10-Week Program Seeks To Steer Pennsylvanians In Financial Difficulties In The Right Direction For Assistance
For more, see Hit hard times? New state effort may help.
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.
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For the full story, see Former Ohio AG Marc Dann Reprising Mortgage Cop Role.
For posts that reference the failure of mortgage lenders and their attorneys to file the proper paperwork when bringing foreclosure actions, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, and Go Here.
(1) For some recent case law addressing the connection between a party in a court action not having the legal standing to bring a lawsuit and a court not having jurisdiction to entertain the lawsuit, see Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Lack Of Standing & Void Judgments. EpsilonMissingDocsMtg
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For more, see Riverside judge orders businessmen to repay $29 million to scam victims.
(1) In addition to the SEC civil lawsuit, the defendants have been sued by a group of the investors and are under criminal investigation by the Riverside District Attorney and possibly by state and federal law enforcement agencies.
For the entire press release, see Operation Homestead: AG Six goes after mortgage fraud and scams targeting Kansans (Six sues five companies, extends assistance to Countrywide customers, increases education on foreclosure).
(1) According to the press release, two of the defendants operate "Redemption Rights Scam," Six said. After a homeowner loses a home to foreclosure, the companies approach the homeowner and buy their rights to redeem the home, lease the house back to the homeowner, and then when the homeowner can't afford to buy the house back, they sell the house for a profit of more than $20,000. The companies Apple Asset, LLC, in Overland Park, and Rush Properties, LLC, in Olathe.
(2) According to the press release, three defendants allegedly operate loan modification scams, Six said. The companies offer to negotiate modifications to the homeowner's mortgage for a sizable fee. However, the extent of the service that the company provides is to mail in documents on behalf of the consumer. The companies are Kirkland Young in Florida, ABS Saveco in Georgia, and Helping Hands Support Services in California.
For the story, see New law gives homeowners more time to escape foreclosure.
For the story, see Scams prompt call for licensure in mortgage-modification business.
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For the entire California AG press release, see Brown Sues Foreclosure Consultant and Attorney Who Conned Homeowners into Paying Thousands for Phony Lawsuits.
For the California AG's lawsuit, see People v. United First, Inc., et al.
Go here for other posts related to this operation.
(1) Brown's lawsuit contends that Noe, Roth and United First:
(2) In addition to the current hot water this pair is in, Paul Noe Jr. was convicted of wire fraud in 1989 and the subject of a California Department of Insurance Cease and Desist Order in 2004; and Mitchell Roth resigned from the California State Bar in late May 2009, after the State Bar closed his law firm (see SF Weekly: State Bar Takes Over 'Son of Super Swindler' Law Firm -- 2,000 Con Jobs Too Late).
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For more, see Title Insurance Company Owner/Operator Charged In $1.7M Fraud Scheme.
Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other stories of trust account / escrow account theft of funds.
(1) A title abstract company or agent performs title searches and other functions on behalf of a title insurance company, including issuing title insurance policies in the title insurance company's name, recording mortgages and deeds, and holding money in escrow. EscrowRipOffKappa
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For the Staten Island DA's press release, see D.A. Donovan: Two Former S.I. Residents Accused of $1 Million Real Estate Title Fraud, Tax Evasion (Joseph Devito, 39, & Mary Ann Palladino-DeVito, 41, Accused of Embezzling Over $1 Million from Customers & Title Insurance Company, Face up to 25Years in Prison).
For the indictment, see People v. Palladino, Devito.
Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other stories of trust account / escrow account theft of funds. EscrowRipOffKappa
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For more, see Investor nightmare (Trusting professionals unwittingly buy into a housing deal that leaves them in financial ruin, and they want answers).
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For more, see Beazer agrees to pay victims $50 million.
For the U.S. Department of Justice press release, see United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against National Home Builder and Mortgage Lender:
(1) According to the Department of Justice, the settlement resolves allegations that when Beazer Mortgage Corp. made Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured mortgage loans for the purchase of homes built by Beazer Homes USA Inc., the companies fraudulently and improperly:
Source: Struggling OC homeowners to get free legal advice.
(1) Reportedly, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin translators will be on hand at the Garden Grove clinics. You have to call the Asian Pacific American Legal Center to make an appointment.
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For the story, see Homeowners contend courts must review documents.
For earlier stories on Sarasota's foreclosure "rocket docket," see:
For posts that reference the failure of mortgage lenders and their attorneys to file the proper paperwork when bringing foreclosure actions, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, and Go Here.
(1) Reportedly, Kessler conducted a study of 180 Sarasota County cases and found only one in four had complete paperwork. EpsilonMissingDocsMtg
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For more, see Kirk Homes bankruptcy leaves homeowners in limbo (STUCK IN MIDDLE: With Kirk Homes in bankruptcy, many homeowners can't refinance because of contractors' claims).
For more on homeowners left in the lurch due to actions by builders/contractors, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here.
Go here for other posts involving legal issues related to title insurance.
(1) Reportedly, Sinnett's situation isn't unique as builders across the country fold or file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
(2) Reportedly, Sinnett shared documents showing liens totaling more than $140,000. "It's costing us hundreds of dollars per month to not be able to refinance. No mortgage company wants to talk with us about refinancing with all those liens," she said.
(3) If faced with a lien on your home, attorney Mark Nora, vice chair of the Chicago Bar Association's real property committee, provides this advice in the article:
For more, see Elite Lists for Foreclosure Work Under Scrutiny (Firms frustrated over difficulty in qualifying for work on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosures; Connecticut attorney general is investigating).
For more on the Connecticut attorney general inquiry on how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and mortgage-processing services company Lender Processing Services Inc. select law firms for foreclosure services, see:
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For more, see ‘Unscrupulous’ loan tactics cited (LBM Financial and owner Mallegni fined $1.1M).
For Judge Rosenthal's recent ruling in this matter, see 219 Forest Street LLC et al v. LBM Financial, LLC et al (6-30-2009).
Go here for Judge Rosenthal's April 8, 2009 ruling resulting in the discharge of one of the mortgages in this case pursuant to the application of Massachusetts "Obsolete Mortgages Statute" - M.G.L. ch 260, section 33.
Go here for other posts on accusations of strong arm money lending practices made against these "hard money" lenders.
(1) According to the story, many of the state and federal lawsuits filed against Mr. Mallegni and LBM also name David G. “Duddie” Massad, chairman and primary owner of Commerce Bank, as a defendant.
(2) An earlier Worcester Telegram & Gazette story (see Strong-arm tactics are alleged - LBM Financial target of complaints) reports, in the following excerpt, how LBM Financial routinely dodges the application of the Massachusetts criminal usury statute in lending transactions by availing itself of a huge loophole in the state's law that allows a lender to charge more than the maximum interest rate, provided that it notifies the state attorney general in writing ahead of time about it (see M.G.L. Chapter 271: Section 49(d). Criminal usury). Keep in mind that actually obtaining approval to make these loans from the state attorney general (or any other government authority, for that matter) is not necessary; you merely have to let the AG's office know, in writing, that you're going to do so.
Go here for an example of an LBM Financial letter informing the Massachusetts AG it will be charging usurious rates.
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For the story, see Man convicted in mortgage-fraud scheme.
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For the entire press release, see Stumped Spokane seniors told they didn’t own their homes (Mobile-home park owner changes sales terms after Attorney General’s Office steps in).
(1) The purchase agreements and promissory notes required new West Prairie Village homeowners to make monthly payments with 9 percent interest amortized at 15 years. Although the agreement referenced a “5-year term,” it wasn’t clear to purchasers that they were responsible for a balloon payment. At the end of five years, owners were told they needed to pay off the remaining balance or renew their contracts at a 12-percent interest rate. rent to own lease purchase option scams yellowstone
For the Oakland City Attorney press release, see Oakland reaches settlement with JPMorgan Chase on eviction lawsuit.
Go here for other posts on illegal foreclosure evictions in violation of Oakland, California's Just Cause Ordinance.
(1) For more from the Oakland City Attorney's Office on these illegal foreclosure eviction lawsuits, see:
(2) According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, Joseph McNulty will pay $3,000 and Percy Cheung of Smart Choice Realty will pay $2,500, said Alex Katz, spokesman for City Attorney John Russo.
For more, see Pasco man spent mother's $150,000 line of credit on drugs, party, deputies say.
Go here, here, here, here, here, and here for other posts on elder financial abuse. FinancialAbuseOfElderlyAlpha
For more, see MCSO: Valley business owner, immigrant stole dead man's ID.
For more, see For sale: Anything and everything inside foreclosed homes (A new trend called foreclosure stripping is against the law, but authorities and banks aren’t stopping it).
For examples of foreclosure stripping ads on Craigslist.com:
Go here for other posts on foreclosure stripping.
(1) Reportedly, Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry King said the situation is not as clear as some make it out to be. It’s not always illegal, King said, and suggested new laws may be needed. “The gray area is it’s not officially the bank’s until it’s actually turned over to the bank,” King said. “So what the homeowner does is at their discretion, or something is in place mortgage-wise or statutorily.” In Collier County, Chief Jim Williams, the Sheriff’s Office head of investigations, expressed concern over taking resources away from other investigations, such as those into online child predator schemes, to concentrate on an as-of-yet unexplored area of the law. foreclosure fixture stripping apple
Source: Woman Commits Suicide to Avoid Eviction.
Go here and go here for other posts on incidents during home evictions. DeputyEvictionTheta
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For more, see Judge won’t dismiss City’s suit against Wells Fargo (if link expires, try here).
Go here for Judge Legg's 4-page order.
For earlier reports on this case, see:
(1) In addition to denying Wells Fargo's Motion To Dismiss the lawsuit, the court, in footnote 1 of this order, grants the City of Baltimore's Motion To Amend its Complaint.
(2) According to an earlier report, the two whistleblowers claimed their co-workers targeted black ZIP codes and churches, used software to “translate” marketing materials into African-American vernacular, and referred to subprime loans in minority communities as “ghetto loans” and to borrowers as “mud people.” The loan officers, who worked for Wells Fargo in the Baltimore-Washington area from the late 1990s until 2007, also reportedly alleged that bank employees deceptively steered prime borrowers into subprime loans for their own financial benefit and joked that they were “riding the stagecoach to Hell.”
Source: What if your apartment complex forecloses? New law may ease the big surprise.
(1) In judicial foreclosure states, basic foreclosure law says that unless all parties holding legal interests in real property (including leasehold interests, liens, etc.) that are subordinate to a mortgage in foreclosure are served with notice of the lawsuit, those subordinate interests are not cut off and will survive the foreclosure action. For this clerk of the court to decide not to issue summonses to tenants in possession of property in foreclosure actions (and thereby abridging their due process rights) to save money seems pretty ridiculous. I also find it hard to believe that the clerk's attorney advised him to do this.
For more, see Hearing set to certify Chinese drywall class.
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For more, see Clearwater apartments condemned (County: homes are hazardous).
See also:
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For more, see Local Man In the Doghouse In Housing Rental Scheme (Accused Fake Landlord goes to Trial in Suffolk).
Go here, go here, go here, and go here for posts on phony landlord rent scams. KappaPhonyLandlordScam
Source: Man receives deferred sentence in obtaining money by false pretense case.
Go here, go here, go here, and go here for posts on phony landlord rent scams. KappaPhonyLandlordScam
For more, see IMPD: Ex-staffer is arrested in fraud (Police say forged signature was attempt to avoid foreclosure).
For follow-up stories, see:
For more, see Cape Coral man gets 22 years for fraud (Ran $30 million real estate scheme).
For the press release from the U.S Attorney (Tampa/Fort Myers), see Cape Coral Man Sentenced for Role in $30 Million Mortgage Fraud Case.
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For the entire Ohio AG press release, see Investigation of Alleged Mortgage Fraud Scheme Leads to 83-Count Indictment.
Go here for the indictment.
(1) Benjamin Tubbs, 49, of Pickerington, Kevin Murphy, 50, of Blacklick, and Karl Mullins, 33, formerly of Columbus and now residing in Florida, are alleged to have acted as the mortgage brokers and orchestrators of a scheme to buy and sell houses at highly-inflated prices and to falsify loan documents in order to skim ten of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars from each sale. Also indicted are: Cynthia Underdew, 53, of Columbus (loan officer and mortgage loan coordinator); Karen Axline, 48, of Granville (operated the now-defunct Granville Title Agency); Kevin Gray, 48, of Reynoldsburg; Nina Masseria and Tim Arrington of Carriage Trade Realty (real estate agents); appraisers Joseph Colegrove and Scott Walisa and assistant appraiser Terri White; Earron West, 38, of Columbus (loan officer); and Nina Dearing, 29, of Columbus.
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For more, see Much-admired city initiative saves 1,400 homes from foreclosure.
See also, The Philadelphia Inquirer: A milestone for mortgage-foreclosure diversion program.
For the entire announcement, Nevada Supreme Court Adopts Rules For Foreclosure Mediation Program.
For the story, see Judges, Non-Profits Offer Foreclosure Help.