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.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Ex-Real Estate Agent Bagged In Alleged $200K+ Ripoff Of Clients' Downpayment Deposits Never Placed In Escrow; DA: Suspect "A Common & Notorious Thief"
In Peabody, Massachusetts, The Salem News reports:
A former real estate broker from Peabody pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that she stole more than $200,000 from a dozen clients hoping to purchase homes through "short sales," prosecutors announced.
Farkhanda "Kandy" Tarar Shah, 61, was indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury on charges of felony larceny, embezzlement, and being a common and notorious thief, the Middlesex district attorney said in a press release.
***
[District Attorney Gerry] Leone said Shah was both a licensed mortgage broker and real estate agent who ran a business called K-Realty in Somerville. Over a two-year period between 2007 and 2009, Shah repeatedly used deposits left by clients for her own business and personal expenses, Leone said. Such deposits are legally supposed to be kept in an escrow account.
Shah's clients hired her to help them purchase properties that were "underwater" and facing foreclosure through so-called short sales. Because such transactions can be fraught with delays or other obstacles and require approval of the mortgage holder, many of the deals fell through.
However, when clients wanted to get their deposit money back from Shah, they learned that she was unable to pay them — because, prosecutors say, she had already spent their money rather than putting it into escrow accounts.
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)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
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)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
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)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
<< Home