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.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Loan Mod Scammer Pleads Guilty To Ripping Off 48 Known Victims Out Of Upfront Fees, Monthly Mortgage Payments
From the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation:
Rodney Getlan, age 45, of Owings Mills, entered a guilty plea to nine counts of mortgage fraud and faces up to 90 years in prison. Pursuant to the plea, the State is requesting 40 years with 10 years suspended and 30 years of incarceration to serve as well as restitution to all 48 known victims in the area of $400,000.
Judge Ballou-Watts scheduled sentencing for December 3, 2012. Getlan was charged earlier this year with felony theft, operating as a credit service business without a license, mortgage fraud, and related charges.
An investigation by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation’s (DLLR) Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the Baltimore County Police Department led to Getlan’s arrest in March for defrauding homeowners of considerable upfront fees for mortgage modifications and stealing their monthly mortgage payments.
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Getlan’s 46-count charging document stated that Getlan offered loan modification services from January 2009 through January 2012. The charges specifically referred to nine separate homeowners who fell victim to Getlan’s scheme, in which he forged documents to support his claim that lenders of the homeowners had approved their loan modifications.
Homeowners believed that their monthly payments were going to their lenders; however, the investigation determined that Getlan deposited those payments into his own accounts.
For the Maryland DLLR press release, see Mortgage Fraud Schemer Convicted (Getlan found guilty of defrauding Maryland homeowners).
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)
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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)
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ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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