 in fees from nearly three dozen Oregon homeowners and then refusing to provide refunds after the company failed to obtain promised loan modifications. It was one of two actions he announced Friday involving loan modification scams.

***

  • The lawsuit was filed Sept. 29 in Clackamas County Circuit Court against NOD Consultants and the company’s two principals, Nicolas R. Godbout and Grant A. Gerhart. [...] According to the complaint, although most of the defendants' Oregon clients were current on their mortgage payments, the defendants encouraged them to skip at least one payment, claiming it would encourage their lender to re-negotiate.


  • Notwithstanding promises to obtain loan modifications, NOD Consultants allegedly failed to obtain a loan modification for 33 of its 34 Oregon clients. The complaint states that, despite the defendants' repeated failure to obtain loan modifications, they have generally refused to refund the fees paid by their clients.

***

  • Earlier Friday, Kroger announced an agreement that will provide restitution for more than two dozen Oregon homeowners who were promised loan modifications that were never delivered.


  • The agreement bans American Team Mortgage, Inc., dba American Mortgage Relief, and Steve Hufstedler from foreclosure counseling, credit/debt counseling, loan modification or mortgage origination in Oregon. Under the agreement, 28 homeowners will receive $67,000 in restitution. Oregon will receive an additional $65,000 for its consumer protection efforts.


  • The Department of Justice and the Department of Consumer and Business Services conducted a joint investigation into allegations that the companies took illegal upfront fees to provide loan modifications. The investigation determined that 28 Oregon homeowners received neither the loan modification they paid for nor a refund.

For the story, see Oregon AG Targets Loan Modification Scams (Sues One Firm, Shuts Another Down).

Ex-Non Profit Employee Cops Plea To Pocketing Cash From Financially Strapped Homeowners Seeking Loan Mods To Prevent Foreclosure

In Dunkirk, New York, WIVB-TV Channel 4 reports:
  • DUNKIRK, N.Y. (RELEASE) - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced [] that Lori J. Macakanja, 35, of Dunkirk, New York, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and theft of government money [...].


  • Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, who is handling the case, stated that Macakanja, in her capacity as a housing counselor employed by HomeFront, Inc., inappropriately requested money from clients. The defendant told HomeFront clients that the money would be used toward loan modifications to prevent foreclosure on their homes.


  • However, after receiving the funds, Macakanja used the money for her own personal use, including gambling, and failed to obtain the loan modifications for the victims. A total of 136 HomeFront clients were defrauded with losses totaling $300,000.


  • In addition, Macakanja also obtained federal grant monies from the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA) for HomeFront clients. On two occasions, she diverted $2,000 worth of BURA money to pay her own personal mortgage.

For more, see Housing counselor defrauded clients.

Freddie Slams Brakes On Foreclosure Of Home Allegedly Ripped Off By Victims' Grandson With Forged Deed, POA, Leaving Elderly Couple Facing The Boot

In Ramsey County, Minnesota, the Pioneer Press reports:
  • Stella and Joseph Hernandez dodged an eviction bullet Friday. On Thursday, the Ramsey County sheriff's office delivered the elderly St. Paul couple an eviction notice that gave them until 3 p.m. Friday to vacate their home of nearly 35 years.


  • The couple, whose plight was detailed in this column Sunday, say a grandson had them sign a quitclaim deed without their knowledge. In addition, they say, he forged their signatures on power-of-attorney forms to obtain more than $300,000 in mortgage loans that were never repaid.


  • The grandson denied the allegations, but meanwhile, the 91-year-old Tudor home near the Cathedral of St. Paul underwent foreclosure and was sold this year to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. However, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who read about the couple's housing woes, contacted Freddie Mac officials and persuaded them to put the eviction on hold. "They feel for the couple and think it's tragic," Klobuchar told me Friday. "Right now, the eviction is temporarily on hold until we come up with a permanent solution."


  • Stella Hernandez, 83, said she received the sheriff notice shortly after she returned from cancer treatment at a clinic near her home. She cares for her 93-year-old husband, a decorated World War II veteran who suffers from dementia and underwent a quintuple bypass surgery six years ago.

For more, see Aging St. Paul couple's eviction put off after Klobuchar intervenes.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Title/Closing Attorney Enters Guilty Plea In $1M+ Escrow Funds Ripoff; Surrenders Law License, Ends 44-Year Career With Thud

In Henrico County, Virginia, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports:
  • A Henrico County lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling more than $1 million in Bank of America mortgage and foreclosure funds and will be sentenced in January.(1) In a brief hearing, William Orr Smith, 71, appeared in Henrico Circuit Court and pleaded guilty; Smith's lawyer has said for months that Smith would not contest the charges and that he has cooperated with authorities.


  • Smith also cooperated with Virginia State Bar investigators in a separate investigation and surrendered his law license in June.


  • Special Prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland said Wednesday that Smith's law practice and his Montbrook Title LLC grew rapidly five years ago during the housing boom, at one point swelling to as many as a dozen employees.


  • That growth found Smith with shortages of cash as the business grew, and Smith began using money from different accounts to make payments on immediate obligations, Thorne-Begland said. The scheme lasted about five years and began to collapse as the housing market collapsed.


  • Thorne-Begland said there is no evidence that Smith diverted embezzled funds into his private holdings or to embellish his lifestyle, but he said he will ask for a sentence above sentencing guidelines, which could come in under less than a year.


  • Smith, of [...] western Henrico, had practiced law for 44 years. Also charged is Donna M. Allen, 37, of Dinwiddie County, a secretary to Smith, who is accused of extorting about $20,000 from him by threatening to tell authorities about his scheme.

Source: Henrico lawyer pleads guilty to theft.

(1) The Virginia State Bar's Clients' Protection Fund was established to reimburse clients who have suffered a loss due to misappropriation or embezzle­ment by a Florida-licensed attorney.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.

Cop Pinched For Allegedly Selling Trailer Home He Didn't Own; Pocketed $8K From Unwitting Buyer Plus $1K In Unremitted Lot Rent

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:
  • A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy was arrested and charged with three counts of grand theft [...] for allegedly selling a trailer home that didn't belong to him.


  • Sheriff's deputy Jose Antonio Claudio, 47, who was named Deputy of the Month in February 2010, is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $9,000 bond. He is charged one count of grand theft at a value of no more than $10,000 and two counts of grand theft at a value of no more than $5,000.

***

  • The investigation would later reveal that Claudio allegedly sold a trailer home [...] to Myra Longoria on Aug. 7, 2008 for $8,000 and kept the money even though he never held the title to it, the affidavit said.


  • Claudio allegedly bought the same property from Riverstone Communities for $6,000 a week after he sold it to Longoria, the affidavit stated. He also collected $525 rent for the lot twice without the company's authorization and did not give the checks to the company.

For the story, see Grand theft charges filed against Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy.

Ohio AG To Pursue Home Improvement Ripoffs As Criminal Prosecutions When Appropriate; Norm Has Been To Treat Cases As 'Civil Matters'

From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:
  • A home-improvement scam prosecuted as a criminal offense led to a guilty plea by James Burchett of Amelia, Ohio, who was sentenced today in Hamilton County Court to 18 months in prison.


  • Such scams were normally handled as civil matters, but Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has made it a priority to treat these cases as criminal when appropriate.


  • "We have added additional people and resources to aid in the investigation and prosecution of these consumer protection cases," said Attorney General DeWine. "Working with local prosecutors' offices and law enforcement, we want to send the message to scammers that Ohio is not a good place for them to do business."


  • Burchett pled guilty to two counts each of theft and theft from the elderly. His crimes cost consumers $17,000 and included:

    1) Accepting almost $13,000 from an 87-year-old woman to install a fence. The job was partially done but the workmanship was shoddy.(1)

    2) Taking more than $1,000 for a concrete porch installation. The job was not done.

For the Ohio AG press release, see Home-Improvement Scammer Receives 18 Months in Prison.

(1) There seems to be a misconception among many cops, investigators and others in law enforcement that the only time you can prosecute a home improvement scam is if the scammer pockets the cash from the victim and does no work at all. The erroneous view is that if the scammer performs some work of value, the case falls outside the scope of criminality and the victims' only recourse is to go after scammers themselves by suing them in court.

The Ohio AG's action in this case is proof that such a view is erroneous, and is evidence that any cop or investigator who advises a victim that the case is a 'civil matter' is either clueless or someone who just doesn't feel like investigating the case.

Minimizing Impact Of 'Transfer Trauma' To Residents Of Nursing Homes Facing Closure Among Benefits Of New California Elderly Abuse Prevention Laws

In Sacramento, California, The Associated Press reports:
  • Gov. Jerry Brown signed a series of bills into law Friday designed to protect elderly people, including two that require care facilities to notify their residents of possible closures and another intended to expedite reporting of suspected elder abuse.


  • AB313 by Sen. Bill Monning, D-Santa Cruz, requires residential facilities to conspicuously post notices for at least 30 days and provide written notices to residents and their responsible parties if the facility's license is in jeopardy. The bill was introduced after a nursing home in Santa Cruz was ordered to close last year and residents were only given two weeks of notice.


  • "These protections will ensure residents have enough time to prepare for a move and minimize the impact of transfer trauma," Monning said.


  • A similar bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, also requires such facilities to provide notices to residents of possible closures. SB897 would protect residents from abruptly have to relocate by requiring facilities to notify them in writing of possible foreclosure or severe financial distress.


  • Other legislation is aimed at protecting the elderly from financial theft or abuse. SB718 by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, would establish a confidential Internet reporting system for elder abuse. The bill was written in response to budget cuts that decreased the number of personnel able to handle calls from mandated reporters or the general public about elder abuse.


  • The Internet system requires that people provide the same information they would over the phone but without having to wait to report abuse over the elder abuse phone line. "This effective reporting system will ensure that our seniors' voices are heard and abuses are not overlooked," Vargas said last month.


  • A bill by Bob Blumenfield, D-Van Nuys, protects elderly people during financial abuse trials. AB1293 would give courts the ability to seize and freeze a defendant's assets in cases where $100,000 or more is suspected of being stolen or embezzled from an elderly person's property.


  • Blumenfield says the bill will prevent people accused of stealing from seniors from using those assets to fund their own defense. It also ensures the seniors have the opportunity for receiving restitution.


  • A law passed in 2005 mandating that financial institutions, such as banks, report elder financial abuse has now been made permanent. SB33, by Sen. Joe Simitian D-Palo Alto, eliminates the 2013 sunset date of SB1018 and continues to require loan or credit employees to report financial abuses if they notice them in contracts involving a senior's financial matters.


  • The bills are among eight, some technical in nature, that Brown signed relating to elder abuse.

Source: Governor signs bills intended to protect elderly.

BofA To Consider Rebranding Effort? Possible Name Change Seen By Some To Be In Alignment With Recent Behaviors By Bankster Giant

In Harfold, Vermont, The Spoof.com reports:
  • Insiders in the banking industry confide that Bank of America is currently considering a name change to Bank Against America, a change which would certainly be in alignment with recent behaviors by the banking[ster] giant.


  • Bank of America announced [last] week that they would begin penalizing customers who left home without enough cash to pay for their purchases. Long seen as the wave of the future, the safe, responsible debit card now itself carries a price tag. A five-dollar fee will now be assessed to those account holders who dare to enter the 21st century.


  • "I guess we need to turn back the clock," said Harfold resident and Bank of America customer, Silvia Niell. "I guess everybody has carry around a wad of bills in their pockets like gas station attendants."


  • This press comes fresh on the heels of the arrests of two dozen protesters in Boston. Demonstrating against Bank of America's foreclosure practices at the bank'a offices, police obliged the hard-done-by citizens by throwing them into the slammer.


  • Bank of America spokesperson Crawford Tejay dismissed the protest as small potatoes. "Bank of America feels it's time America woke up. Gone are the days when your friendly, neighborhood banker was there to help you start a business or buy your first home. That same banker is there to make money for the bank. End of story."

Source: Bank of America to consider name change: Bank Against America (One insider claims that B. of A. will soon replace their ATM machines with rigged slot machines).

Friday, October 07, 2011

NYC Feds Squeeze Foreclosure Mill Sweatshop For $2M In Fines, Agreement To Revamp Practices In Probe Into Filing Of Allegedly Misleading Pleadings

In New York City, the New York Law Journal reports:
  • One of New York state's biggest foreclosure law firms will revamp its practices and pay a $2 million fine to settle a six-month probe by the Southern District U.S. Attorney's Office that found it had filed misleading pleadings, affidavits and mortgage assignments in state and federal courts.(1)


  • In a settlement agreement announced yesterday, the firm, Steven J. Baum, P.C., of Amherst, will implement a series of internal controls including a pledge not to bring foreclosure actions without reviewing the original promissory notes or reviewing a copy of the note from its client or custodian of the document.


  • The thrust of that condition is similar to an order issued almost a year ago by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman directing lawyers for lenders to file an affirmation that they have taken reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of papers they file to support residential foreclosures (NYLJ, Oct. 21, 2010).


  • The 12-page agreement also prohibits the firm's employees from executing mortgage assignments as officials or representatives of MERS, an electronic mortgage registry system.


  • "In mortgage foreclosure proceedings, there are no excuses for sloppy practices that could lead to someone mistakenly losing their home," Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said today in a statement. "Homeowners facing foreclosure cannot afford to have faulty paperwork or inadequate evidence submitted, and today's agreement will help minimize that risk."

For more, see Upstate Foreclosure Firm Fined $2 Million, Agrees to Overhaul Its Filing Practices.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Agreement With Mortgage Foreclosure Law Firm To Overhaul Its Practices And Pay $2 Million Fine.

(1) Apparently, not everyone's happy with the settlement. See New York Post: Critics: Feds went easy on NY's largest foreclosure mill.

Bay State AG Gives 'Thumbs Down' On 50-State AG Foreclosure Fraud Probe; Begins Preparing Troops, Loading Up Litigation Artillery

Bloomberg reports:
  • Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said she may sue major banks after she “lost confidence” that they will reach an adequate agreement to resolve disputes over foreclosure practices.

***

  • I have lost confidence that the banks will bring to the table an agreement that properly holds them accountable for wrongful foreclosures,” Coakley, 58, said in a statement today. “Because our office for some time has anticipated that result, we have begun preparing for litigation.”


  • California Attorney General Kamala Harris said last week that she was rejecting a proposed settlement with the banks and would pursue her own mortgage investigation, according to a letter she wrote to the U.S. Justice Department and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading talks for the states.

    State Probes


  • New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto are also conducting mortgage-related investigations as settlement talks with the banks continue.

For more, see Massachusetts Attorney General Cites ‘Lost Confidence’ in Banks, May Sue.

Developer Gets 9 Years For Loans Obtained On Unbuilt Homes, Fictional Addresses; Failure To Record Liens Led To Multiple 'Reselling' Of Properties

From the Office Of The U.S. Attorney (Brooklyn, New York):
  • [I]n U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Thomas Kontogiannis, a New York real estate developer who led a mortgage fraud conspiracy resulting in more than $98 million in losses, was sentenced to 108 months of imprisonment for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto imposed the sentence pursuant to Kontogiannis’s October 2010 guilty plea. Seven co-defendants previously pleaded guilty.

***

  • Kontogiannis defrauded Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) and DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc. (DLJ), a subsidiary of Credit Suisse, in connection with his development of two tracts of land in Brooklyn and Queens. He purchased and subdivided Loring Estates, located in East New York, Brooklyn, and Edgewater Development, located in College Point, Queens, and then staged sales of the properties financed by mortgage loans to straw buyers. Kontogiannis directed others to prepare false loan files to create the appearance that the straw buyers were creditworthy homeowners.


  • The mortgages were supported by fraudulent appraisals depicting finished homes, when the buildings had yet to be built or had fictional addresses, and the mortgage files contained fraudulent title abstract reports and other documentation designed to indicate that the seller, a Kontogiannis-controlled entity, had clear title to convey and that the lender’s interest was protected by title insurance.


  • The loans were financed by lenders controlled by Kontogiannis, including Interamerican Mortgage Corp., later known as CIP Mortgage Corp. and Coastal Capital Corp. After the loans were closed, Kontogiannis ensured that the mortgages and deeds were not recorded, thereby permitting him to “sell” the same property repeatedly. Eventually, Kontogiannis sold the loans to WAMU or DLJ.


  • In an effort to conceal the multiple sales of the same properties, Kontogiannis changed the addresses of properties located in East New York, Brooklyn, to addresses in neighboring Howard Beach, Queens. In addition, he directed others to make monthly payments on the mortgages, ensuring that none of the mortgages became delinquent. The payments ceased in 2007, with approximately $98 million in principal outstanding on the fraudulent mortgages.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Leader Of $98 Million Mortgage Fraud Sentenced To 108 Months.

Lack Of Government Oversight Of HAMP Program Allows Banksters To Go Unpunished For Mishandled Loan Mod Requests

ProPublica reports:
  • Why has the administration’s flagship foreclosure prevention program been so ineffective in helping struggling homeowners get loan modifications and stay in their homes? One reason: The government’s supervision of the program has apparently ranged from nonexistent to weak.


  • Documents obtained by ProPublica — government audit reports of GMAC, the country’s fifth-largest mortgage servicer — provide the first detailed look at the program’s oversight. They show that the company operated with almost no oversight for the program’s first eight months.


  • When auditors did finally conduct a major review more than a year into the program, they found that GMAC had seriously mishandled many loan modifications — miscalculating homeowner income in more than 80 percent of audited cases, for example. Yet, GMAC suffered no penalty. GMAC itself said it hasn’t reversed a single foreclosure as a result of a government audit.


  • The documents also reveal that government auditors signed off on GMAC loan-modification denials that appear to violate the program’s own rules, calling into question the rigor and competence of the reviews.


  • Some of the auditors’ mistakes are “appalling,” said Diane Thompson of the National Consumer Law Center, an advocacy group. “It suggests the government isn’t taking the auditing process seriously.”

***

  • The audits of GMAC, though revealing, give only a limited view into the program, because the Treasury has refused to release the documents for other servicers. For more than a year, through a Freedom of Information Act request, ProPublica has sought the audits of 10 of the largest program participants. The Treasury provided only GMAC’s audits, because the company consented to their release. ProPublica continues to seek all of the reports.

For more, see Secret Docs Show Foreclosure Watchdog Doesn’t Bark or Bite.

Trio Face Racketeering Charges In Alleged Vacant Foreclosed Home Hijacking Scam; Suspect: 'Nobody Told Me Snatching Empty Houses Was Illegal!'

In DeKalb County, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:
  • A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted three people on charges of racketeering, after a yearlong Channel 2 investigation exposed their alleged scheme to take over foreclosed homes. Decatur police arrested Susan Weidman, the woman at the center of the investigation, at a home on Champlain Street Tuesday morning.


  • A Channel 2 investigation in May revealed a bogus court document Weidman is accused of filing, claiming the home was abandoned and that she now owns it. It's actually a foreclosure owned by Chase Bank.

***

  • The indictment alleges Weidman recruited Ian Greye to pose as a renter at the home. Prosecutors said Greye and Weidman used a fake lease between them to keep law enforcement from forcing them out of the home for several months.


  • "When law enforcement would question why they were there, they would present the bogus lease and say, ‘Well, we have right to be here,’” DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said.


  • He said Weidman ran the same scheme in Forsyth County. Matthew Lowery was charged as the alleged “renter” of a home on Shade Tree Way in Cumming. Another Channel 2 investigation exposed that portion of the story just last week, including questions as to whether Chase Bank wanted to pursue criminal action against Weidman for that case.


  • Chase Bank ultimately decided to allow DeKalb County to prosecute both cases together, along with a third property on Spalding Hills Drive in Sandy Springs. The racketeering indictment cites burglary, theft by taking, and mail fraud, among other charges. "That enterprise was for the purpose of taking homes. It's complicated, but it's simple," added James.

***

  • Even as officers led her away in handcuffs, Weidman insisted she thought what was she was doing was legal. "I feel a little bit entrapped, that if this was illegal, why didn't they put something in writing and explain that to me?” she told Fleischer.

For more, see Subject of Ch. 2 house-stealing investigation indicted on racketeering charges.

Fannie Continues Using Unnamed Florida Foreclosure Mill Sweatshop Despite It Being Fired By Freddie Earlier In Year; Says Files Transfer Too Costly

The Palm Beach Post reports:
  • Federal mortgage backer Freddie Mac fired a Florida law firm this year for "foreclosure processing abuses," but sister company Fannie Mae continues to use the firm because it's too expensive to transfer files to new attorneys.


  • A Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General report released Tuesday criticized the two entities for, among other things, a lack of communication about problems within law firms used to take people's homes.


  • But, even when Freddie Mac told Fannie Mae why it was firing the Florida firm, Fannie decided to retain the law firm's services, noting that the cost of moving cases "would be substantial."


  • According to the report, Fannie Mae is expecting a $5.5 million bill for transferring files from the Law Offices of David J. Stern to new attorneys. Both Fannie and Freddie fired the Plantation-based Stern firm in November.


  • The firm Freddie fired but Fannie retained handled 43 percent of Fannie Mae's foreclosure cases in Florida, the report notes. While the firm is not identified in the report, Freddie Mac cut ties with the Fort Lauderdale-based Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in early March. The Watson firm remains on Fannie Mae's retained attorney network list.

For more, see Fannie Mae sticking with fired Florida law firm.