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, April 04, 2017
Another Real Estate Operator Admits To Role In Atlanta-Area Bid Rigging At Foreclosure Sale Auctions; Antitrust, Northern Georgia Feds' Guilty Tally Reaches 22 In Ongoing Probe
From the U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.):
A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today [March 24, 2017] for his role in a bid-rigging conspiracy and fraud scheme related to public real estate foreclosure auctions in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the Department of Justice announced.
Clifford Wayne Hill pleaded guilty to bid rigging and fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. On Feb. 3, 2016, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against the defendant.
According to the indictment, from December 2007 to March 2012, Hill and his co-conspirators agreed not to compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. Hill made and received payoffs for the agreement not to bid; taking money that otherwise would have gone to mortgage holders and in some cases, to the owners of foreclosed homes.
Including Hill, twenty-three defendants have been charged in connection with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraudulent schemes involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Atlanta area. Twenty-two real estate investors have pleaded guilty.
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Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
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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