Unwitting Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Signs Over Home
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Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
To read more, see Appraisers Say Pressure on Them to Fudge Values is Up Sharply
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Links to online reference articles on the HETPA can be found in my January 22 HETPA post.
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In addition, according to the indictment, the deals involved:
In addition to these four members of the fraud ring currently under prosecution, three other members, who are named but not charged in the indictment, already pleaded guilty to related federal charges when the current charges were filed in September 2005 (presumably, they opted to "sing to the Feds" in exchange for possible leniency).
The trial in this case is set to start Tuesday in Federal Court before Judge Walter Rice.
In expressing the vigor in which the mortgage fraud task force is approaching their investigations in Montgomery County, a local police detective who helped organize the task force said of them,
For the entire story, see House Flipping Shell Game Special Report in the Dayton Daily News.
See also Mortgage scams built on promises leave nightmares in wake regarding the Federal case slated to start on Tuesday.
(Both articles contain a "Click-2-Listen" audio feature.)
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Labels: mortgage fraud flipping
Having said that, the Nebraska high court went on to state:
A second point worth noting is that this case illustrates another method of attacking foreclosure rescue transactions. Unlike the equitable mortgage cases reported elsewhere on this blog (in which proof of fraud is not necessary), the homeowners' action in this case were based on allegations of fraud, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, rescission, and violations of Nebraska’s Consumer Protection Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (and importantly for private practice attorneys that are considering handling these types of cases, the $378,000 fee award was based on an attorney fee provision contained in the state Consumer Protection Act, and also involved the application of a "contingency fee" or "lodestar" multiplier that increased the "lodestar amount" (the base fee) by 30 percent).
Sources:
Rising foreclosures fuel fraudulent offers of aid (Seizures, byzantine terms spring from promises to help owners keep homes) (MSNBC website)
High Court Slams Foreclosure Scamsters, (WOWT, Channel 6 News - Omaha, NE)
Eicher v. Mid America Financial Investment Corp.. 270 Neb. 370, 702 N.W.2d 792 (2005) (made available online by Findlaw.com)
Counsel For Homeowners:
Mark C. Laughlin, Andrea F. Scioli, and Tamara D. Borer, of Fraser, Stryker, Meusey, Olson, Boyer & Bloch, P.C.,
Catherine Mahern, of Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic (Creighton Legal Clinic - Creighton University School of Law)
D. Milo Mumgaard, of Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
(revised 4-23-07) equitable mortgage zebra
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See Long Island Couple Lose Home, "Skimmer" Convicted for previous coverage of this story.