The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Brooklyn Duo Dupe Homeowner Into Giving POA To Facilitate Refinance, Then Sell Home Out From Under Her, Says DA

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Brooklyn Duo Dupe Homeowner Into Giving POA To Facilitate Refinance, Then Sell Home Out From Under Her, Says DA

In Brooklyn, New York, WNYC Radio 820 AM recently reported on the Brooklyn District Attorney's announcement of charges against 12 people for a variety of unrelated housing schemes. The following excerpt describes one of the alleged scams:

Prosecutors say two of the alleged repeat offenders, Russell Pitt and Nathan Farkas, convinced an unemployed Brooklyn woman to grant them power of attorney so they could refinance her home. Instead, prosecutors say they sold her home and kept the proceeds. Attorneys for both men could not be reached.

Source: Real Estate Scams Flourish in Brooklyn.

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University of Cincinnati Law Review: Banks, Break-Ins, and Bad Actors in Mortgage Foreclosure The New York Lawyers’ Fund: 38 Years of Client Protection (The misappropriation of a law client’s money by an attorney in the practice of law, while an aberration, is properly a debt owed by the legal profession)

Law Client Protection Funds (A Bibliography of Reported Cases and Selected Materials)

CBC News: Lawyers misappropriated millions from clients' funds but few faced criminal charges (Disciplinary actions include suspension, disbarment for professional misconduct)

CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)

University of Pennsylvania Law Review: "If You Can't Trust Your Lawyer ....?"

The New York Times: When Lawyers Steal the Escrow

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The Associated Press: N.Y. fund for cheated clients wants thieving lawyers disbarred

The Missouri Bar: Righting Wrongs (Compensating Clients Financially Harmed By Their Attorneys' Actions) Forbes: Guardianship In The U.S.: Protection Or Exploitation?

The Wall Street Journal: Abuse Plagues System of Legal Guardians for Adults (Allegations of financial exploitation and abuse are rife, despite waves of overhaul efforts) (Non-WSJ subscriber? Try here, then click appropriate link) The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)

The New York Times: Market for Fixer-Uppers Traps Low-Income Buyers

The New York Times: Housing That Ruins Your Finances and Your Health (ie. Rent-To-Own, Contract For Deed, Land Contract Ripoffs)

National Consumer Law Center: Toxic Transactions: How Land Installment Contracts Once Again Threaten Communities of Color

Chicago Reader: The Infamous Practice of Contract Selling Is Back in Chicago (Wall Street-backed firms are duping would-be homebuyers, 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr. and west-side activists fought against housing discrimination)
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Philly.com: In booming Philadelphia neighborhoods, lead-poisoned soil is resurfacing

ThinkProgress: The hidden toxic threat in America’s backyards

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The New York Times: Seller-Financed Deals Are Putting Poor People in Lead-Tainted Homes

The New York Times: Their Soil Toxic, 1,100 Indiana Residents Scramble to Find New Homes

The Washington Post: How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks

Maryland Attorney General: Attorney General Frosh Files Suit Against Access Funding for Exploiting Lead Paint and Other Injured Marylanders

Lawsuit: State of Maryland v. Access Funding, LLC, et al. The Yale Law Journal: In Defense of "Free Houses"

Rolling Stone: Why the Banks Should Be Broken Up - by Matt Taibbi The New York Times: Pivotal Nursing Home Suit Raises a Simple Question: Who Signed the Contract?

NJ.com: Read the Fine Print: Pre-dispute Arbitration Language in Long-Term Care Contracts Strips Families of Their Rights New Republic: The Section 8 Voucher Trap (For Yonkers families, the search for affordable housing is long and weary) Institute for Justice: Policing for Profit (The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture - 2nd Edition) (go here for press release) The New York Times: Real Estate Shell Companies Scheme to Defraud Owners Out of Their Homes (Relying on the secrecy of limited liability companies, white-collar thieves are targeting pockets of New York City for fraudulent deed transfers, leaving the victims groping for redress)

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The NY Times: Arbitrating Disputes, Denying Justice (Editorial) The Guardian: Corrupt justice: what happens when judges' bias taints a case? ProPublica: The Color of Debt: How Collection Suits Squeeze Black Neighborhoods (First-of-its-kind analysis shows that the suits are far more common in black communities than white ones)

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CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE STATES: A 50-State Report on Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Statutes CBS News Video: Pay Up Or Move Out

CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'

The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge) ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)

CNN Video: Produce The Note!

CNBC Video: Foreclosure Loophole Video: Fight Foreclosure: Make ‘Em Produce The Note!

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Statute

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Press Release (with State by State Fact Sheets) Video
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by Katherine M. Porter
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Full Report (228 Pages) Report: Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Survey and Best Practices (42 Pages - 0.5 MB)

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Class Action Litigation Guidelines

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AARP on Reverse Mortgages Bankruptcy Basics @ uscourts.gov
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Rest In Peace
Erskin Radford
(1954-2008)

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Brooklyn Duo Dupe Homeowner Into Giving POA To Facilitate Refinance, Then Sell Home Out From Under Her, Says DA

Foreclosure Abuse Thru Premature Trash-Outs

Lawyers & Theft Of Escrow/Trust Account Money

Abuse Of The Guardianship System To Fleece The Elderly. Infirm & Disabled Of Their Money, Property

Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets

The Costs of Being Poor

Fair Housing: Assistance Animals

Lead Contamination In Homes & Rental Apartments

Commentaries on Banksters & Their Handiwork

Use of Arbitration Clauses In Nursing Home Contracts To Strip Families Of Their Rights

Section 8 Housing Voucher Trap

Property Snatching Scams By Prosecutors & Police

Home-Snatching Scams In New York City

Zombie Debt Buyer Abuse Of Consumers/Court System

Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System

Corruption/Bullying On The Bench

Debt Collection Suits Squeezing Black Neighborhoods

More On Crappy Foreclosure Titles After Masschusetts High Court Rulings

Unmasking The Loan Modification Rackets

Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements

MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases

Stemming Sewer Service In New York City

Robosigners Return

Void vs. Voidable

Commentary On The Crappy Title Mess Created By Fraudulent Foreclosures

Articles On MERS Authority To Act In Foreclosure Actions

Criminal Prosecutions Of Foreclosure Rescue Scams

FTC Report On Dealing With Bill Collectors & Zombie Debt Buyers

Promissory Note Primer

Video: Foreclosure Fraud Crisis Explained

Get Up To Speed On Spotting & Preventing Foreclosure Rescue Scams

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

Video "Tutorial" Demonstrates Use Of Dubious Affidavits, Assignments, Notary Acknowledgements By Lender, Law Firm In Foreclosure Actions

Walking Away From An Underwater Mortgage?

10-Year Report Addressing Myriad Of Access-To-Justice Challenges Facing Low-Income New Yorkers

National Consumer Law Center Reports

Foreclosure "Rocket Dockets" - The "Rubber Stamp" Method Of Foreclosure Adjudication

"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions

Consumer Warning Network On Missing Promissory Notes & Servicing Secrets In Foreclosure Actions

Federal Trade Commission On Avoiding Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Freddie Mac On Foreclosure Rescue

Educational Videos On Recognizing Mortgage Foreclosure Scams

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Reports From The Center For Responsible Lending

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act

Study: 98% Of Loan Mods Reviewed Resulted In No Reduction In Principal Balance; No Monthly Payment Reduction In Nearly 50%

Defaulting on the Dream: States Respond to America’s Foreclosure Crisis - The Pew Charitable Trusts Report

ABC NEWS Nightline On Mortgage Servicing Company Ripoffs

Download Article Examining Mortgage Servicing Companies' Frequent Non-Compliance With Law In Consumer Bankruptcy Cases

Massachusetts Attorney General Report on Predatory Lending

NYS Commission Of Investigation On Subprime Mortgage Lending

National Community Reinvestment Coalition Study On Mortgage Lending & Race

Reverse Mortgages: Niche Product or Mainstream Solution? Report on the 2006 AARP National Survey of Reverse Mortgages Mortgage Shoppers

U.S. Conference Of Mayors: Vacant & Abandoned Properties And The Foreclosure Crisis

$60 Million and Counting: The Cost of Vacant and Abandoned Properties to Eight Ohio Cities

PBS' Bill Moyers Journal On Destruction Of Cleveland, Ohio's Slavic Village Due To Unregulated Proliferation Of Subprime Loans

Informational Resources To Promote, Support Vacant Property Revitalization Efforts

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