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.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Still No Criminal Charges Against Woman Who Ran Private, For-Profit Guardianship Ripoffs Of Elderly Vegas-Area Residents, But One Victim Who Lost Her Home & Possessions Scores Civil Court Win
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KTNV-TV Channel 13 reports:
Victims of Clark County's guardianship system can celebrate a first-of-its-kind victory this week.
Elizabeth Indig lost her home and everything in it -- furniture, a lifetime of collectibles, even the clothes in her closets. It all came at the hands of private, for-profit guardian April Parks who was appointed by Clark County Family Court to protect Mrs. Indig.
Instead, a judge found Parks committed fraud.
"Parks separated us, she stole everything in the house," says Mrs. Indig's daughter who has the same name. "The house was lost that my mom planned to live in until she died and basically Parks sentenced my mom to a life sentence in a nursing home!"
Mrs. Indig's daughter has been fighting the guardianship system for years. "I have seen things that I did not want to know that people could do to each other," she says.
But a hearing [recently] in Family Court is giving her hope.
"It's unique and promising and encouraging," says Homa Woodrum, Mrs. Indig's attorney. She tells us Mrs. Indig's victory came in the courtroom of Judge Nancy Allf.
"And she ruled that $100,000 was lost through the conduct of April Parks," Homa explains. "She ruled that $40,000 in value of the home was lost because of the conduct of April Parks and that April Parks had paid herself and her attorney over $15,000 without court approval."
Parks was a no-show in court, but her voice was heard through her own financial records.
"Some days were over 100 hours of billing," says Homa. "That's not physically possible."
Because of what they're calling egregious over-billing, Parks' records on file with the court show on just one day in July 2013, she raked in more than $12,000. Woodrum says Judge Allf ruled Parks must return all the money she billed Mrs. Indig, plus interest and attorneys fees.
"It validates all the things I've been saying all these years about what she did to me."
While Elizabeth is grateful for this decision in a civil court, she says she won't rest until Parks faces criminal charges.
"After all, a judge actually used the words fraud and conversion and breach of fiduciary duty. Doesn't something have to be done now?"
District Attorney Steve Wolfson told Contact 13 that something will be done soon. He says the criminal investigation into April Parks is ongoing and moving quickly toward a resolution.
We tried to contact April Parks through lawyers she has worked with, no one has returned our calls.
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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