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, August 31, 2016
Homeowner Agrees To Forfeit 9-Bedroom Mansion To Feds As Part Of Plea Deal In Connection With Conviction For Consummating Fraudulent Short Sales Of Gas Stations
In Oak Brook, Illinois, Crain's Chicago Business reports:
A 16,800-square-foot Oak Brook mansion formerly home to White Sox legend Frank Thomas will be forfeited to the federal government by its most recent owner as part of a fraud conviction.
This is the second owner to lose the mansion since Thomas sold it in 2003.
In March, Tahir Iqbal, the owner of the estate, and Shaukat Sindhu pleaded guilty to defrauding banks out of $2.5 million through fraudulent short sales of Ohio gas stations.
The 3.3-acre Oak Brook estate, which Iqbal bought in late 2014, will be forfeited to the government as part of the plea deal, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
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In July, Iqbal was sentenced to 366 days in prison and Sindhu to 45 months.
Iqbal bought the estate for $2.71 million in 2014 from Bank of America, which had seized it in foreclosure from previous owner Frank Scarlato. Scarlato bought the estate from Thomas for $7.95 million in 2003.
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Thomas built the gated estate in 1997. It has nine bedrooms, 10 full baths, two outdoor swimming pools and a beauty salon.
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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)
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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)
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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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