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Real Estate & Property Law

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues.
By r morris

Post Frequency: 25.7/day

Last Entry: September 06, 2017 at 04:02:00

Federal Judge Issues Arrest Warrants For Foreclosure Rescue Scammers For Failing To Appear At Sentencing In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff

Posted on July 08, 2010
In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports:A U.S. district judge issued two arrest warrants yesterday for an Oahu couple convicted of mortgage fraud after they did not show up for their sentencing. The couple?John Dimitrion and Julie Anne Baldueza Dimitrion?were scheduled to be sentenced on charges that they ran a fraudulent mortgage scheme that almost left three Oahu families

Mortgage Elimination Scammers' Claim That Judge Erred By Failing To Assign Counsel After They Insisted On Self-Representation Falls On Deaf Ears

Posted on July 08, 2010
In San Francisco, California, The Oakland Tribune reports:A federal appeals court issued a stinging decision Tuesday upholding the convictions of a pair of Bay Area scam artists who made millions by claiming they could help people eliminate mortgage debts...

"Discrimination Is Alive & Well In America Today" Says NY AG After Bagging Two Brooklyn Landlords In Undercover Race-Bias Rental Sting

Posted on July 08, 2010
In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Post reports:Two Brooklyn landlords were nabbed in an undercover sting after they brazenly told black apartment hunters that no suitable units were available, while rolling out the red carpet for potential white tenants, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo charged []...

Alleged Loan Modification Racket Continues To Operate Despite Warnings From Law Enforcement, Lender

Posted on July 08, 2010
In Oakland, California, a recent story from The Bay Citizen shines some light on Priority Realty Group, a suspected loan modification, foreclosure rescue racket based in Southern California that has attracted attention from the media, the California Attorney General's Office, and the Better Business Bureau for, among other things, allegedly using written solicitations designed to create the false

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Conflict Of Interest Problems Continue Dogging Notorious Buffalo-Area Foreclosure Mill In Homeowner's Upcoming NYC Bankruptcy Proceeding

Posted on July 07, 2010
In New York City, the New York Post reports:A Bronx homeowner is scheduled for a courtroom battle royale later this month -- facing off in Manhattan bankruptcy court against the largest foreclosure mill in the state to see if the firm's client, GMAC Mortgage, has the right to toss her from her Pelham Gardens home...

MD Homeowner Barely Beats Statute Of Limitations; Scores Triple Damages Of $700K After Being Screwed Over In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff

Posted on July 07, 2010
In Baltimore, Maryland, The Maryland Daily Record reports:An Ellicott City woman was awarded $700,000 [...] after falling victim to a foreclosure rescue scam. The judgment in favor of Susan Spicer includes $460,000 in non-economic damages, an amount Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Cavanaugh doubled from the $230,000 he calculated in economic damages under the guidelines of the

Bankruptcy Judge Rejects Debtor's Use Of Ch. 13 Petition In Attempt To Thwart Due-On-Sale Clause In Lender's Mortgage

Posted on July 07, 2010
A recent ruling by Judge Jeff Bohm of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Texas that addressed a number of issues has rejected an attempt by an individual Debtor's attempt use a Chapter 13 petition as a vehicle to thwart a mortgage lender's rights under a due on sale clause...

Nebraska Bank Dodges $8M Bullet As Bankruptcy Court Ruling Invalidating Improperly Notarized Mortgage Is Reversed On Appeal

Posted on July 07, 2010
In a follow-up to an earlier post, the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, has recently reversed a ruling by a Nebraska Federal Bankruptcy Court that had invalidated an $8 million mortgage due to the improper notarization by the bank's president of a mortgage securing a loan taken out by the executive's brother-in-law...

C. Fla. Bkrptcy Court Nixes Trustee's Overly Legalistic Interpretation Of State Homestead Law In Failed Attempt To Snatch Family Home Away From Debtor

Posted on July 06, 2010
From a recent post on the Florida Asset Protection Blog:Can a debtor protect a future legal interest in his primary residence under Florida homestead laws? In this bankruptcy case a debtor?s mother owned a property where the mother and the debtor resided with the debtor?s spouse and children...

Debt Collection Scam Duped Now-Ex Attorney; Forced Him To Come Clean, Cop Felony Plea On $1.5M+ Client Swindle; State Bar's "Ripoff Fund" Left On Hook

Posted on July 06, 2010
In Montgomery County, Maryland, The Maryland Daily Record reports:Had the American Bar Association's warning of the scam come three months earlier, disbarred lawyer Bradley D. Schwartz might not be facing a possible prison sentence. Schwartz, who consented to disbarment last year amid allegations of having dipped into client funds, pleaded guilty last week to felony theft in Montgomery County

Man Acting As Trustee For 2 Kids Gets 30 Days For R/E Title Transfer To Himself Followed By Loan Ending In F'closure; Used Cash To Pay Child Support

Posted on July 06, 2010
In Lebanon, Ohio, WLWT-TV Channel 5 reports:A Kettering man was sentenced [] after he was convicted of stealing his children's inheritance money. Scott Andrews was named trustee of the estate left to his two children by his father, with $25,000 in real estate held in trust for each child until they were 25 years old...

Current & Former Local Cops, FBI Agent, Two Title/Closing Attorneys Among 13 Bagged by South Florida Feds In Alleged Mortgage Fraud Racket

Posted on July 05, 2010
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:When the former chief of the Plantation Police Department got a tip that some in his blue-uniformed ranks were involved in their off-hours in a suspicious real estate scheme, he turned the matter over to a state police agency...

MD Feds: Sticky-Fingered Closing Agent Looted $3.4M In Escrow Cash, Failed To Pay Off Existing Loans In R/E Deals, Leaving Clients Facing Foreclosure

Posted on July 05, 2010
In Baltimore, Maryland, WBAL-TV Channel 11 reports:The target of an 11 News I-Team investigation is currently facing federal charges on accusations that he was part of a mortgage fraud scheme. The federal grand jury's 16-count indictment charged the president of Towson-based Maple Leaf Title, Anthony Weis, with wrongfully using $3...

Racket Recorded Forged Deeds To Steal Homes From Unwitting Owners For Use In Mortgage Fraud Scam, Say Florida Authorities

Posted on July 05, 2010
In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports:Ten South Floridians have been arrested in what authorities say was a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. It is alleged they defrauded banks out of more than $8 million by using stolen identities to obtain mortgages, according to a news release from Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum?s office...

15 Financially Struggling Texans File Lawsuit Alleging BofA Screwed Them Over When Seeking Loan Modifications To Avoid Foreclosure

Posted on July 05, 2010
In Austin, Texas, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid announces:Fifteen low-income Texans are suing Bank of America for operating a home loan system that forces struggling homeowners into foreclosure by purposefully misleading them, preventing them from modifying their loans, and ignoring agreements for lower monthly payments...

Feds Indict Trio In Alleged $1.24 Trillion Bogus Lien Extortion Racket Targeting Government Officials, Bank Executives

Posted on July 05, 2010
In Kingston, New York, the Times Record Herald reports:A federal grand jury has indicted three anti-government zealots in connection with an alleged scheme to extort money from Ulster County, three towns and a handful of public employees. The accused men also targeted executives of Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, court papers said...

Minnesota Regulator Takes Enforcement Action Against Alleged Out-Of-State Loan Modification Rackets, Forensic Audit Peddler

Posted on July 04, 2010
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:On the heels of a statewide campaign alerting the public to foreclosure-related scams, the Minnesota Commerce Department took action against unlicensed, California-based loan modification companies Thursday.The department sent cease-and-desist orders to Ronald LeClair of Bank Modifications and Ernest J...

San Jose Man To Get Seven Years For Pocketing $1.6M From Investors While Purporting To Operate Foreclosure Rescue Business

Posted on July 04, 2010
In Santa Clara County, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:A 34-year-old San Jose man pleaded guilty to nine felony charges for running an illegal investment scheme from 2006 to 2009, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office...

Cops Warn Tenants, Unwitting Handymen Of Rent Swindles Using Vacant Homes As Bait, Requesting "Cash Only" Deposits, Touting Great Deals On Craigslist

Posted on July 04, 2010
In Fairfax County, Virginia, The Washington Post reports:Hand the deposit to a cleaning guy. Cash only. No need to sign a lease. If the rental agreement sounds a little shady, that?s because it is, and you?ll never actually get a place to live, Fairfax County police said []...

Vacant Home Hijacker Dodges Hard Time; Scraps "Adverse Possession" Defense, Cops Misdemeanor Trespassing Plea After Spending 13 Months In County Jail

Posted on July 04, 2010
In West Palm Beach, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:A Palm Beach County man who rented out homes he did not own will not spend any time in prison. Prosecutors dropped felony burglary and theft charges against Carl Heflin in return for him pleading guilty to trespassing, a misdemeanor...

Oregon AG Shakes Refunds Out Of Loan Modification Outfit In Settlement Of Claims Of Illegally Pocketing Upfront Fees From Homeowners Facing F'closure

Posted on July 04, 2010
From the Office of the Oregon Attorney General:Attorney General John Kroger [] announced a settlement that prohibits a Los Angeles County company from doing loan modification work in Oregon. "This office will not tolerate companies that attempt to exploit Oregon homeowners who are facing foreclosure," said Deputy Attorney General Mary Williams...

State Regulator Squeezes Loan Servicers For $240K+ In Refunds Of Prepayment Penalties Illegally Clipped From Maryland Homeowners

Posted on July 04, 2010
From the Office of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation:Sarah Bloom Raskin, Commissioner of Financial Regulation for the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, [] announced refunds to Maryland consumers of approximately $246,000 related to a series of completed regulatory examinations of mortgage loan servicers...

City Officials Warn 175 Tenants In Building In Foreclosure Of Possible Immediate Boot If Power Is Cut Off To Premises As Electric Bill Remains Unpaid

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Arlington, Texas, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports:City workers went door to door at a north Arlington apartment complex Wednesday warning residents that the power may be shut off and urging them to make plans to move to alternate housing or an emergency shelter...

City Cancels Evacuation Order Affecting 200+ Tenants After Landlord Completes Emergency Repairs On Rusted Out Staircases

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Lauderhill, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:City officials on Thursday afternoon canceled an order for hundreds of Brampton Court residents to leave their apartments because workers have finished emergency repairs. Police and fire officials also ended a "fire watch" that lasted more than a week at the four-building complex, in the 4500 block of Northwest 19th Street, to ensure

Owners Pay $3,500 Water Bill To Temporarily Stall Mass Eviction In Cash-Strapped 76-Unit Condo Complex; 60+ Apartments In Some Stage Of Foreclosure

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Margate, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Dozens of Atlantic Palms residents so far have met demands from Margate city officials to pay their unpaid utility bills -- prompting the city to not evict them, a city official said. Atlantic Palms residents paid their last water bill, about $3,500, before a July 2 deadline, allowing them to stay in their homes, City Manager Frank

Financially Struggling HOA Allowed Property Insurance To Lapse, Leaving Condo Owners In Recently-Burned Out 30-Unit Building Out Of Luck

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Lauderhill, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Days before their condo building burned, residents of Park South Six gathered to hear their association president say their building couldn't afford flood insurance. Some homeowners paid overdue assessments, and the president said flood insurance would be purchased...

Cancer Victim Loses Desperately Needed Cash, Home After Being Snagged By Loan Modification Ripoff; Suspect Charged By Feds In Other Scams

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Hintington Beach, California, KABC-TV Channel 7 reports:Nadia Iskander is in a race against time. Iskander is fighting breast cancer. She lost her husband. Now, she may lose her home after falling victim to a foreclosure rescue scam.***Last year, Iskander and her family held a sale at their jewelry store in Huntington Beach to raise money to pay for her medical treatment...

Lake County Unleashes Full-Time Homestead Exemption Fraud Investigators To Bag Real Estate Tax Deadbeats

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Tavares, Florida, The Daily Commercial reports:Simply having a home in Florida is not enough to qualify for a homestead exemption, as many Lake County residents will find out this week. On Wednesday, the county property appraiser's office will send out its exemption denial letters...

Out-Of-Town Landlord Faces Criminal Charges Over Code Violations, Leaving Tenants Scrambling To Escape Collapsing Conditions

Posted on July 03, 2010
In Herkimer, New York, The Evening Telegram reports:A property owner who faces criminal charges in Frankfort Village Court related to a building deemed unsafe by officials has been put on notice of code violations for an apartment he owns in Herkimer...

Ohio AG Brings Civil Charges Against Payment Servicing Firm For Allegedly Ripping Off Homeowners' Property Tax, Insurance Escrow

Posted on July 02, 2010
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:An Illinois-based company defrauded Ohioans out of thousands of dollars and Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is seeking restitution and civil penalties in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Cordray said that the company and its owners, Derek C...

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