Friday, October 28, 2011

Another Title Agency Owner Goes Down For Illegally Pocketing Real Estate Escrow Account Cash While Stiffing Mortgage Lenders On Lien Payoffs

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):
  • U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Michael A. Gmeinwieser, age 38, of Severn, Maryland, [] to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in a scheme to divert over $3 million in settlement funds intended to pay off the previous mortgage on the properties to himself and his company. Judge Hollander also ordered Gmeinwieser to pay restitution of $3,041,497.

***

  • According to Gmeinwieser’s plea, he was the sole owner of Innovative Title LLC (“Innovative”) located in Odenton, Maryland, and was responsible for preparing settlement statements, issuing title insurance, disbursing mortgage proceeds and other funds, and ensuring that relevant paperwork was properly completed for real estate closings. Gmeinwieser arranged real estate purchase or refinancing transactions that entailed temporarily depositing funds from a mortgage lender into Innovative’s escrow account to pay off the lien secured against the property by a prior lender.


  • From 2005 to 2009, instead of transferring the funds held in escrow to the prior lender as promised, Gmeinwieser diverted the funds to other uses for himself and Innovative. Gmeinwieser’s misappropriation of funds occurred during real estate transactions involving third party borrowers as well as transactions in which he refinanced mortgages secured by properties he owned.


  • After carrying out refinancing transactions involving third party borrowers, Gmeinwieser made monthly mortgage payments on the borrower’s behalf in an effort to decrease the likelihood that the borrower would discover that their original loan had not been paid in full as agreed.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Title Company Owner Sentenced for Wire Fraud in Scheme to Divert over $3 Million Intended to Pay off Previous Mortgages.

Pinched Home Hijacking Suspect: 'I Didn't Mean To Commit Crime; I Filed All Proper Paperwork I Learned About At 'Adverse Possession' Seminar'

In Fort Bend County, Texas, KHOU-TV Channel 11 reports:
  • A woman who is facing criminal charges for squatting in a Fort Bend County home said she never intended to break the law. “I work hard every day and I didn’t do this from a criminal standpoint at all,” said Chinyere Ngwu outside her family’s southeast Houston restaurant. Ngwu spoke out a day after a Fort Bend County grand jury indicted her on charges of burglary.


  • The case involves a home located in the 4400 block of Everhart Terrace Circle near Missouri City. Ngwu attempted to assume possession of the property, which she believed was in foreclosure. “I followed all of the proper procedures and filed all of the paperwork,” she said.


  • Ngwu said she learned about the practice called adverse possessionat a seminar in Houston. But not long after she began to move her belongings into the house, neighbors discovered that the property had not been foreclosed on.


  • We contacted the owner,” said Pam Foster. “We knew this individual wasn’t supposed to be there and had broken into the house.” Confrontations between Ngwu and the neighbors followed.


  • Eventually, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office started to investigate, and the district attorney decided to pursue charges. Ngwu said all she wanted was a good place to raise her three children. “We all live and learn,” she said.

Source: Woman charged with squatting in vacant house says it’s a misunderstanding.

Cops Nab Renter In Alleged Vacant Foreclosed Home Hijacking Racket; Suspect Invokes 'Unwitting Dupe' Defense; 'I Had No Idea!'

In DeKalb County, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:
  • A man, who told Channel 2 Action News he was an unsuspecting victim, is now under arrest. Prosecutors said Matthew Lowery posed as a renter, in a scheme to steal empty houses.


  • DeKalb County deputies had been looking for Lowery since a grand jury indicted him three weeks ago. They found him Monday night living at a Staybridge Suites motel in Sandy Springs. "I'm worried. I mean yeah I've invested money in this and this is my home," Lowery told investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer in August. Fleischer found Lowery living in a $600,000 home on Shade Tree Way in Cumming. The home was owned by a bank, and prosecutors said it was vacant until a woman named Susan Weidman took it over.


  • An indictment alleges she created a bogus lease for Lowery to live there. A DeKalb grand jury indicted Weidman, Lowery, and another renter, Ian Greye, for racketeering. "If you know someone has stolen a house, has misappropriated property, then you should not participate by staying there even if they tell you that it's okay," DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said.

***

  • Prosecutors said Weidman was the ringleader and filed bogus paperwork to take over the houses, before placing Greye and Lowery in them.

For more, see Man who claimed he was victim, arrested in house-stealing scheme.

Proposed Class Action Tags Loan Servicer, Law Firm Sweatshop With Charges Of Piling On Bogus Fees On Homeowners During Sloppy Or Fraudulent F'closures

From a BHN Law Firm press release:
  • On behalf of a proposed class of distressed homeowners residing in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, BHN Law Firm filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo) and one of its principal foreclosure law firms. The caption of the Complaint, filed on October 24, 2011, is Giles v. Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg, LLP, 1:11-cv-06239 (D.N.J.).


  • The Complaint alleges that Wells Fargo and Phelan, Hallinan & Schmieg (Phelan), a high-volume foreclosure law firm in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to "pile on" unlawful foreclosure fees from financially troubled families on the brink of losing their homes. The lawsuit contends that, to carry out the scheme, defendants systematically filed falsified complaints, affidavits and mortgage assignments to bring foreclosure actions in the name of parties without legal standing to sue.

***

  • The Complaint alleges that, during th[e] process [of foreclosing on one homeowner], Phelan and Wells Fargo

    (1) identified the wrong financial institution as plaintiff,
    (2) recorded bogus mortgage assignments,
    (3) filed court documents containing untrue statements of material fact,
    (4) included multiple versions of the same lawyer's "signature" in different documents filed in the same case;
    (5) charged vastly overstated foreclosure fees and
    (6) despite a formal warning by the misidentified bank, heedlessly continued to file later foreclosure actions against other homeowners "on behalf" of the same improperly named bank.

For the press release, see PA and NJ Homeowners File Foreclosure Fraud Class Action Against Wells Fargo and Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg (Wrongful Foreclosures by Mortgage Servicer and Law Firm Allegedly Drive Systematic Scheme to Impose Foreclosure Fee Overcharges).

For the lawsuit, see Complaint - Giles v. Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg, LLP, 1:11-cv-06239 (D.N.J.).

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Sale Leaseback Equity Stripping Peddler 'Scores' Guilty Verdict In Equity Stripping Ripoff; Grand Larceny, Scheme To Defraud, Conspiracy, Says Jury

In White Plains, New York, The Journal News reports:
  • The last defendant in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud case that officials say swindled four Westchester County families out of their homes was convicted of theft, fraud and conspiracy Tuesday.


  • A jury found Mildred Didio of Manhattan guilty of four felony counts of second-degree grand larceny and one each of first-degree scheme to defraud and fourth-degree conspiracy. She faces a maximum of 15 years in state prison when she is sentenced Jan. 25. She also could be sentenced to a minimum of five years' probation.


  • Prosecutors said she was involved with a group of eight who stripped homes from families in Croton-on-Hudson, Yorktown, Cortlandt and Mount Vernon; and scammed two mortgage lenders out of $1.4 million. All were arrested in 2009.


  • The group told victims, who they found through notices of public auction and foreclosure, that they could transfer their deeds to an investor, who would hold the titles while they saved money to reclaim their homes.


  • But once the "investor" took title, the group's members got inflated mortgages, which they used to pay off the original mortgage and kept the remainder for themselves. The former owners have filed lawsuits to try to reclaim their losses.


  • Didio, 46, represented the straw buyers or acted as a settlement agents for the lenders. Hubert "Phil" Hall, a former editor at a precursor to The Journal News, and his wife, Doreen Swenson, are serving two to six years in prison after pleading guilty to grand larceny and fraud. Prosecutors said the Tarrytown couple helped set up the phony mortgages.


  • David Reback, an attorney from Rye Brook, and Amerigo DiPietro of Brewster, who owned Interstate Monetary Concepts in Briarcliff Manor, pleaded guilty to their roles in the scam. Prosecutors said they were the principal players. They were sentenced to a year in jail. Eileen Potash of Queens was convicted at trial of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, but acquitted of second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud. She was sentenced to five years probation.


  • Frank Corigliano, a lawyer from Newtown, Conn., was acquitted of all charges by the jury that convicted Potash. Wilma Shkreli of Westwood, N.J., who posed as an investor, pleaded guilty to grand larceny. She is to be sentenced Nov. 22. This was Didio's second trial for her role in the scam. Her first ended in a hung jury.(1)

Source: Last of 8 defendants convicted in multimillion dollar mortgage scam.

For more on these sale leaseback foreclsoure rescue ripoffs, see:

(1) Apparently, the jury agreed with the prosecutor that all the sophisticated paperwork in the world (ie. business/purchase contracts, leases, closing statements, etc.) aren't enough to permit scammers to insulate themselves from criminal prosecution when targeting their victims simply by entering into legitimate-looking business contracts when screwing them over in an attempt to disguise a blatant criminal ripoff as a common, legitimate business deal.

This is not the first time that prosecutors (at least those with some guts) and courts have been asked to pierce through the acrobatics involved in creating the 'business-deal disguise' when the scammers argue that the arrangement was just a civil transaction that, if challenged, should be done with a civil lawsuit, not a criminal prosecution. See:

  • People v. Frankfort, (1952) 114 Cal.App.2d 680, 700; 251 P.2d 401:

    The simple answer to this argument is that "The People prosecuting for a crime committed in relation to a contract are not parties to the contract and are not bound by it. They are at liberty in such a prosecution to show the true nature of the transaction." (
    People v. Chait, 69 Cal.App.2d 503, 519 [159 P.2d 445]; People v. McEntyre, 32 Cal.App.2d Supp. 752, 760 [84 P.2d 560]; People v. Jones, 61 Cal.App.2d 608, 620 [143 P.2d 726]; People v. Pierce, supra, p. 605.)

  • People v. Jones, (1943) 61 Cal.App.2d 608, 620 [143 P.2d 726]:

    Defendant argues that the deal with each "seller" was a civil transaction; [...] Cloaked in the draperies of his corporation and pretending to act in its behalf, he boldly approached his unsuspecting victims.

    [***]

    Although each deal in its incipiency bore the color and trappings of a normal, civil contract, yet when subjected to a postmortem it exhaled the stench and disclosed the carcass of a fraud. (People v. Epstein, 118 Cal.App. 7, 10 [4 P.2d 555].) There appears no sign of good faith at any turn. Each taking and appropriation was a grand theft.

    The use of the corporate name and the promises made in accomplishing his purpose were a camouflage of such common variety that no excess of genius was required to discern the fraud. Parol evidence of all that occurred was admissible to show the intention of defendant. (People v. Robinson, 107 Cal.App. 211, 221 [290 P. 470].)

NY AG: Joint Criminal Probe With Delaware Counterpart Into Banksters' Foreclosure Fraud Role Ongoing

Bloomberg reports:
  • New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is working with his Delaware counterpart, Beau Biden, to investigate what he called possible “criminal acts” by financial institutions tied to the foreclosure crisis.


  • This was a man-made crisis -- it was created by regulatory neglect and greed,” Schneiderman said last night in a TV interview.


  • Beau Biden, who is the attorney general of Delaware, and I thought we really needed to dig in a little bit deeper,” Schneiderman told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “We’re also looking at the conduct of individual institutions and individuals to see if there were misrepresentations made, to see if there was any fraud committed, to see if criminal acts were also a part of this.”

For more, see New York Working With Delaware on Criminal Foreclosure Probe.

Recent HUD Charges May Indicate Race Discrimination In Housing Remains Alive & Well

From recent press releases from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:
  • HUD CHARGES WISCONSIN LANDLORD WITH REFUSING TO RENT TO AFRICAN AMERICAN COUPLE (La Crosse property manager encouraged whites to apply while telling blacks no apartments were available):

    HUD brings the charge on behalf of the couple, alleging that Geneva Terrace, Inc. and Victoria Gerrard, the owner of Geneva Terrace Apartments, and property manager Nicolai Quinn refused to show an apartment to the complainants. Additionally, they falsely represented to the couple and other black applicants that no units were available, while informing white applicants of available units and encouraging them to apply. (lawsuit here);


  • HUD CHARGES CONNECTICUT PROPERTY OWNER, MANAGER WITH DENYING HOUSING TO AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY:

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it is charging Merline and Clifton Hylton, the owner and manager of a rental home in Windsor Locks, Connecticut with violating the Fair Housing Act for denying a request by biracial tenants to sublease their home to an African American family. The current tenants allege that Mr. Hylton told them he was rejecting the prospective sub-tenants because he “did not want too many blacks at the property.” (lawsuit here);


  • HUD CHARGES OWNER AND MANAGER OF CINCINNATI APARTMENT COMPLEX WITH RACE DISCRIMINATION:

    According to the charge, HOME conducted two sets of paired tests in response to allegations that Valley Woods Apartments was rapidly changing from being predominantly black to predominantly Hispanic. The first African American tester called three times in four days, and was given different reasons each time for the manager being unable to schedule an appointment to view an apartment.

    The final time the tester called, the apartment manager allegedly informed him that she was waiting for another applicant to pay the deposit on the only available unit and suggested he call back in a week.

    In contrast, on the next day when a Hispanic tester called to inquire about an available apartment, the apartment manager allegedly offered to show him the unit that day. The Hispanic tester followed up with two more phone calls, during which the apartment manager provided him with information about the unit and suggested how he could reserve it for himself. The Hispanic tester then scheduled an appointment and was able to tour a two-bedroom apartment.

    Two weeks later, the same two-bedroom apartment was still available when a second African American tester called the apartment complex to inquire about available units. The apartment manager returned his call and informed him that the two-bedroom apartment had been rented and that she did not know when any other unit would be available, and advised him to call back in two weeks. According to the Charge, when the second Hispanic tester called the next day, the apartment manager offered to show him the two-bedroom apartment immediately. (lawsuit here).

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Third Participant In Maryland Real Estate Escrow Account Ripoff Goes Down; Scam Left Title Insurance Underwriter Holding The Bag, Cleaning Up The Mess

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):
  • Stephen J. Troese, Sr., age 72, of Davidsonville, Maryland, pleaded guilty [] to wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud lenders and a title insurance company of at least $937,183. The government contends the loss is between $2.5 million and $7 million. The exact amount of the loss will be determined at sentencing.(1)

For the entire U.S. Attorney press release, see Owner of Title Companies Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

(1) For earlier posts on the recent guilty pleas of two other participants in this ripoff, see:

Nevada AG Pinches Suspected Vacant Home Hijacker On Charges Of Obtaining Money Under False Pretenses, Theft, Burglary

From the Office of the Nevada Attorney General:
  • The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced the arrest of Steven Patrick Nohrden, 36, of Las Vegas, on two counts of burglary, two counts of theft, and two counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.


  • The criminal complaint alleges that Nohrden operated a property rental scam in Las Vegas by identifying and gaining access to certain vacant homes in the Las Vegas area and - without the knowledge or consent of the true home owners – falsely claimed that he was authorized to rent those homes to unsuspecting renters.


  • Relying upon Nohrden’s alleged misrepresentations, individuals then moved into these homes and made rent payments to Nohrden. The true home owners eventually discovered that these individuals were living in their home without their consent, bringing the scam to light.

For the Nevada AG press release, see Nevada Attorney General Announces Arrest Of Steven Patrick Nohrden In Property Rental Scam.

FHA Targets 'Scratch-And-Dent' Investors In Effort To Unload Discounted Federally Insured Home Loans In Default; Some Have Dubious 'Subprime' Past

Bloomberg reports:
  • [T]he Federal Housing Administration is auctioning thousands of defaulted mortgages at prices marked down by as much as 65 percent. If the pilot works as planned, the government mortgage insurer will cut its losses by avoiding foreclosures while giving borrowers a better chance of remaining in their homes.


  • This pilot program is a potential win-win-win,” Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said in an e-mail.


  • Still, as the program joins other small-scale government housing initiatives, it illustrates the challenges policy makers face as they try to revive the housing market. So far, investors in the loans are scratch-and-dent specialists who buy less-than-perfect debt and try to squeeze a profit out of it.


  • In the long run, they might have little interest in continuing to work to keep troubled borrowers from losing their homes. In some cases, the investors are the same people who originated subprime loans in the run-up to the 2008 credit collapse or later ran afoul of regulators.

***

  • Borrower advocates say they are troubled by the participation of companies whose principals were subprime lenders or who have drawn scrutiny from regulators in the past. The FHA program “is a way to continue to line the pockets of the predators who created this mortgage crisis,” said Bruce Marks, chief executive officer of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a Boston-based non-profit that aids and counsels troubled borrowers.

    Consent Order

  • One of the four firms that have bought notes through the program is Bethesda, Maryland-based MCM Capital LLC. MCM Capital employs Steven Trowern, a former director of Dynamic Capital Mortgage Inc. in Brookline, Massachusetts.


  • According to a 2009 consent order and state officials, Dynamic was found to have falsified loan documents and misled borrowers. Without admitting wrongdoing, Trowern signed an agreement that he wouldn’t own or manage a mortgage company in the state for three years.

For more, see Vulture Investors Buy Discounted FHA Loans.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Florida Appeals Court: Defect In Stipulation Agreement Left Judge Without Jurisdiction To Summarily Enter Foreclosure Judgment Upon Subsequent Default

A Florida appeals court recently ruled that a trial judge improperly overstepped his bounds and exceeded his jurisdiction(1) by summarily entering a foreclosure judgment on a property owner who, after entering a stipulation agreement with the lender in an effort to cure an earlier default, subsequently found himself unable to make the payments on the stipulation agreement.

According to the appeals court, the basis for their reversal was simply the fact that the stipulation did not include a provision authorizing the trial court to summarily enter a final judgment of foreclosure upon a default.(2)

For the ruling, see Sarhan v. H & H Investors, Inc., No. 3D10-3394 (Fla. App. 3d DCA, October 19, 2011).

(1) See generally:
  • The Florida Bar Journal: Enforcement of Settlements: A Jurisdictional Perspective, for a discussion on the jurisdictional issues that arise when reopening a case for the purpose of enforcing a settlement which "have troubled the courts of Florida and vexed litigants and their attorneys for decades."


  • The Florida Bar Journal: Florida’s Third Species of Jurisdiction, for a discussion on the confusion that has arisen in the Florida courts over the years over what exactly is meant by the term “jurisdiction.”
(2) From the court ruling:
  • When a trial court approves a settlement agreement by order and retains jurisdiction to enforce its terms, the trial court’s continuing jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement is circumscribed by the terms of the agreement. See Paulucci v. Gen. Dynamics Corp., 842 So. 2d 797, 803 (Fla. 2003).

    In this case, the parties agreed in their stipulation to modify the terms of the note and mortgage. The stipulation did not include a provision authorizing the trial court to summarily enter a final judgment of foreclosure upon a default. In so doing, the trial court exceeded the jurisdiction it reserved for itself in the order of dismissal. Compare Zimmerman v. Olympus Fid. Trust, LLC, 847 So. 2d 1101, 1102 n.2 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (“Although the settlement agreement provided that the Zimmermans . . . ‘agree[d]’ to waive any defenses to the foreclosure of the mortgage, . . . [t]he agreement fell short of providing that if the payments were not made when due, a final judgment of foreclosure could be entered against the Zimmermans.”), with BAC Int’l Credit Corp. v. Macia, 626 So. 2d 1037, 1038 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (finding the settlement should have been enforced in accordance with its terms, which “provided that if the payments were not made when due, an agreed final judgment of foreclosure would be entered against the borrowers”).

    Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Arizona Regulators Seize Insolvent Underwriter; Downfall Atttributed To Insuring Too Many Crappy Home Mortgages That Ended In Foreclosure

In Phoenix, Arizona, The Associated Press reports:
  • Insurance regulators in Arizona have seized the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group, which will begin paying claims at just 50%. The seizure follows heavy losses at PMI since the housing market bubble burst.


  • Two months ago, state regulators ordered the Arizona-based subsidiary, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., to stop selling new policies after it came under scrutiny because it didn't have enough money on hand to meet the requirements of regulations in that state.


  • A statement on PMI's website says a court order, signed by an Arizona Superior Court judge on Thursday, gives Arizona's Department of Insurance full possession and control of the subsidiary. Beginning Monday, PMI says claims will be paid at just 50%, in lieu of a moratorium on claim payments. Meanwhile, PMI said it will "continue to support our customers' ongoing policy servicing needs, and loss mitigation programs."


  • Private mortgage insurance protects lenders and investors from losses if a homeowner defaults and the lender doesn't recoup costs through foreclosure. The insurance costs the borrower a monthly fee, typically a set percentage of the total mortgage loan.


  • Like other mortgage insurers, PMI has been able to sell profitable policies in recent years, but the gains from those sales hasn't outpaced losses from policies sold before the housing market collapsed. As flagging home prices have strapped borrowers, the company has had to pay more claims.

For more, see Ariz. regulators seize PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.

HUD Continues Battle Against Landlord Housing Discrimination Against Families With Children

From various press releases from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:

Monday, October 24, 2011

Walls Beginning To Close In On Title Insurance Industry After Recent Massachusetts High Court Foreclosure Rulings?

A recent article on Amvona shines light on the apparent reluctance of many in the title insurance industry to discuss the implications of the recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, a ruling earlier this year by the same court in U.S. Bank National Association v. Ibanez, and a case currently before the court in Eaton v. Fannie Mae and Green Tree Servicing, LLC [go here for the lower court ruling currently on appeal).

One might conclude after reading this article that the title insurers and their agents are beginning to feel the walls closing in on them for writing all the title policies on the crappy foreclosure titles in the past,(1) and may be in a position that they're all forced to keep issuing them because, in this economy, they need the cash flow to stay above water.

For the article, see Houston, we've got a problem - Bevilacqua.

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

(1) For more on the crappy title problem in connection with improperly foreclosed homes, see:

Citi To Cough Up $285M To Resolve Charges In Alleged Mortgage-Backed, "Dog$#!t" Paper Peddling Racket; Some Call Settlement A Bull$#!t Deal

The New York Post reports:
  • Citigroup really stepped in it this time. The bank was forced to shell out $285 million in a settlement linked to the sale of 2007 vintage mortgage bonds one unnamed Citi trader described as dogsh-t,” according to a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.


  • The settlement follows allegations by the SEC charging that Citi tailor-made a $1 billion pool of toxic mortgages, handpicked to blow up after the bank unloaded it to an unsuspecting client.


  • Citi’s hefty penalty marks the biggest since Goldman Sachs shelled out a whopping $550 million a year and a half ago to settle allegations that it mislead investors in originating toxic mortgage securities.


  • Investors were not informed that Citigroup had decided to bet against them and had helped choose the assets that would determine who won or lost,” Robert Khuzami, enforcement director at the SEC, said in a statement.


  • A second bank, Credit Suisse, agreed to pay $2.5 million for its role in arranging the structured residential mortgage offering.


  • According to the SEC, Citi pocketed $160 million from arranging the debt. The CDO debt, known as Class V Funding 111, which was sold to 15 investors, lost almost all of its value within months.


  • At one point, the SEC suit states, an unnamed Citi trader referred to the CDO offering asdogsh-t” and “possibly the best short ever.”(1)


  • Citi has settled the charges without admitting or denying any wrongdoing. The SEC also sued former Citi banker Brian Stoker(2) while another former Credit Suisse banker, Samir Bhatt, agreed to pay $50,000 and serve a six-month suspension from working as an investment advisor.(3)

Editor's Note: Apparently, there is more than meets the eye in this settlement as it is viewed with some disdain in some quarters.(4)

Source: Citi fined $285M for selling dog$#!t paper.

See also, Securities and Exchange Commission press release: Citigroup to Pay $285 Million to Settle SEC Charges for Misleading Investors About CDO Tied to Housing Market (Former Citigroup Employee Separately Charged for His Role in Structuring Transaction).

(1) See U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (paragraph 58):

  • [O]ne experienced CDO trader characterized the portfolio as "a collection of dogsh!t" and "possibly the best short EVER!" An experienced CDO collateral manager commented, "the portfolio is horrible."

(2) See SEC Complaint Against Brian H. Stoker.

(3) Order in the Matter of Credit Suisse Alternative Capital, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Samir H. Bhatt.

(4) See:

Nevada Supreme Court Orders Sanctions On Banksters For Conduct In Violation Of State Foreclosure Mediation Law

The Las Vegas Sun reports:
  • While the constitutionality of the state's foreclosure mediation law is being challenged, the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that penalties should be imposed on two lending companies that failed to follow those rules.


  • The court said Washoe District Judge Patrick Flanagan should determine the appropriate sanctions against Wells Fargo Bank and First American Loanstar-MERS for their conduct in two separate cases.


  • In 2009, the Legislature, responding to a wave of foreclosures, enacted a law setting up a system for lenders and homeowners to meet to see if some compromise might be worked out to avoid a foreclosure. From September 2009 until June 30, 2011 there were 12,556 mediation meetings.


  • But in another case before the Supreme Court, Wells Fargo is challenging the validity of the foreclosure mediation law, saying it is taking real property without just compensation.


  • In the two cases decided Wednesday, the court ruled that in both instances the lending companies failed to bring to the mediation sessions certified copies of the mortgage note and appraisals of the property as required by law. The court overturned both decisions of Flanagan, who issued foreclosure certificates after the unsuccessful mediations.

***

  • Wells Fargo has appealed to the Supreme Court. In its opening brief, the bank says the ruling by Flanagan "is a taking of real property and other private property for a public use without any compensation, much less just compensation, which violates the Taking Clauses of the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions."

For the story, see State Supreme Court orders banks be sanctioned for not following foreclosure mediation.

Loan Servicers To Think Twice About Filing Faulty Foreclosure Docs In Nevada As Potential Felony Charges Could Loom Under New State Law Now In Effect

Housing Wire reports:
  • Many mortgage servicers stopped initiating foreclosures in Nevada because of a new law, which carried threats of criminal penalties for faulty filings.


  • Assembly Bill 284 took effect Oct. 1, making it a felony if a mortgage servicer or trustee made false representations concerning a title. There also will be a $5,000 fine assessed if fraud, such as robo-signing, is detected. The new law requires servicers to provide a new affidavit that provides the amount due on the mortgage, who is in possession of the note and who has the authority to foreclose.

For more, see Potential felony charges make servicers pause Nevada foreclosures.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Mass. High Court Ruling Voiding Title To Property Bought At Faulty Foreclosure Also Leaves Four Condo Homebuyers (& Their Title Insurers) Holding Bag

The following excerpts in The Boston Globe on the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, an Ibanez follow-up case dealing with the rights of a purchaser at an invalid foreclosure sale indicates that, in addition to the foreclosure buyer (real estate developer Francis J. Bevilacqua) ending up with a void title to property, there may be four other subsequent bona fide purchasers of the subject property who have apparently also been left holding the bag:
  • The court’s decision could have major repercussions because it raises the specter that anyone else who purchased foreclosed homes with questionable paperwork may not actually own those properties. The court did not address who does own the Haverhill property, if not Bevilacqua.

***

  • Already the court’s ruling implicates others beyond Bevilacqua, as he subsequently built and sold four condos on the property, so that it would appear the buyers of those condos likely do not own their homes.

Source: SJC puts foreclosure sales in doubt.

California AG Begins Putting Squeeze On BofA In Probe Into Suspected Peddling Of Crappy Mortgage-Backed Securities

The Los Angeles Times reports:
  • Investigators with the state attorney general's office have subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. in connection with the sale and marketing of troubled mortgage-backed securities to California investors, according to a person familiar with the probe.


  • The state is trying to determine whether the bank and its Countrywide Financial subsidiary sold investments backed by risky mortgages to institutional and private investors in California under false pretenses, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested confidentiality.


  • The subpoenas, which were served Tuesday, come as talks continue for a broad foreclosure settlement by a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies. California walked away from those discussions with major banks more than two weeks ago, saying what the banks were offering was not enough and the state would pursue its own investigations.

For more, see California reportedly subpoenas BofA over toxic securities (California is trying to determine whether BofA and its Countrywide Financial subsidiary sold investments backed by risky mortgages to investors in California under false pretenses, a source says).

Pennsylvania Lawsuit Says Securitization Process Waives Bankster Foreclosure Rights; Homeowner Seeks Damages Recovery, Invalidation Of Mortgage Loan

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports:
  • The millions of mortgages that were bundled into giant investment pools and traded like stocks shouldn't be subject to foreclosure, according to an unusual lawsuit filed Wednesday.


  • That's because when banks chose to turn mortgages into investment products, they gave up the right to take the house, attorney Luke Lucas argues.


  • His lawsuit in U.S. District Court focuses on one Plum man's mortgage. But if its theory were accepted by courts, it would have huge implications for the entire mortgage market.

***

  • The lawsuit alleges violations of multiple federal laws. It seeks cancellation of Mr. Schott's debt, repayment of interest paid times three and damages including punitive damages. The lawsuit names Bank of America, several of its subsidiaries and the Bank of New York Mellon as defendants. BNY Mellon became the trustee for the REMIC, it said.

For more, see Plum man files suit over home foreclosure.

Thousands In Central Florida Pushed Into Foreclosure Over Rampant 'Force Placed Insurance' Fraud? Homeowner Advocate: Bankster Scam Is Running Rampant

In Hernando Beach, Florida, Fox Channel 13 reports:
  • Thousands of people in Hernando County are being forced into foreclosure because of what banks call "force placed insurance." But some homeowners and their advocates call it fraud, and they are fighting back.


  • At issue is homeowner's insurance. If a homeowner doesn't pay it, the bank will buy insurance and bill the homeowner. In Hernando County, where sinkholes are rampant, insurance rates have skyrocketed.


  • It has left people like Joyce Wogan vulnerable. Wogan pays her mortgage on time every month, but she just got an ominous letter from the bank. . It read in part "....your current flood insurance doesn't meet the minimum required amount. We've purchased temporary insurance to protect our investment in the property."


  • Here's the problem: Wogan's annual insurance premium went from rough $1,500.00 a year to more than $7,000.00. Wogan's attorney calls it a case of fraud.


  • "This fraud is running rampant," Mark Stopa said. He accused Wogan's bank and others of buying insurance policies at hugely inflated prices as a way to improve profits. He said often the insurance companies are associated with the banks.(1)

For more, see Forced insurance leading to foreclosure.

(1) For more on the banksters' force placed insurance racket, see:

Saturday, October 22, 2011

GA Cops Pinch 'Sovereign Citizen' In 'Paper Terrorism' Case; Suspect Allegedly Targeted Government Officials w/ 'Maritime Liens' Filed Against Homes

In Fannin County, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:
  • A north Georgia man is under arrest, accused of threatening several public officials through what law enforcement officers call "paper terrorism." Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Robert Eugene Stephens filed fraudulent liens against his victims. "If you have an issue with wanting a new credit card, something as simple as that or a loan, or you want to sell your property your house, then you're gonna have a problem," GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.


  • According to arrest warrants, Stephens went to the Fannin County Courthouse in Blue Ridge in September and filed the fraudulent documents against the personal properties of Georgia's Speaker of the House, the Fannin County Clerk of Court, a Superior Court Judge and her secretary, the Fannin County Tax Commissioner and two others. "It can be a nightmare to straighten out and so when it came to our attention our agents went out and obtained the arrest warrants," Bankhead added.


  • Agents arrested Stephens at his home in Mineral Bluff, seizing additional documents and his computer. He's facing a total of 12 counts, including the intimidation and obstruction of court officers.


  • "In this case it was pretty clear that this was a violation of the law what he did," said Bankhead. "When they interviewed him he was pretty wrapped up in this 'sovereign citizen' issue, and you couldn't convince him otherwise."


  • Stephens also filed court paperwork calling himself a "sovereign citizen." The group typically espouses anti-government philosophies and files documents that can be time consuming and frustrating to combat.


  • Bankhead said Stephens referred to his paperwork as "maritime liens." "What they do they come up with their own version, based on this maritime lien, which is an actual Coast Guard lien for ships. They feel a person is 90 percent water, so that's some relationship to a vessel. So they feel they can use this maritime lien to file liens against public officials," Bankhead said.


  • Agents said it may sound ridiculous, but the liens and other bogus paperwork filed by "sovereign citizens" can cause real problems. They're usually designed to bog down court systems and frustrate the law enforcement and public officials they target.

For more, see Police arrest, accuse man of "paper terrorism"

Title Agency Owner Nailed For Attempt To Cover Escrow Shortage By Refinancing Home, Failing To Pay Off Existing Mtgs, Applying Proceeds To Shortfall

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):
  • James Kevin Hughes, age 53, of Crownsville, Maryland pleaded guilty [] to wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud lenders and a title insurance company of approximately $3.1 million. A co-defendant is scheduled for trial on November 7, 2011.

***

  • According to his plea agreement, Hughes was a part-owner, President, and oversaw the day-to-day activities of Troese/Hughes, a title company in Greenbelt, Maryland, that performed title searches, provided title insurance, and conducted settlements. Hughes was also a signatory on the escrow account. Troese/Hughes had an agency agreement with Chicago Title that enabled Troese/Hughes to provide title insurance, which meant that Chicago Title was liable for title defects to homeowners and lenders.


  • Troese/Hughes shared an escrow account with another title company, Troese Title Services. Although Hughes was unaware of the fact that the escrow account was shared, he was aware that there were shortages in the account. Sometime in 2006, Troese/Hughes opened a new escrow account, and the escrow accountant, Brenda Lukenich, a co-defendant who previously pleaded guilty, “assigneda $1 million escrow shortage to the new Troese/Hughes escrow account.


  • In approximately 2006, the real estate industry started to slow. As business slowed down, it became the policy of Troese/Hughes to check with Lukenich as to when mortgage pay-off checks could be sent out, so that she could confirm that there were sufficient funds in the escrow account to cover the check. At this time, the mortgage payoff checks were stored in Federal Express envelopes under the credenza in Hughes’s office.


  • Hughes made efforts to fill the escrow shortage at Troese/Hughes by re-financing his own home twice and not paying off the prior mortgage, causing a loss of over $1 million to Chicago Title.


  • In addition, after an employee of Troese/Hughes re-financed his home, Hughes caused the prior mortgage on that home to not be paid off so that the money could be used to fill the escrow shortage, causing a loss to Chicago Title of approximately $217,000.

For the entire U.S. Attorney press release, see Title Company Owner and President Pleads Guilty In $3.1 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

California Regulator Issues C&D Order Against Operator Allegedly Running Illegal Upfront Fee Loan Modification Scam

California Watch reports:
  • The [California] state Department of Real Estate issued a desist-and-refrain order against a Los Angeles man accused of running an illegal loan modification business, as boom times continue for mortgage scams.


  • Last year, California Watch reported that George Bolanos was targeting Latino homeowners in Southern California with offers to help avoid foreclosure for an illegal advance fee. Bolanos advertised on Spanish-language radio and sometimes refused to give his last name to clients.


  • A state investigation prompted by the story documented six cases in which Bolanos charged money up front for loan modifications, which is banned in California to protect consumers. The desist-and-refrain order bars Bolanos from running any kind of real estate business because he is not licensed.

For more, see State targets mortgage scams, but problems persist.

Rhode Island AG Scores TRO In Effort To Shut Down Alleged Loan Modification Racket Accused Of Clipping Homeowners With Upfront Fees For Phony Promises

From the Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General:
  • Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced the Office sought and received a temporary restraining order shutting down East Coast Fidelity, LLC, aka Fidelity Corp., and the company’s manager Janice McCarthy, citing the company in violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Mortgage Foreclosure Consultant Regulation Act.


  • East Coast Fidelity, with a business address of 10 Dorrance Street, Providence, advertised and marketed itself to homeowners across the country as a loan modification and foreclosure rescue services provider.

***

  • The law is clear in Rhode Island that the soliciting of upfront fees for loan modifications or other types of foreclosure relief, is absolutely prohibited,” said Attorney General. “As a result of these unconscionable and unscrupulous actions, homeowners, who are already desperate to save their homes are put in danger of imminent and irreparable harm. These types of scam artists are devoid of conscience in their deceptions and must be shut down.”


  • The Office began to investigate the company after receiving multiple consumer complaints from several states, including New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky that the company required upfront fees for mortgage modification and foreclosure services in violation of the Mortgage Foreclosure Consultant Regulation Act.


  • Several weeks or months after signing a contract and paying the upfront fees, consumers complained of not receiving the promised services and in most cases could not get a refund from the company.

For the Rhode Island AG press release, see Attorney General Kilmartin Shuts Down Fraudulent Mortgage Modification Company.

Mechanics Liens In NYS: Easy To Create, A Bitch To Enforce Or Defend

In New York City, attorney Victor M. Metsch writes in Thomson Reuters News & Insight:
  • Your sub-contractor client has not been paid for work, labor and materials on a real estate construction job. She sends you copies of the sub-contract, a summary of the work done and the invoices. She asks you to prepare and file a mechanic’s lien.


  • Seems simple enough - take a standard pre-prepared form, fill in the blanks and file the lien. Nothing to it! Of course, that was the easy part. Identifying possible defenses to a mechanic’s lien [under New York law] goes far beyond the narrow confines of the [New York State] Lien Law. And defending the lien, if challenged, may give you—and your client—angina.


  • How can anything that, at the outset, seemed so uncomplicated, become so complex, time-consuming and expensive from both a prosecution and defense vantage point? Let’s take a look at some recent [New York] decisions that sustained, vacated or otherwise adjudicated mechanic’s liens.

    A CHALLENGE TO ENFORCE OR DEFEND

  • Once a mechanic’s lien is filed, an action to foreclose must be commenced before the time limit to do so expires. Then, if the property owner defends, the real action begins.

For more, see Mechanics’ liens: Easy to file and a challenge to enforce or defend.

Las Vegas Woman Cops Plea For Role In Scheme To Hijack Control Of HOA To Dispense Financial Favors To Selected Attorneys, Contractors

From the U.S. Department of Justice:
  • A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty [] for her role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOA) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs would direct business to a certain law firm and construction company, announced [several federal and state law enforcement officials].


  • Angela Esparza, 24, pleaded guilty [...] to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Esparza is the fifth person to plead guilty in connection with the scheme to defraud HOAs in the Las Vegas area.


  • Esparza admitted that from approximately July 2006 until February 2009, she participated in a scheme to control various HOA boards of directors so that the HOA boards would award the handling of construction-related lawsuits and remedial construction contracts to a law firm and construction company designated by Esparza’s co-conspirators.

For the USDOJ press release, see Fifth Guilty Plea in Connection with Scheme to Fraudulently Control Condominium Homeowners' Associations.

Strip Shows, Sex Peddling, Drug Sales, Gang Activity Put Foreclosed Homes Left Vacant, Unsecured By Reckless Loan Servicers To 'Lowest & Worst Use'

In Jamaica, Queens, The New York Times reports:
  • The boarded-up homes that changed the face of Jamaica, Queens, in recent years were bad enough, the flotsam of the record wave of housing foreclosures that roared through the streets like nowhere else in New York City.


  • But those vacant homes are now recalled almost fondly. For nature, as the saying goes, abhors a vacuum, and so do criminals. The police and neighbors say those vacant homes are filling with drug dealers, addicts, prostitutes, gang members, squatters and copper thieves.


  • They’re becoming a magnet for criminal activity,” said Deputy Inspector Miltiadis Marmara, the commanding officer of the 113th Precinct in South Jamaica. “They hang out in these abandoned homes that may be foreclosed, or the owners walked away.” He added, “Every day we respond to something to that effect.”


  • The police do not keep statistics specifically on crime rates involving foreclosed homes. But Inspector Marmara said his officers had seen a rise both in vacant homes and in crimes occurring in those homes — like theft of copper pipes for scrap, which has spiked in the last year.


  • It is not uncommon for a team of officers to research property records for an address — in hope of tracking down an owner to make a complaint — only to find another foreclosure, he said. People who live on these blocks said criminals flocked to newly vacant homes that were taken in foreclosure.


  • You see them smoking their drugs in the driveway at night,” said a community activist who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation. “They have parties. If the cops come, they run. During the day, they’re quiet as a church mouse.”


  • Councilman James Sanders Jr., who represents a nearby Queens district, said the problem was growing. “And why wouldn’t it happen?” he said.


  • We’re seeing activities where people are having strip shows in these homes.” Jamaica’s councilman, Leroy G. Comrie Jr., said: “I just drove by a house we boarded up, and it’s open again and there are squatters living there. It fell into foreclosure because the developer ran out of money.”

For more, see Foreclosures Empty Homes, and Criminals Fill Them Up.