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.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Participant In Racket That Bilked Homeowners In 'Mortgage Elimination" Ponzi Scheme Gets 29 Months
In Baltimore, Maryland, The Washington Examiner reports:
A District woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme that authorities say bilked people in the D.C. region and across the country out of $78 million.
U.S. District Judge Roger Titus sentenced 53-year-old Carole Nelson on Monday in federal court in Greenbelt to two years and five months behind bars and ordered her to pay more than $34 million in restitution.
Nelson and others ran a fake mortgage-payment program called the "Dream Homes Program" beginning in 2005, according to prosecutors and court documents. They promised homeowners that they would pay off their mortgages in exchange for an initial investment of at least $50,000 and administrative fees. But the Dream Homes Program officials never paid the mortgages, leaving the homeowners to fend for themselves.
Prosecutors said more than 1,000 investors lost $78 million through the scheme. The program had offices in Maryland, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Delaware, Florida, Georgia and California.
***
Nelson pleaded guilty in April 2009. Other Dream Homes officials were convicted at trials, including founder Andrew Hamilton Williams, of Hollywood, Fla., who is now serving a 150-year prison sentence.
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