The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Real Estate & Property Law

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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

Upstate NY Judge Excoriates Wells Fargo For Acting In Bad Faith By Offering "Adjustable Rate" Loan Modification To Homeowner In Foreclosure

Posted on March 14, 2010
In a January, 2010 ruling, New York Supreme Court Justice Timothy J. Walker takes Wells Fargo to task for its feeble attempt in a case before him to modify a loan for a homeowner in foreclosure.(1) Walker prefaces his evaluation of Wells' conduct in the case with a recitation of the severe criticism adjustable rate mortgage loans ("ARMS") have received from various sources, the part these

Inspectors Give Dozens Of High-Rent NYC Tenants The Boot After Discovery Of 60 Resident'l Units Carved Out Of 16-Story "Deathtrap" Sans Proper Permits

Posted on March 13, 2010
In New York City, the New York Post reports:Dozens of families who thought they found luxury housing in a Manhattan landmark were homeless [this week] after city inspectors ordered them out of what one source described as a "deathtrap" that was illegally converted from office space...

Ex-Real Estate Agent Bagged For Allegedly Scamming Rent Deposits From Would-Be Tenants For Vacant HUD Homes; Used Craigslist, Fake Name, Say Cops

Posted on March 13, 2010
In Indianapolis, Indiana, therepublic.com reports:A former real estate agent conned at least eight people by renting them properties actually owned by a federal agency and then running off with their deposits, prosecutors said. Authorities in three Indiana counties accuse Richard Swoveland, 38, of scamming people by persuading them to rent empty homes the U...

Duo Facing Theft By False Pretenses Charge Accused Of Leasing Vacant Homes In Some Stage Of Foreclosure To Unwitting Tenants, Pocketing Deposits, Rent

Posted on March 13, 2010
In Barstow, California, the Desert Dispatch reports:Barstow Police have arrested two people in connection with recent housing fraud involving foreclosed or pre-forclosure homes that were rented out to unsuspecting tenants. According to police reports, a Barstow code enforcement officer was checking out a vacant, pre-foreclosed home in early February and found tenants living inside the home...

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Long Island Man Faces Charges In Alleged $140K+ Home Improvement Ripoff Of 74-Year Old Queens Woman

Posted on March 13, 2010
From the Office of the Queens County, New York District Attorney:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [] announced that a Long Island contractor has been charged with bilking a 74-year-old Queens homeowner out of more than $140,000 that she paid him over two years ago for an extension to her residence that he never started...

Texas Woman Hounded By Zombie Bill Collector Over Debt Belonging To Another Belts Back By Filing Federal Lawsuit

Posted on March 13, 2010
In Tyler, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Tyler woman is suing a credit collection agency for repeatedly calling her about a debt that is not hers. Seeking $1,000 for each telephone call, Brandy Samuel filed suit against ER Solutions Inc. and Does 1-10 on Feb...

Chapter 7 Proceeding No Shield For Operators Of Alleged Idaho-Based Loan Modification Racket, Says Bankruptcy Trustee Chasing Nine Officers For $1.3M+

Posted on March 12, 2010
In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, The Spokesman Review reports:The trustee for a bankrupt Coeur d?Alene mortgage modification company is suing nine former officers for as much as $1.3 million he says they did not earn. Apply 2 Save Inc. closed its doors last May, and filed for liquidation in June...

NYC Couple Charged With Using Forged Certified Bank Checks To Fleece Dozen Property Owners Out Of $16M+ In Real Estate

Posted on March 12, 2010
From the Office of the Queens County District Attorney:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [] announced that a Flushing man who held himself out as an attorney, accountant and banker and his female accomplice have been charged with stealing more than $16 million from a dozen individuals selling real estate and other assets...

"Walkaway" Homeowners Stay On Lenders' Radar For Unpaid Debt Balances

Posted on March 12, 2010
In Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports:While foreclosures and loan modifications have made it tough for overwhelmed banks to go after walkaway borrowers, there's evidence they are starting to crack down. Lenders are hiring collection agencies...

Possession Of Another Unoccupied House In Foreclosure Swiped In Home Hijacking Scam Disguised As Legitimate "Adverse Possession" Claim

Posted on March 12, 2010
In Puyallup, Washington, KOMO-TV Channel 4 reports:A young couple facing foreclosure says their house was hijacked and rented to strangers without their consent. Eric and Ashlie Bogue found themselves locked out of their own house. "I still own this property...

Unsettled State Income Tax Consequences Of Debt Forgiveness On Short Sales, Foreclosures, Loan Mods Leave Some California Residents In Limbo

Posted on March 12, 2010
In Sacramento, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:Accountants say rising numbers of California taxpayers who did short sales or received loan modifications in 2009 now fear they will be walloped anew by a cash-starved state government intent on taxing their forgiven debt...

Minnesota Man Accused Of Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Ripoffs Cops Plea To Money Laundering, Tax Dodging Charges; 50+ Victims Clipped For $2.46M

Posted on March 11, 2010
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:When Timothy Beliveau appeared in federal court Tuesday to plead guilty to money laundering and tax evasion charges, he didn't mention the people who allegedly lost their home equity in his "foreclosure rescue" plan, or the Northwest Airlines pilots who unwittingly helped fund the fraud scheme...

Maryland Feds Continue "Money Store" Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping, F'closure Rescue Racket Prosecution; Nail Loan Officer With 11-Count Indictment

Posted on March 11, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Greenbelt, Maryland):A federal grand jury has indicted Rolando Alonzo Cousins, a/k/a ?Junior,? age 31, of Bowie, Maryland, for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, in connection with a massive mortgage fraud scheme which promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, but left them

Lender, Loan Servicer Committed Deceptive Trade Practice By Threatening Foreclosure On Homeowner In Full Compliance With Loan Mod Agreement, Says Suit

Posted on March 11, 2010
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A woman has filed suit against a loan servicing agency and a mortgage company after she claims they have threatened to foreclose on her home. Lisa D. Perkins claims she owns a home at [.....

OneWest Bank "Shared Loss" Agreement With Feds Leads To Screwing Over Borrowers Seeking Loan Modifications, Says Attorney For Couple Facing F'closure

Posted on March 11, 2010
In Elk Grove, California, News10.net reports:A couple facing foreclosure from OneWest Bank has joined the growing number of homeowners, attorneys and real estate professionals who believe the bank would rather foreclose than modify a loan. [...] The Cravalhos said their original lender, IndyMac Bank, agreed to a loan modification in the summer of 2008 that would have offered them a 3 percent

Homebuyer Files Suit To Halt Foreclosure; Says Seller "Owner-Financed" Sale, Then Mortgaged Premises To 3rd Party & Failed To Make Loan Payments

Posted on March 11, 2010
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Beaumont couple claims a mortgage company is attempting to foreclose on their property even though they say they have made the required monthly payments. Antonio R. and Hilda L. Trista Candelaria filed a lawsuit March 1 in Jefferson County District Court against Edward Williams, Citimortgage, Carolyn Ciccio, Tommy Jackson, Misti

Claim Of "Pro Bono" Representation While Failing To Disclose Loan Mod Fees Clipped From Clients Among Bad Acts Landing Lawyer From Hell In Hot Water

Posted on March 11, 2010
In a recent ruling from a Federal bankruptcy court in northern California, Bankruptcy Judge Alan Jaroslovsky writes [my emphasis added, not in the original]:Attorney Deborah Pimentel is in the business of filing fraudulent bankruptcy petitions. She has filed at least 27 bankruptcy petitions for clients in this district, most in the last 90 days...

S. California Duo Get 27+ Years In Home Title-Snatching Scam Using Forged Land Documents, Stolen I.D.s; 88-Year Old Alzheimer's Patient Among Victims

Posted on March 10, 2010
From the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney:A 48-year-old man was sentenced [] to 27 years, four months in prison for helping defraud nearly a dozen victims through a sophisticated real estate fraud scheme. Deputy District Attorney Clay Peters of the Real Estate Fraud Section said jurors convicted Joseph Little of 40 counts on Dec...

NYC Man Gets 3 To 9 For Using Forged POA To Pocket $300K+ In Loan Proceeds By Draining Equity In Unwitting Mother-In-Law's Queens Condo With Mortgage

Posted on March 10, 2010
From the Office of the Queens County District Attorney:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [] announced that an international businessman who resides in Manhattan has been sentenced to three to nine years in state prison for having used a forged power of attorney to unlawfully obtain a mortgage on his mother-in-law?s condominium in the Little Neck section of Queens and steal more than

Use Of Forged Land Documents In Title-Hijacking & Home Equity-Snatching Swindles On The Radar At Hillsborough County Registry Of Deeds

Posted on March 10, 2010
From the Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Regsitry of Deeds:Preventing mortgage fraud and identity theft is a top priority of your Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds office. The Register's office has made a conscious effort to be on the look out for documents that may involve deed or mortgage related fraud...

Another BofA Blunder: Files Suit To Foreclose On Former REO Sold To Retired Ex-Cleveland Cop For Cash, Then Issues Apology For Foreclosure Fiasco

Posted on March 10, 2010
In Naples, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:It was retirement incarnate. Then, the foreclosure lawsuit came. Warren Nyerges, 45, left his law enforcement career and moved to Golden Gate Estates late last year with his wife. He was spending his days preparing his backyard for grass, painting the interior of his home and joking about the snow he abandoned in Cleveland...

Long Island Judge Hammers Wells w/ $155K Tab For Oppressive, Heavy Handed, Egregious Conduct For Pre-Sale Lockout Of Homeowner In Foreclosure

Posted on March 09, 2010
In a court ruling issued March 5, 2010, Suffolk County, New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffery Arlen Spinner clobbered another rogue foreclosing lender for its improper conduct in connection with the carrying out of a foreclosure action. This time, it was Wells Fargo, who felt the wrath of Justice Spinner...

Ohio Supreme Court Clips Title Agent For $20K For Unauthorized Practice Of Law; Allegedly Prepared Deeds To Real Estate, Forged Attorney's Signature

Posted on March 09, 2010
From a recent ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court:[The] Ohio State Bar Association [the "OSBA"], alleged that respondents, Kimberly A. Dalton and Precision Land Title Agency, Inc. ("Precision Title"), had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by preparing and completing two real estate general warranty deeds and by forging an attorney's signature on one of them...

Florida HOAs Begin Looking To "Reverse Foreclosure" Tactic To Stick Lenders With Title To Unwanted, "Upside Down" Condos

Posted on March 09, 2010
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Revenue-starved condominium and homeowners associations struggling to keep the taps running and the lawns mowed have found a novel way to squeeze money from units that don't pay what they owe. It's called a reverse foreclosure, a tool that can force banks to pay association maintenance fees when unit owners don't...

Avoiding The Tax Man For Owners Of Homes Sold In Foreclosure & Short Sale Situations

Posted on March 09, 2010
In Palm Springs, California, The Desert Sun reports:It has become clear that more taxpayers have debt cancellation income than ever before. As the ?Great Recession? heated up this past year, credit card lenders increasingly agreed to accept reduced payoffs from troubled borrowers and forgive the rest...

BofA Again In Spotlight For Allegedly Reckless Conduct; Illegally Seized Borrower's Home, Says Lawsuit

Posted on March 09, 2010
In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports:A Hampton woman is suing Bank of America, saying one of its contractors wrongly repossessed her home, padlocked the doors, shut off the utilities, damaged the furniture and confiscated a pet parrot, though her mortgage payments were on time...

Trustee Ordered To Cough Up The Cash In Wrongful Foreclosure; Conducted Auction Despite Notification By Owner's Court-Appointed Rep Of Pending Sale

Posted on March 08, 2010
In King County, Washington, The Seattle Times reports:A King County judge [...] ordered one of the West Coast's major players in the foreclosure industry to pay more than $230,000 to the estate of a disabled senior citizen whose Whidbey Island home was wrongfully auctioned off after she fell behind on payments...

C. Fla. Circuit Court Chief: Foreclosure Mill Law Firms' "License Could Be On The Line" Regarding State "Supremes" Directive To File Proper Paperwork

Posted on March 08, 2010
In Sarasota, Florida, Sarasota Herald Tribune columnist Tom Lyons writes:Law firms that some call "foreclosure mills" handle loan default cases by the thousands for financial institutions that were not the original lenders. Some have filed odd documents in their court cases...

Bankruptcy Court Denies Lender's Request To Proceed With Foreclosure Of Delinquent Mortgage On Real Estate Inherited From Deceased Owner

Posted on March 08, 2010
The following facts have been taken from a recent ruling from a Federal bankruptcy court in Missouri:Father buys real estate, financing the purchase with a loan from Bank/Creditor secured by a deed of trust.Father dies four weeks later.Daughter, as sole survivor, acquires through inheritance Father's real estate, subject to the secured debt...

Chicago Feds Charge Closing Agent In $500K+ Real Estate Escrow Swindle; Ripoff Of Insurance Premiums Due To Title Underwriter Among Allegations

Posted on March 08, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Rockford, Illinois):A federal grand jury in Rockford [] returned a seven-count indictment charging KIRBY SEAN MCKEE ("McKee"), age 50, of Davis, Illinois, with having embezzled more than $500,000 in funds that had been placed in escrow accounts and insurance premiums...

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