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, March 25, 2013
Homeowner's Foreclosure Defense: Developer Hijacked Title To My Home While I Was Out Of The Country, Borrowed $1.77M Against It, Now Bank Is Trying To Take It From Me! Developer's Head Allegedly Invoked 5th Amendment
In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports:
A Miami-based bank is trying to seize Jorge Jaen’s home in the Florida Keys over a mortgage that he never signed.
Jaen alleges that both he and Great Eastern Bank of Florida were victims of mortgage fraud, but he’s the one who could pay the price by losing his home in Plantation Key. The foreclosure lawsuit is set for trial April 1 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
It all started in 2006 when the three-bedroom home, at 145 Venetian Way, was transferred for minimal monetary compensation by a quit-claim deed from Jaen to Remy Development of Florida. Jaen claimed in his motion to dismiss the complaint that he had no knowledge of the deed and it was a bogus.
Jaen says it is not his real signature on the deed and he was out of the country at the time it was signed in Miami-Dade.
Jaen’s motion cites testimony from attorney Raven Liberty and Leighton Brown, the two people who allegedly signed the deed as witnesses, saying they did see the first version of that deed, which was destroyed, but never saw the second version that was filed wit the court.
Although Monroe County valued the home at $483,500 at the time the deed was filed, Great Eastern Bank gave Remy Development a $1.77 million mortgage, which was signed by Ramier Rodriguez on behalf of the developer.
According to records uncovered in the lawsuit, the loan was for the construction of a low-income housing complex. The home was in the middle of a neighborhood of single-family homes with a tight lot line.
“Due to the ‘development,’ Remy convinced [the] bank to tender millions of dollars in construction draws for work that Remy represented had been completed by Remy when, in fact, no such development had occurred,” stated the motion by Jaen, which was filed by his attorney, Geoffrey Ittleman in Fort Lauderdale.
The head of Remy Development invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination at his deposition, Jaen’s complaint stated. The bank did not name Rodriguez in the lawsuit.
The foreclosure lawsuit, filed in 2007, names Remy Development and Jaen. Monroe County property records still list Jaen as the homeowner, as he has been since 1992.
Great Eastern Bank’s lawsuit also names title law firm Catlin, Saxon, Fink & Kolski LLP, which allegedly oversaw the transaction with Remy Development.
Jaen wants the court to invalidate the deed to Remy Development and dismiss the bank’s attempt to foreclosure on the property. If he succeeds, it could be a big problem for Great Eastern Bank, the smallest bank in Miami-Dade, with $45.8 million in assets.
Great Eastern Bank had $293,000 in noncurrent loans on Dec. 31, and that valuation is probably based on assuming that it can seize Jaen’s house and get some value from it. If it gets nothing from the lawsuit, the resulting write off in value could eat into its $5 million in Tier 1 capital.
Great Eastern Bank was hit with a regulatory enforcement action in 2012, telling it to maintain higher capital ratios than normal and citing it for Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering violations.
Hollywood attorney Carlos Lerman, who represents Great Eastern Bank in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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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