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, June 28, 2012
Disbarred Attorney To Spend Next 13+ Years In Forced 'Retirement' In Federal Prison After Convictions In Loan Mod, Counterfeit Check Scams
In Alexandria, Virginia, The Virginian Pilot reports:
A Virginia Beach man was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison after admitting that he ran a mortgage-rescue scheme in Northern Virginia and, in a separate case, after being found guilty of counterfeiting checks.
Howard R. Shmuckler, 68, was sentenced Monday at the federal court in Alexandria to 90 months in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office. He previously pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud.
Shmuckler, a convicted felon and disbarred attorney, operated a Vienna mortgage-rescue business known as The Shmuckler Group. From June 2008 through March 2009, the company took in nearly $2.8 million from about 865 clients whose mortgages were in distress and who came to Shmuckler looking for relief, according to court filings.
Shmuckler pocketed most of that money, obtaining mortgage relief for only 4.5 percent of those clients, the records say. Most lost their homes to foreclosure anyway. Shmuckler also was sentenced earlier this year to 75 months in prison after a jury in Washington, D.C., found him guilty of bank fraud and passing counterfeit checks.
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