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.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Suspect Pinched In Alleged South Florida Ripoff That Scammed Church Out Of $300K+; Cash Purported To Be Deposit For New Facility Acquisition
In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:
A second corporate officer for a West Palm Beach-based foreclosure rescue company was arrested Thursday after a state investigation into allegations that he misused hundreds of thousands of dollars taken from a Boynton Beach church.
Louis Rothman, vice president of the Nationwide Investment Firm Corp. and the registered agent and treasurer for the unlicensed Interstate Title Services and Escrow Corp., faces charges of fraud and acting as an insurance agent without a license. The 75-year-old Delray Beach resident turned himself in Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued based on a Florida Department of Financial Services investigation.
Rothman has held high positions in three companies led by Nationwide Investment Firm's President Guilfort Dieuvil, who was arrested May 10 and charged with 16 counts of obtaining property by fraud, one count of organized scheme to defraud in the first degree and grand theft. Dieuvil allegedly duped homeowners to sign over deeds with promises of mortgage relief.
Detectives found Nationwide had acquired 104 properties in Florida and Georgia worth $9.5 million. But homeowners complain they received little or no help and ended up owing mortgage debt on properties they no longer owned.
Rothman's arrest Thursday stems from a deal with the Haitian Bethel Baptist Church, which says it was scammed out of $321,222 by Nationwide Mortgage Bankers Corp. and Interstate Title Services and Escrow Corp., companies run by Dieuvil and Rothman, according to Florida Department of State records.
The Palm Beach Post reported on the church in November, following an earlier article about a series of lawsuits filed against Nationwide Investment Firm, Dieuvil and Rothman.
The church filed a lawsuit saying it gave the money it saved for a new facility to Interstate Title Services and Escrow for what it thought was a deposit to secure a $1 million loan from Nationwide Mortgage Bankers, Corp. It never got the loan or deposit back, according to the lawsuit.
On May 23, the church won a $371,927 judgment against Rothman, Dieuvil, Nationwide Mortgage Bankers Corp., Interstate Title and Nationwide Financial Consultants - another company led by Dieuvel.
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)
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