Wednesday, April 15, 2009

MERS Was Set Up By Lenders To Handle Predatory Loans & Keep Their Hands Clean, Says Reno Attorney

In Reno, Nevada, KOLO-TV Channel 8 reports:
  • A local woman wins an 11th-hour temporary restraining order halting the foreclosure on her home. Her attorney says her case could be the key to keeping thousands more in their homes.

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  • [Attorney Bob] Hager says the real significance of this case is that, in addition to Executive Trustee Services and GMAC Mortgage, it exposes and names MERS...the Mortgage Electronic Registration System which he says was set up by mortgage banks and AIG to handle predatory loans while keeping their hands clean. "It was set up to conceal from the public, regulators and the courts the actual owners of these deeds of trust. When they figured out how to make money off of bad loans, they brakes were off and they started writing these bad loans as fast as they could so they could get them into the hands of investors without worrying about the risk associated with these loans going into default. They needed MERS to do that."

  • Now Hager says MERS is the important target. "If these MERS deeds of trust are unlawful as we contend in lawsuits here, and in Arizona and California, we could stop 70 percent of the foreclosures across the country." A hearing on [his client's] suit is set for April 27 in Reno Federal Court. In the meantime, she can breathe a little easier, but relaxing is still a long court fight away.

For more, see Foreclosure Stalled, Attorney Says a Win for Thousands More (read story) (watch video).