Suit: "Another Tale Of Bank Of America Cheating Its Customers" As Bankster Is Accused Of Putting Borrower Into Default w/ Unauthorized Escrow Account

In San Diego, California, Courthouse News Service reports:

• Bank of America found a new way to illegally extract money from customers, according to a federal class action: deduct taxes and insurance from mortgage payments, even though the homebuyers make those payments themselves, then call the mortgage in default for the unauthorized deductions, and charge late fees and penalties.
  
  
• Lead plaintiffs Rick and Susan Dolfo say that's what Bank of America did to them. "This is yet another tale of Bank of America cheating its customers," the complaint states.
  
  "In 2005, plaintiffs obtained a residential mortgage loan. Bank of America subsequently bought the servicing rights to the loan. From the time the loan was issued, plaintiffs complied with their obligations under the loan agreement. They made their monthly payments, maintained the required homeowner's insurance coverage and timely paid their property taxes. Nonetheless, in December 2009, plaintiffs noticed on their monthly mortgage statement that Bank of America paid their property taxes and homeowner's insurance without the plaintiffs' knowledge or consent, and even though plaintiffs also paid them. To fund the impound account, and without informing the plaintiffs, Bank of America took money from plaintiffs' monthly mortgage payment, not leaving enough to cover plaintiffs' monthly mortgage payment, throwing plaintiffs into default. Once in default, Bank of America, as the loan servicer, was able to charge additional fees and penalties. Bank of America also falsely reported to credit agencies that plaintiffs were in default on their mortgage."
  
  
• The Dolfos say Bank of America had no authority to set up an impound account because they were already paying their insurance and taxes. [...] The Dolfos seek class damages and punitive damages for breach of contract, unfair competition, violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, violation of the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act and conversion.

For more, see Class of Homebuyers Claims BofA Found a New Dirty Trick.

For the lawsuit, see Dolfo v. Bank of America, N.A., et ano.

California AG Bags Pair, Seeks Extradition On Another As Criminal Prosecutions Of Alleged Loan Modification Rackets Continue Picking Up Steam

From the Office of the California Attorney General:

• Attorney General Kamala D. Harris [] announced the arrests of two Southern California men who, under the guise of an attorney-backed loan modification company, collected more than $6 million from homeowners nationwide for services that were never performed.



• Christopher Fox, 37, of Laguna Niguel and Curtis Melone (AKA Curtis Kubat), 37, of Huntington Beach were arrested Tuesday on 37 felony counts, including conspiracy, grand theft and unlawful collection of advance fees. They are being held at the Orange County Jail on $500,000 bail and will be arraigned [] in Orange County Superior Court.



• Fox and Melone - along with King Harris III, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri - collected more than $6 million in up-front fees through Orange County- based Green Credit Solutions. The Attorney General's office will seek extradition of Harris, who currently faces federal mail and wire fraud charges in Missouri.

***

• In June 2009, the Attorney General's office launched an investigation of Orange County- based Green Credit Solutions - later renamed Guardian Credit Services and Get My Credit Grade - in response to numerous consumer complaints filed with the office, as well as with the Better Business Bureau, the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar of California.



• Through witness interviews, analysis of the company's marketing materials, and its business and financial records, DOJ investigators uncovered a scheme in which thousands of victims paid $3,500 for what they believed were attorney-backed loan modification services to reduce their interest rates, monthly payments or principal balance.



• From November 2008 to October 2009, Fox, Melone and Harris collected more than $6 million from thousands of homeowners across California and nationwide. Victims were told their funds would be held in a so-called "attorney escrow account" until services were completed.



• In fact, those fees were often deposited into the account of a disbarred attorney and then promptly transferred to GCS. Likewise, the company fraudulently claimed that loan modification services would be performed by attorneys; Harris is a disbarred Tennessee attorney and marketing materials referred to his alleged partners at the defunct law firm of "Smith Harris PLLC."

For the California AG press release, see Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Arrests in Nationwide $6 Million Loan Modification Scams.

For the criminal complaint, see People v. Fox, et al.

California, Nevada AGs To Combine Efforts Into Foreclosure Document Robosigning Scandal

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

• Nevada and California, states with the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, will team up to investigate allegations of foreclosure fraud and other misconduct in the mortgage industry.



• At a joint news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said their offices would share litigation strategies and would link their teams in the handling of both criminal and civil investigations.



• The two states will combine evidence and information gathered during ongoing investigations but will do separate prosecutions. Both states have created special task forces to investigate robo-signing of fraudulent loan documents before the housing market crashed and predatory practices on loan modifications in recent years.

***

• When asked about states taking the lead while the U.S. Department of Justice has been criticized for not taking action, Masto promised to hold bank and mortgage company executives responsible for wrongdoing, regardless of their stature. "We use the tools and resources available to us … that's state law,'' Masto said. "It would be wonderful to have the federal government beside us, but that's not the case."



• Harris said she was "looking forward to forging similar collaborations with other states."

For more, see Nevada, California plan joint inquiries into mortgage fraud.

Maine Supremes Side w/ Bankster In High Profile Robosigning Case; OKs Lower Court Ruling Finding No Contempt When Lender Filed Faulty Paperwork

In Portland, Maine, The Portland Press Herald reports:

• By a 5-1 decision released this morning, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court ruling that allowed loan servicer GMAC Mortgage, despite admittedly flawed practices involved in affadavit signing, to foreclose upon a home in Denmark purchased in 2003 by Nicolle M. Bradbury.



• Through the work of her attorney, Thomas A. Cox, a retired lawyer who volunteers for Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Bradbury had successfully fended off foreclosure by exposing so-called "robo-signing" practices of lender employees with little or no knowledge of the individual mortgages who nonetheless signed hundreds of affadavits each day.



• The Bridgton District Court partially sided with Bradbury, in ordering the Federal Naitonal Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) to pay nearly $24,000 in legal fees. Cox also wanted the lender found in contempt and the foreclosure dismissed, but the state supreme court disagreed.

Source: Court upholds ruling in robo-signing foreclosure (A Denmark woman whose case touched off a national uproar over foreclosures with faulty paperwork may finally lose her home).

For the ruling, see FNMA v. Bradbury, 2011 ME 120 (Me. December 6, 2011).

Boston Feds: Closing Attorney Snatched $3M+ In Real Estate Escrow Cash, Failing To Pay Off Existing Mortgages

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Boston, Massachusetts):

• A Fairhaven attorney with an office in Taunton was charged [] in federal court with diverting mortgage loan funds from real estate closings. Craig J. Martin, 53, of Taunton, was charged in an Information with two counts of bank fraud.



• The Information alleges that Martin, in acting as a closing attorney for real estate transactions, received mortgage loan funds from lenders, which were to be held in his attorney trust account and used for the closings.



• As closing attorney, Martin was responsible for using the loan proceeds to pay off the existing mortgages on the properties. But instead of paying off the existing mortgages, Martin diverted at least $3,005,445 in mortgage funds to other purposes and falsified the loan closing documents to conceal his misappropriation of the funds.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Fairhaven Attorney Charged with Fraud in Real Estate Closings.

Sacramento Feds Indict Five In Upfront Fee, Fractional Interest Deed Transfer Foreclosure Rescue Racket Employing Abuse Of Bankruptcy Courts

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Sacramento, California):

• United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that five persons had been charged in a federal indictment, [...] in connection with a foreclosure rescue scheme. The five defendants, Jewel L. Hinkles aka Cydney Sanchez, 61, of Los Angeles; Bernadette Guidry, 43, of Irvine; Jesse Wheeler, 34, of Roseville; Cynthia Corn, 58, of Oakland; and Brent Medearis, 45, of Modesto; were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on December 1, 2011. Hinkles and Guidry are charged with eight counts of mail fraud. Each of the defendants except Guidry is charged with 16 counts of bankruptcy fraud.(1)

***

• The defendants allegedly told homeowners that for a substantial up-front payment and a monthly fee they would save the homeowners’ residences from foreclosure by arranging for investors to purchase their existing mortgage at a discounted price, or would reduce the homeowners’ monthly payment by negotiating a mortgage reduction with the lender.



• The indictment alleges that contrary to the defendants’ representations, they failed to arrange for the purchase of clients’ mortgages or to negotiate reductions in the mortgage debt owed by clients.



• To prevent foreclosure and defraud the existing lenders, the indictment alleges that the defendants filed fraudulent deeds transferring an interest in the homeowner’s property to a fictitious entity called Pacifica Group 49/II.



• In many instances, the defendants also filed fraudulent petitions in bankruptcy court, often naming both the homeowner and Pacifica Group 49/II as the debtor. The purpose of these petitions was to invoke the automatic provisions of federal bankruptcy law that bring to an immediate halt any foreclosure actions against a debtor’s property.(2)



• The fraudulent deeds and bankruptcy petitions delayed foreclosure proceedings, during which the defendants collected fees from defrauded homeowners. The indictment alleges that the defendants collected at least $5 million in fees from more than 1,000 clients.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Five Defendants Charged In Foreclosure Rescue Scheme.

(1) According to court documents, Hinkles was the founder and general manager of Horizon Property Holdings LC, located in Beverly Hills. From 2008 through 2010, Hinkles offered to the public a service called the “Save My Home” or “Homesaver” program that promised to rescue financially distressed homeowners from foreclosure and reduce the principal on homeowners’ mortgages. Guidry was Horizon’s office manager and assisted Hinkles with promoting the foreclosure and “principal reduction” program. Horizon offered its program directly to clients and also through several layers of “affiliates,” who promoted and sold the program to clients, mostly in Northern California. These affiliates included Property Relief!, operated by defendant Cynthia Corn in South San Francisco, and JW Financial Solutions, operated by defendant Jesse Wheeler in Roseville. Defendant Brent Medearis sold the program out of Modesto as an affiliate of Property Relief!.

(2) See Final Report Of The Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scam Task Force for a discussion of fractional interest deed transfer scams and other foreclosure rescue rackets involving the abuse of the bankruptcy courts.

Feds Grab Fugitive After Int'l Manhunt; Suspect Accused Of Abusing POA By Putting Disabled Man's Home, Cash Into Her Name After Victim Suffered Stroke

In Upper Gwynedd Pennsylvania, Montgomery News reports:

• It was Thanksgiving dinner behind bars for an Upper Gwynedd woman who allegedly stole more than $300,000 from a disabled Hatfield man now that the international manhunt for her has ended.



• Janet Gitney, 57, of the 700 block of Brian Way, was apprehended [...] at JFK International Airport in New York and immediately taken into federal custody, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and Hatfield Township Police Chief Mark Toomey. Gitney had arrived at the airport from the Philippines, according to authorities.



• On Sept. 26, Gitney was charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, securing execution of documents by deception, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and failure to make required disposition of funds received in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between January 2009 and July 2011, according to court papers.



• Gitney, authorities alleged, utilized her power of attorney over the victim to unlawfully take control of the man’s bank accounts and even the residence he owned by having it transferred to her name without the man’s consent or authorization.



• Gitney allegedly fled to the Philippines and Korea while she was under investigation for stealing about $100,000 in retirement funds and $222,334 in property from the disabled Hatfield man. Gitney’s passport and flight records indicated she was to return to the U.S on Oct. 14 and she failed to do so, prosecutors previously revealed.

***

• On June 10, Gitney transferred the Hatfield property “from the victim to herself for no consideration,” [Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Tracey] Potere alleged in court papers.



• At the time of the transfer, the victim was in a Lansdale area hospital after suffering another stroke in early June, court papers alleged. After the transfer of the property was completed, Gitney, as the victim’s power of attorney, arranged for the victim to be placed in a state run nursing home in Bucks County, authorities alleged.

For more, see Upper Gwynedd woman charged in $300K theft nabbed after international manhunt.

Nephew Returns To Great Britain To Face Sentencing After Abusing POA To Rip Off 93-Year Old, Dementia-Suffering Aunt Out Of Home, Cash

In Scarborough, United Kingdom, the Scarborough Evening News reports:

• A 93-YEAR-OLD Scarborough woman was left almost destitute and reliant on the taxpayer for her care after her nephew drained her finances of £76,000, a court heard.



• Dementia sufferer Joan Gregory moved into the St Celia’s Residential Home in Scarborough and her affairs put in the hands of her only living relative, Peter Boden.



• However, York Crown Court heard that Boden, 63, drained her savings and attempted to sell her Scarborough flat in order to support his life in Spain.



• Boden, who voluntarily returned to England and handed himself into the authorities with little more than £2,000 to his name, appeared for sentencing on one charge of fraud and three of theft.



• Allan Ambrister, prosecuting, told how Boden, who has no fixed abode in this country, was granted Power of Attorney for his aunt’s finances and, over a period of time between 2008 and 2010 he moved £46,000 into his own accounts. The court heard that Boden then offered to sell Miss Gregory’s Scarborough flat to a West Yorkshire family who already owned several properties in the same block.



• He came to an agreement with the couple to sell them the flat for £75,000. The couple paid a £25,000 cash deposit and made some of the £2,000 agreed monthly payments towards the sale price before the facts of what was going on came to light.



• Boden had been legally advised that all monies from the flat sale should be paid into Miss Gregory’s accounts, but none ever was and all but a small amount of St Celia’s fees ever paid – the debt for her care running up to over £8,000.

For more, see Man drained aunt of £76,000 savings.

CBS News' 60 Minutes Takes Look Into Lack Of Bankster Prosecutions In Interviews With Two Whistleblowers

CBS News' 60 Minutes reports:

• Two whistleblowers offer a rare window into the root causes of the subprime mortgage meltdown.



• Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, and Richard Bowen, a former vice president at Citigroup, tell Steve Kroft the companies ignored their repeated warnings about defective, even fraudulent mortgages.



• The result, experts say, was a cascading wave of mortgage defaults for which virtually no high-ranking Wall Street executives have been prosecuted.

For more, see Prosecuting Wall Street.

To watch the 60 Minutes' segment, see:

• Prosecuting Wall Street, pt. 1,
• Prosecuting Wall Street, pt. 2,
• The business model: Risky loans.

Nevada AG Charges Three More Notaries In Massive Criminal Robosigning Prosecution

In Las Vegas, Nevada, The Associated Press reports:

• Three more Nevada notaries are accused of falsely attesting to legal signatures on foreclosure documents in a broad Las Vegas-area mortgage fraud scheme that has led to the indictment of two Southern California title officers, the state attorney general's office said Monday.



• The announcement that Meghan Shaw, Jennifer Lowe and Joseph Noel each face one charge of notarizing a signature of a person not in their presence came a week after Tracy Lawrence, the first notary identified as a key witness in the so-called "robo-signing" case, was found dead at home after missing sentencing on a similar charge.



• The charge is a gross misdemeanor and carries up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Court records filed Wednesday refer to Lowe as Jennifer Bloecker.



• Each of the three, like Lawrence, testified before a grand jury that handed up a more-than-600-count indictment accusing Geraldine Ann Sheppard, 62, of Santa Ana, Calif., and Gary Randall Trafford, 49, of Irvine, Calif., of heading a scheme that led to the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent foreclosure documents in Las Vegas between 2005 and 2008.



• Sheppard and Trafford are employees of a publicly traded company, Lender Processing Services Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., that provides technology and services to major banks across the company. Noel formerly worked for the company.



• The indictment alleges that Sheppard and Trafford directed employees to notarize forged signatures on documents filed with the Clark County recorder's office to begin home foreclosures.

For more, see 3 Nevada notaries named in foreclosure fraud case.

Upstate NY Sale Leaseback Peddler Gets 4 To 12 For Grand Larceny Conviction In Equity Stripping Ripoff Of Cash-Poor, Hi-Equity Homeowners In F'closure

In Albany, New York, the Albany Times Union reports:

• Five former employees of a Colonie firm that conned property owners, banks and lenders in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme are all headed behind bars and owe millions of dollars.



• The ex-members of the now-defunct Rivertown Investments at 1762 Central Ave. shed tears, apologized to victims and pleaded for leniency. The company's former owner denied being a criminal — and said it would be "simply impractical" to imprison him. That failed to move County Judge Stephen Herrick before a packed courtroom of victims and weeping relatives of the defendants.



• "I see this type of fraud very close, almost to a violent offense — it's different from other kinds of fraud," said Herrick, who described the actions at Rivertown as "extremely, extremely heinous."



• Former Rivertown owner Geoffrey Goldman, 32, of Albany, received 4 to 12 years in prison for grand larceny; his brother, Jonathan Goldman, 29, of Walden, Orange County, former vice president, received 1 1/3 to 4 years for scheming to defraud; disbarred attorney Kevin Wheatley, 39, of Waterford, the company's former in-house counsel and executive vice president, received 3½ to 10½ years for grand larceny; Jessica Peryea, 29, of Albany, a former sales director at Rivertown, received 1 to 3 years for grand larceny; and former Rivertown loan officer Jordan Laccetti, 31, of Saratoga Springs, received one year in jail for falsifying business records.



• Geoffrey Goldman was ordered to pay more than $5.6 million in restitution, which, when paid, satisfies the total amount sought. Wheatley owes more than $5.1 million; Jonathan Goldman more than $3.5 million; Peryea more than $3 million and Laccetti $908,000.

***

• The defendants solicited homeowners in financial distress to sell their homes to Rivertown. The outfit leased the homes back to the homeowners for usually 18 months under promises of net equity to be held as down payment on the repurchase of the properties.



• But the homes were never sold back, customers were evicted and clients who repurchased homes were forced to spend thousands of dollars beyond their initial agreements.



• Rivertown sales agents duped customers into believing the company would buy the homes while the firm actually hired straw buyers to apply for mortgages. The straw buyers would sign a "series agreement" or other documents to become members of Rivertown holding companies that received titles to the properties but never spent any money required under the deals.

***

• [Judge] Herrick noted [disbarred attorney] Wheatley has expressed fears his family could lose their home. "I find that somewhat ironic," the judge said.

***

• Rivertown had at least 105 lease-back properties in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey ranging in value from $112,000 to more than $2.6 million. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Nancy Snyder.(1)

For more, see 5 get jail, owe millions in mortgage schemeFormer employees of Rivertown Investments receive sentences.

(1) At one time, many in state and local law enforcement (particularly those with untrained eyes and who were otherwise clueless in handling 'semi-sophisticated' white collar crimes - for some, anything more complex than investigating a 'rubber check' case is 'semi-sophisticated') once passed on prosecuting these sale leaseback equity stripping ripoffs that under the flimsy pretense that these cases were merely 'civil matters.' Over the last couple of years, it's been primarily the Feds (U.S. Attorneys, FBI, Secret Service, etc.) that have been bringing prosecutions in these equity stripping ripoffs. However, as this story reflects, more and more state court prosecutors now appear to be stepping up to the plate and showing some guts by bringing criminal charges against these scammers. See, for example:

• Sale Leaseback Equity Stripping Peddler 'Scores' Guilty Verdict In Equity Stripping Ripoff; Grand Larceny, Scheme To Defraud, Conspiracy, Says Jury (Prosecuted by the Westchester County, NY District Attorney, a scammer who swindled four local families out of their homes was convicted after a jury trial of four felony counts of second-degree grand larceny and one each of first-degree scheme to defraud and fourth-degree conspiracy),



• Convicted Foreclosure Rescue Scammer Could Face Life Sentence On New Charges In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff That Fleeced 5 Victims (Los Angeles District Attorney charged alleged scammer with 23 felonies — including theft from the elderly, identity theft and real estate fraud — for allegedly tricking five people into unknowingly granting him title to their homes, and charged him under California's 'three-strikes' law),



• Foreclosure Rescue Scam Mastermind Found Guilty Of Dozens Of Felonies; Ran Upfront Fee Land Grant Scheme, Sale Leaseback Rent Skimming Racket (After an eight-week trial, and through the efforts of the San Diego District Attorney, a scammer was found guilty of 160 counts of conspiracy to commit grand theft, grand theft, rent skimming and deceitful practices by a foreclosure consultant),



• Delaware AG Levels 21-Count Indictment Against Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Racket Using "Divine" Cover In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff (The Delaware Attorney General obtained an indictment alleging that the scammer ran a criminal enterprise involving theft, money laundering, and forgery in which he preyed on vulnerable homeowners who faced imminent foreclosure),



• Central Florida Sale Leaseback Peddler Linked To 50 Ripoff Deals Gets 10 Years On Racketeering Charge; Targeted Cash-Strapped, High-Equity Homeowners (A joint prosecution by the Orange County, Florida and the state attorney general (under former AG Bill McCollum) led to the scammer copping a plea to a single count of felony racketeering after initially being charged with 12 first-degree felony counts, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and numerous counts of grand theft),



• NY AG Squeezes Guilty Pleas From 4 For Roles In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Racket; 1 Awaits Trial On 23 Felony Counts (After a New York Attorney General prosecution, four employees of a sale leaseback racket pleaded guilty in Albany County to felony charges that included grand larceny, scheme to defraud and falsifying business records, after the Attorney General's Office filed criminal complaints),



• Queens DA Bags Seventeen Suspects In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Racket (Queens County, NY DA (joined in the probe by the office of the New York State Banking Department and the New York State Police) variously charged the defendants with first- and second-degree grand larceny, first degree criminal possession of stolen property, first-degree money laundering, first-degree identity theft, second-degree forgery, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree falsifying business records, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, first-degree scheme to defraud and fourth-degree criminal facilitation.).

See generally:

• Criminal Prosecutions Of Sale Leaseback Peddlers In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Deals;
• Dreams Foreclosed: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams (June 2005).

New Jersey Foreclosures Slow To A Crawl While Lenders Wait For Ruling In Court Case Now Being Considered By State Supremes

In Newark, New Jersey, the Star Ledger reports:

• In the nearly five months since the state Supreme Court effectively allowed six of the country’s biggest banks to begin filing foreclosures again, attorneys and court officials have been expecting a flood of new filings to hit the courts. Except it hasn’t happened.



• Foreclosure filings are down 83 percent as of October this year, compared with the same time period last year, according to court figures, and there are at least 100,000 cases either pending in the system or waiting to be submitted.



• Attorneys involved in the work in New Jersey point to at least one reason for the significant delay: a court case that has reached the state Supreme Court, with oral arguments on Wednesday.



• The case, US Bank National Association v. Guillaume, is important because the court is asked to determine who must be named as a point of contact on the document that initiates the foreclosure process, known as the Notice of Intent to Foreclose. The state Fair Foreclosure Act requires identifying the lender and its contact information.



• But because the original lender has often bundled and sold the loans to investors, the current lender lists the servicer, a third party that collects monthly payments and dispurses it to the mortgage holder. In this situation, the lender’s attorney argued it was unnecessary to name his client on the notice because the servicer had been assigned the mortgage rights.



• Attorneys for the homeowners, Maryse and Emilio Guillaume, said listing the servicer is not sufficient, should the homeowner want to work out a solution and stay in the house, and any foreclosure judgment without the lender having been named should be voided.

***

• The [New Jersey] appellate and trial courts have ruled in favor of the trust, deciding it was appropriate to list the servicer. But in August, a separate appellate panel determined in a ruling known as "the Laks decision" that the statute requires the financial institution to name the actual mortgage holder, and if it does not, the foreclosure complaint should be dismissed.



• With its Guillaume decision, the Supreme Court is in effect resolving the conflict between the two appellate rulings. The Guillaume case was expedited through the courts, but there is no deadline for a decision.



• And in the meantime, foreclosure filings to the court have all but ground to a halt. There are an estimated 60,000 cases pending in the courts, according to bank figures, and more in the pipeline.

For more, see Future of foreclosures in N.J. hinges on state Supreme Court decision.

HAMP Paperwork-Processing Scams Pick Up Speed As Bogus 'Experts' Come Out Of The Woodwork To Grab Cash From Unwitting Homeowners

The New York Post reports:

• Once again, mortgage servicers are hitting ordinary New York homeowners where it hurts. The latest evidence is widespread scams tied to the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, which was supposed to help up to 4 million troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure.



• Servicers, which manage loans day to day, have collected a cool $666 million from the government for participating in HAMP. Too bad servicers make the HAMP application process so difficult for the ordinary homeowner, they’ve opened the door to bogus “experts” who claim to help — for a big fee.



• These cons are so out of control, the Office of the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), the Department of the Treasury, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have launched a new initiative to prevent HAMP scams at
  www.sigtarp.gov/pdf/Consumer_Fraud_Alert.pdf

***

• The typical fraud works like this. A scam artist advertises online, pretending to be affiliated with the government. The scammers charge New Yorkers an average of $4,500 upfront, do no work, then skip out with the cash. Some borrowers are even losing their homes as a result of scammers’ advice to ignore foreclosure notices.

***

• Long Island’s Nassau County is a hotbed of HAMP scams. Some scammers are former mortgage brokers and real estate executives, while others have ties to the mob.

For more, see Feds target HAMP scammers bilking owners.

The Snooze Is Over For Tarrant County Officials As Adverse Possession Home-Snatching Scams Clearly Appear On Their Radar

In Tarrant County, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:

• While county officials were asleep at the wheel, Tarrant County became a magnet this year for an odd assortment of squatters claiming other people's houses all over the area.



• The cast of characters includes a homeowner who scooped up a dead neighbor's house; a woman who came to Fort Worth from Memphis to lay claim to a $2.7 million mansion; people who cited Bible verses as legal justification for taking properties; and career criminals who grabbed homes to lease to tenants.



• All told, county records show that squatters and their associates claimed more than $8 million worth of properties, from Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Arlington to Fort Worth, Haslet and Keller, according to a Star-Telegram examination of county documents. Some of the squatters' elaborate schemes have stumped law enforcement officials.



• One Tarrant constable has even asked the Texas attorney general's office for help in straightening out the mess. "Everybody is just trying to learn what in the world is going on," said Mansfield Constable Clint C. Burgess. "It's the craziest thing how anyone could be so brazen to just break into a home and start living in it."



• The schemes are hard to unravel because of a loophole in a state law that allows people to suddenly claim supposedly abandoned sections of property if no owner is on the spot to challenge such a claim. The law's intent was to help ranchers and others who had tended vacant land for years, so they could eventually gain legal ownership of the property. That's done by filing a document called an adverse possession affidavit with the county clerk.



• But the law doesn't distinguish between a claim on a $27 section of sod and one on a $2.7 million mansion with an elevator, three master bedrooms, a five-car garage and a pond with fish in the back yard.



• File the proper paperwork, pay a $16 filing fee, keep up with the property taxes and live in the house three years or more, and even the courts may not be able to evict you.

For more, see Squatters claim more than $8 million worth of Tarrant County properties.

(1) For some examples of the off-the-wall paperwork being generated in connection with these home-snatching rackets, see:

• Police report from Forestwood Drive, Arlington,
• Affidavit claiming Forestwood Drive home, Arlington,
• Affidavit notarized by squatter's relative,
• Affidavit filed by "Minister Bey" on Mansfield property.

Another Investor Falls In Ongoing Mobile Federal Probe Into Foreclosure Sale Bid Rigging

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

• A Mobile, Ala., real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty [] for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama, the Department of Justice announced.



• Charges were filed [] in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile against Bobby Threlkeld Jr. Threlkeld was charged with one count of bid rigging to obtain selected real estate at foreclosure auctions and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.



• The department said that Threlkeld participated in a conspiracy to rig bids by agreeing to refrain from bidding against other investors at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Mobile County and its surrounding areas.



• The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and to make and receive payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.

***

• [These] charges are the latest filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama. In addition to [these] charges, on Sept. 15, 2011, Allen K. French, Harold H. Buchman and Buchman’s company, M & B Builders LLC, were each charged in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama with one count of bid rigging to obtain selected real estate in southern Alabama at foreclosure auctions.



• On the same day, M & B Builders was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. On Oct. 14, 2011, French, Buchman and M & B Builders pleaded guilty to the charges.



• The Antitrust Division and the FBI have identified a pattern of collusive schemes among real estate investors aimed at eliminating competition at real estate foreclosure auctions, and today’s charges are part of the department’s ongoing effort to combat this conduct and restore competition to public auctions.(1)

For the U.S. Justice Department press release, see Alabama Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Rig Bids for the Purchase of Real Estate at Public Foreclosure Auctions.

(1) The investigation into fraud and bid rigging at certain real estate foreclosure auctions in Southern Alabama is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office and the FBI’s Mobile Field Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office at 404-331-7100 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.

California AG Pinches Trio In Alleged Loan Modification Racket That Clipped Homeowners For Up To $5K In Upfront Fees For Bogus Mortgage Help

From the Office of the California Attorney General:

• Attorney General Kamala D. Harris [] announced the arrests of three top officers of a Stockton real estate company who took thousands of dollars in up-front loan modification fees and made false promises to lower the mortgage payments of struggling Central Valley homeowners.



• Magdalena Salas, 42, Angelina Mireles, 42, and Julissa Garcia, 36, of Stockton, were arrested today on 13 felony and two misdemeanor counts, including conspiracy, grand theft and false advertising. They are being held at the San Joaquin County Jail on $100,000 bail.

***

• Salas, owner of Legacy Home Loans and Real Estate, Mireles, her twin sister, and Garcia took up-front fees of up to $5,000 from dozens of Central Valley homeowners for loan modification services that were never performed.



• From November 2009 to August 2011, Salas and her employees circulated flyers throughout Stockton that read, in both English and Spanish: "We will save your home! Guaranteed!" and "Guaranteed new lower mortgage payments!" Along with the flyers, Legacy Home Loans ran television and radio advertisements in English and Spanish and broadcast its services on a billboard.



• Clients of Legacy Home Loans and its related businesses - including Salas Properties, Salas Estates, Peace and Freedom Legal Services and Divinity Legal Services - were promised a full refund if they did not receive a loan modification. Many clients ended up losing their homes.

For the California AG press release, see Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Arrests in Stockton Foreclosure Scam.

For the criminal complaint, see People v. Salas, et al.

Lawyer Who Copped Plea To Ripping Off $730K From 11 Clients Gets Extension On Prison Deferral Deal; Judge Says He'll Serve His 1-3 Yrs No Matter What

In Westchester County, New York, The Journal News reports:

• A disbarred real estate lawyer who was supposed to go to prison Friday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy clients got a brief reprieve in the hope he can pay more money back to his victims.



• Bruce Mogavero, an Eastchester resident who operated out of Yonkers, was set to receive a 1- to 3-year sentence after pleading guilty to grand larceny and fraud in Westchester County Court. He now will remain free until at least Jan. 24, when he must come to court with $50,000.



• His attorney, Andrew Rubin, promised Mogavero would pay $25,000 a month in restitution if the sentencing was delayed until April. Mogavero turned over a check for $169,350 today, which was a condition of his plea and sentencing promise.



• Assistant District Attorney Berit Hayes-Huseby argued against the delay, saying there was no proof Mogavero could pay that monthly sum. She said Mogavero, whose original sentencing date was Oct. 25, betrayed the trust of his clients and kept them in the dark for years about where their money had gone.



• Acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Molea gave Mogavero about seven weeks to keep his promise and remain free through April. If he doesn't come up with the money, he'll go to prison Jan. 24.



• Mogavero pleaded guilty to stealing from 11 clients, including a Tuckahoe homeowner and a Yonkers apartment seller, between 2008 and Jan. 1, 2011 by taking money that was supposed to stay in their escrow accounts. More victims were found this year, prosecutors said.



• He was ordered to pay a total of $731,710, but his lawyer said about a third of that sum was a personal loan that got rolled into the restitution order. He still owes more than $550,000 to his victims.



• In an interview with The Journal News last year, Mogavero, 55, said he borrowed the money so he could keep his business afloat to help struggling homeowners fight foreclosure.He said he helped more than 200 people stay in their homes, and had already repaid some money.



• The judge said he was moved by the number of letters he received urging a more lenient sentence. Mogavero's family and friends packed an entire side of the courtroom during the court proceeding.However, Molea also said several of Mogavero's victims wrote letters as well, urging a harsher sentence.



• The judge said Mogavero would serve the 1-to-3-year prison sentence, no matter what.

Source: Judge gives real estate Robin Hood more time to pay back victims.

Convicted NY Attorney Gets License Yanked For Role In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff

In New York City, Reuters reports:

• A New York attorney convicted in connection with a mortgage-fraud scheme that bilked $1.4 million from four families and two mortgage lenders was ordered disbarred this week by an appellate court.



• Eileen Potash, 54, was found guilty by a Westchester County jury in November 2010 of conspiracy in the fourth degree. In an order published Thursday, the Appellate Division, Second Department, relied on that conviction to ban Potash from practicing law in New York.



• Potash, who faced up to 3 years in prison, was ultimately sentenced to 5 years' probation and 180 days of community service, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's office. She was one of eight individuals charged following a nine-month mortgage-fraud investigation by the Westchester County DA and the New York State Banking Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau.



• Five of the defendants pleaded guilty, while three, including Potash, went to trial, according to the DA's office. One of the other two defendants was acquitted, prosecutors said, and the third defendant's trial ended in a mistrial.



• According to prosecutors, Potash and her co-defendants -- including lawyers, mortgage brokers and a husband-and-wife team posing as foreclosure-rescue specialists -- preyed on desperate property owners, convincing them to deed their homes to "investors" who would sell the homes back to them in one to two years.



• Instead, the defendants used the homes to obtain inflated mortgage loans from two lenders, Fremont Investment and Loan and Argent Mortgage Company, by misleading the lenders about the homes' actual purchase prices, prosecutors said.



• Potash, who did not oppose or respond to the appeals court proceeding, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Source: Appeals court disbars lawyer in $1.4 mln mortgage-fraud scheme.

For the court ruling, see Matter of Potash, 2011 NY Slip Op 08759 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. November 29, 2011) (per curiam).

Mobile Home Dealer Charged w/ Theft Now Faces Civil Suit Alleging She Never Delivered Clear Title To Would-Be Homebuyers Now Facing Foreclosure

In Rio Grande Valley, Texas, KGBT-TV Channel 4 reports:

• Some 43 customers of La Feria’s Park Girl Mobile Homes are asking a local court to step in and protect them from foreclosure.



• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA)(1) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the the customers, who are concerned about their mobile home purchases. The Park Girl owner Jo Leigh Ares remains in custody in the Cameron County Jail under $1.2 million dollars for multiple theft charges.



• Many of the clients claim that they never received their home, were never given the title to the property or even provided with property that carried previous debts, including taxes and mortgage liens.



• The customers are asking the court to prevent the collection of future payments, foreclosure, and the shutting off of utilities until their legal concerns are addressed. “These families came to us unclear and afraid of how this controversy would affect them,” said TRLA attorney Raul Noriega. “The legal issues go beyond holding people accountable for their actions. There are legal protections available for the victims too.”

Source: 'Park Girl' customers file lawsuit to protect against foreclosure.

For the lawsuit, see Reyes, et al. v. Ares, et al.

(1) Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income residents in sixty-eight counties of Southwest Texas, and represents migrant and seasonal farm workers throughout the state of Texas and six southern states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. In addition, TRLA operates public defender programs in several Southwest Texas counties, representing the poor who are accused of felonies, misdemeanors and juvenile crimes.

Massachusetts AG Lawsuit Accuses Banksters Of Improper Foreclosures Based On Bogus Docs, MERS Of Corrupting Public Land Recording System

The New York Times reports:

• Citing extensive abuses of troubled borrowers across Massachusetts, the state’s attorney general sued the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders on Thursday, seeking relief for consumers hurt by what she called unfair and deceptive business practices.



• In addition to creating a new and significant legal headache for the banks named in the suit — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage — the Massachusetts action diminishes the likelihood of a comprehensive settlement between the banks and federal and state officials to resolve foreclosure improprieties. Also named as a defendant in the Massachusetts suit was the electronic mortgage registry known as MERS, an entity set up by lenders to speed property transfers by circumventing local land recording officials.



• The attorney general, Martha Coakley, and her investigators contend that the banks improperly foreclosed on troubled borrowers by relying on fraudulent legal documentation or by failing to modify loans for homeowners after promising to do so. The suit also contends that the banks’ use of MERS “corrupted” the state’s public land recording system by not registering legal transfers properly.



• “There is no question that the deceptive and unlawful conduct by Wall Street and the large banks played a central role in this crisis through predatory lending and securitization of those loans,” Ms. Coakley said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “The banks may think they are too big to fail or too big to care about the impact of their actions, but we believe they are not too big to have to obey the law.”



• Ms. Coakley has been among the most aggressive state regulators in her pursuit of financial institutions involved in the credit crisis. In addition to her inquiry into foreclosure improprieties in Massachusetts, she has also conducted far-reaching investigations into predatory lending and securitization abuses.

For more, see Massachusetts Sues 5 Major Banks Over Foreclosure Practices.

See also: The Boston Globe: State sues five big US lenders (AG alleges banks skirted rules, sped foreclosures).

For the Massachusetts AG press release, see Five National Banks Sued by AG Coakley in Connection with Illegal Foreclosures and Loan Servicing (First Comprehensive Lawsuit to Address Foreclosure Crisis Seeks to Hold Banks Accountable For Illegal and Deceptive Conduct).

For the lawsuit, see Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Bank of America, N.A., et al.

Banksters' Ripoffs Now Extend To Homestead Exemption Fraud; Retain Tax Benefits On Foreclosed Homes Originally Claimed By Former Owners

In Providence, Rhode Island, GoLocalProv reports:

• Banks and other lenders have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on foreclosed homes in Providence, thanks to tax breaks that were intended to help homeowners, according to data obtained by GoLocalProv.



• This year, 44 banks and other companies have foreclosed on just over 341 properties in Providence, as of September. But those banks retained owner-occupied homestead exemptions on about 200 of those properties.



• In all, the exemptions—some as high as 50 percent—saved those banks about $422,615 on their 2011 tax bills, a GoLocalProv review of city data found.



• To Brenda Clement, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition of Rhode Island, the exemptions were blatantly unfair: “You shouldn’t be getting an exemption if you’re not a homeowner,” she told GoLocalProv.



• Six figure savings for big banks Those banks that racked up the most savings in exemptions are some of the biggest names in the mortgage industry. Topping the list were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants that are government-sponsored companies.



• Fannie Mae got a $121,722 in tax breaks on 61 properties it had foreclosed as of this month. Had it been billed at the full 2011 tax rate of $30.38 per $1,000 in value, the company would have owed an additional $121,000 in taxes.



• Freddie Mac saw its total tax bill sawed nearly in half, owing $53,124, instead of the $101,582 it would have had to pay without the homestead exemption.

For more, see Banks Cash in on Foreclosures in Providence.

Maryland AG Issues Cease & Desist Order Against Alleged Loan Modification Racket

In Baltimore, Maryland, Legal Newsline reports:

• Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler announced on Thursday that he has issued a cease and desist order against an allegedly unlicensed lawyer and his business for illegally providing professional services.



• Corey W. Hankerson and his business, The Equity Law Group LLC, allegedly preyed on consumers by offering legal assistance and credit services when Hankerson was not licensed as a lawyer or as a credit services professional.



• "Offering legal assistance or credit services without a license exploits those consumers who find themselves in trouble and desperate for help," Gansler said. "The licensing and registration requirements are there to ensure consumers spend their hard-earned money on getting the help they need from legitimate professionals."



• Hankerson allegedly charged consumers who were facing severe financial problems and foreclosures for supposedly providing loan modifications and legal representation in bankruptcy proceedings. He allegedly charged consumers thousands of dollars but provided them little or no services.

For more, see Gansler says lawyer not licensed.

Hawaii Regulator Files Suit Claiming Unfair & Deceptive Trade Practices In Alleged Loan Modification Ripoff

In Honolulu, Hawaii, HawaiiNewsNow reports:

• State consumer protection officials are going after a Village Park woman whom they say preyed upon a struggling homeowner. They say it's the first time they have filed a lawsuit in Honolulu Circuit Court under a Hawaii law designed to protect people who are facing foreclosure.



• Consumer protection officials previously filed a similar suit on Maui. They're hoping the legal actions send a strong message to others serving as mortgage rescue consultants.



• According to the state Office of Consumer Protection, Lucy Cablay committed mortgage rescue fraud by falsely promising relief to a distressed homeowner on Oahu.

***

• The state accuses Cablay of engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices while working as a Hawaii runner for a company operating out of Texas. The state's attorney says Cablay convinced the woman to pay an up-front fee of $3,450 to Caughern & Associates which, in turn, delivered a $600 kick-back for Cablay.



• "The ultimate end of that was that there were no mortgage rescue services, so she was out the money that she paid her," Kim said.

For more, see State files suit against woman accused of preying upon distressed homeowner.

Nephew Scams Elderly Man Suffering From Chronic Dementia Out Of His Home; Buys His Way Out Of Prison Time By Giving Back Ripped Off Funds

In Saskatoon, British Columbia, The StarPhoenix reports:

• A man who took advantage of his elderly uncle’s chronic dementia in order to steal his life savings avoided a jail term Friday when a Saskatoon judge handed him an 18-month conditional sentence in provincial court.



• Judge Robert Jackson ordered Terence Richard Webb, 43, to serve the first three months of his sentence confined to his home in Mission, B.C., followed by 15 months with a daily curfew of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. He also ordered Webb to perform 100 hours of community service with an emphasis on working with seniors, as long as he doesn’t have access to their money.



• Jackson said Webb only avoided incarceration because he repaid $65,000 to the victim — the amount the Crown was able to prove was stolen.

***

• Webb obtained power of attorney over his uncle [George Swan] in February, 2009, and a month later obtained joint tenancy for the Idylwyld Drive house where Swan had lived for many years.



• After a doctor diagnosed Swan with a severe form of chronic dementia, likely due to Alzheimer’s, in May 2009, Webb quickly placed his uncle in a private nursing home, signing a contract for a monthly rate of $1,750. The care home operator received only two payments, in July and September.



• Webb then sold Swan’s house for $125,000. “As per his ‘lawful’ entitlement (he) took one-half of the sale proceeds and then, by virtue of the power of attorney, took control for himself of the other half of the sale proceeds as well,” Jackson noted. “He then relieved (Webb’s) bank accounts of all remaining funds and relocated to Mission, B.C. The total amount of funds from the house sale and the bank accounts the Crown estimated to be $150,000.”



• Webb also helped himself to his uncle’s Old Age Pension and Canada Pension Plan benefits, which were mailed to him in B.C.

For the story, see Man gets house arrest for ripping off elderly uncle.

Purported Renter w/ Dubious History Hijacks Possession Of Vacant Home; DA's Response To Victimized Homeowners: Don't Bother Us - It's A Civil Matter!

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Citypaper reports:

• [Gerald] Sterrett agreed to help [Dwayne] Stewart try to negotiate a lease-to-own arrangement with his daughter and her husband, Heidi and Dave Conner, who had moved to Chicago and had been trying hard to sell their old house before resorting to renting.



• One day, while Stewart and the Conners were still negotiating a possible lease arrangement, Stewart asked Sterrett to borrow the keys — just, as Sterrett tells it, to show his future home to his mother.



• But — according to Sterrett and his family — Dwayne Stewart instead simply moved himself in at lightning speed, changed the locks and installed security cameras around the perimeter.



• Now, almost a year later, they still can't get him out.

***

• [A]fter several visits to the District Attorney and after doing what they asked — sending a certified notice to leave, obtaining legal authority to represent his daughter and son-in-law in matters relating to the house — Sterrett was informed in a letter from Assistant District Attorney Michelle Comia-Wolfe that his case "lacks prosecutorial merit," and was being rejected for reasons of "judicial economy," "prosecutorial discretion" and because a "civil remedy" existed.



• In other words, Sterrett and the Conners would have to pursue the case on their own, in civil court.

***

• Still, Stewart — as Sterrett himself explained to the District Attorney's office in a long letter — has a history that bears looking into. Stewart has been sued over a dozen times in Philadelphia alone.



• In 2010, he was sued for alleged deed theft of a property on the 900 block of West Huntingdon Street and sued again by one Delia Boykin, a woman claiming Stewart had tried to rent the same place to her and bilked her out of her $800 security deposit.



• A remarkably similar claim was made the same year by one Nicholas Jacquez, who also sued Stewart in landlord/tenant court, claiming the latter had stolen a $2,250 security deposit for the lease of another property.



• Another lawsuit, filed by Bucks County couple John and Robyn Catagnus, alleged Stewart had bilked them out of more than $40,000 when, they say, he failed to deliver on a construction project.



• In March, Stewart was charged criminally in Northumberland County for forging a $14,000 check to his own construction company. According to court records, that case is still open.

For more, see Home Wrecker (He says a scammer stole his family's house. Legal loopholes have stopped them from getting it back).

Thanks to Deontos for the heads-up on the story.

Lawsuit: Lawyer Pocketed 50% Of Client's Home Sale Proceeds; Refuses Requests To Fork Over The Cash; Won't Talk To Now-Former Client

In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:

• Frederick W. Fournier seeks to have a local state district judge compel a Friendswood attorney to release funds he accumulated during previous divorce proceedings, recent court documents say.



• Fournier's lawsuit requests Galveston County 10th District Court Judge David Garner grant a temporary restraining order barring defendant Kevin M. Prendergast from withholding $70,250.



• Court papers, which were filed Nov. 16, state the plaintiff hired Prendergast to represent him in his divorce from his wife, Michele, in the Harris County 309th District Court. It was during the pendency of the divorce when Fournier sold and closed on a home he owned in the same county.



• The proceeds from the transaction were sent to his spouse, who then delivered the entire amount to her attorney for safekeeping awaiting the disposition of the case.



• The original petition shows the litigants obtained a court order calling for one-half of the funds that lawyer Anson Phipps was holding to be allocated to Prendergast.



• The divorce suit was dismissed for want of prosecution and has been reinstated though the complainant and his wife are trying to reconcile, however, the defendant failed and refused to pay Fournier the money in dispute, the suit says.



• Fournier adds "the respondent has now blocked the plaintiff's calls and has refused to talk with the plaintiff, and has been and continues to be evasive."



• In addition to the amount in question, he seeks the defendant's disbarment.

Source: Man sues attorney to recover funds from divorce. ripoff reimbursement

Feds Tag Municipality, HOA With Housing Discrimination Against Families With Children Over Purported 55+ Age-Restricted Condo Complex

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

• The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against a California municipality and a homeowners’ association for discriminating against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.



• The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the city of Santa Rosa, a California municipality, and La Esplanada Unit 1 Owners’ Association, a homeowners’ association, sought to restrict residency at a condominium complex to seniors aged 55 and older.



• While the law allows such an exemption, the suit alleges that neither the city nor the homeowners’ association took the necessary steps, such as routine age-verification procedures, to qualify for the exemption in a way that was consistent with the Fair Housing Act.



• Consequently, their actions unlawfully denied and made housing unavailable to families with children. The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the defendants, monetary damages for those harmed by the defendants’ actions and a civil penalty.



• “It is critical that families with children have opportunities to find housing. A housing developer or a municipality cannot deny housing to families with children and restrict its housing to seniors 55 years and older unless they comply with the requirements set forth in the Fair Housing Act,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce fair housing laws that protect the rights of families with children.”



• This lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the owner and representative of a portion of the condominium development that was the subject of the defendants’ enforcement actions. After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and the matter was referred to the Justice Department.

For the U.S. Justice Department press release, see Fair Housing Lawsuit Filed Against California Municipality for Discriminating Against Families with Children.

Would-Be Tenant Gets Taken For $1,200 Deposit As Rent Scams Targeting Unwitting Victims Continue

In Portsmouth, Virginia, WVEC-TV Channel 13 reports:

• [Paula] Jones was ripped off in a rental house scheme. She responded to a "for rent" sign at a home at 1500 Effingham Street in Portsmouth. When she met the landlord, who identified herself as Sharon Wilson, she wasn't allowed to go inside because Wilson told her the house was being renovated.



• Jones paid a $1,200 deposit anyway, on what appeared to be just the house she was looking to rent. When she got the keys weeks later, the house was completely trashed with no signs of any rehab work being done. Profanity covered the walls, holes were in the ceilings, junk and dirt were everywhere.



• Later, Jones discovered the lease was fake and the inspection report on the home had been fabricated. As it turns out, the house was condemned by the city of Portsmouth last Spring, after it was listed with numerous code violations.

For more, see 13News viewer helps rental scheme victim.

BofA At Center Of Another Public Nuisance; Burned Out, Dilapidated Pre-F'closure Brownstone Sinks Quality Of Life On One Harlem Block

In New York City, WNBC-TV Channel 4 reports:

• Neighbors who live on one Harlem block are growing angrier each day they are forced to look at a burned out, dilapidated building on their block. Residents are upset, they say, because Bank of America took over the premises at 465 W. 147th St. in foreclosure proceedings started in March 2008, and despite promises to maintain the property, it has been left to rot.



• “I’ve been here since 2000 and in the last two or three years it’s just really spiraled downhill,” said Devaughn Johnson, who lives in the neighborhood. The bank says it hasn't had the legal ability to take full ownership of the property to fix the eyesore.



• “The building remains in pre-foreclosure status,” said Rick Simon, spokesman for Bank of America. He explained that the foreclosure has not been completed and, until recently, the bank had no legal right to enter the property and remove squatters.



• NBC New York has learned that police have been called to the address 19 times in the last year. The police calls come after the city had two of the units in the building sealed off and listed as “public nuisance” in September 2010.

For more, see Harlem Neighbors Claim Foreclosed Building Left to Rot (Residents are angry at an eyesore controlled by a bank).

For story update, see Signs of Progress at Blighted Harlem Brownstone (Less than a day after NBC New York's report on the dilapidated building, city workers and bank representatives are responding).