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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

LA Man Charged With Stealing, Flipping House; Girlfriend Accused Of Notarizing Falsified Documents Used In Deed Theft

Posted on September 24, 2009
In El Monte, California, KTTV-TV Channel 11 reports:A Los Angeles city firefighter who works as a part-time real estate broker and his ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty [...] in connection with an alleged real estate scam. Brent Lamont Mathews, 43, is charged with six counts of forgery, three counts of attempt to file a false or forged instrument and two counts of grand theft, according to the Los

Minnesota Man Dodges Add'l Jail Time For Swindling Dying Mom; Pocketing Proceeds Of Home That Subsequently Fell Into Foreclosure Among Bad Acts

Posted on September 24, 2009
In Duluth, Minnesota, the Duluth News Tribune reports:A Twin Cities man has been sentenced to time served and nearly $10,000 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to swindling his dying mother in Duluth, including draining her bank accounts of more than $170,000...

Mortgage Broker Charged With Using I.D. Stolen From Customers To Buy Two Homes That Have Since Gone Into Foreclosure

Posted on September 24, 2009
In Marion County, Oregon, KTVZ-TV Channel 21 reports:Salem police arrested a mortgage broker accused of stealing personal information to buy houses - one during the height of the housing bubble and the other after it popped. Lt. Steve Birr says 38-year-old Julian Ruiz of Keizer financed a $376,000 home in 2006 by using stolen personal information from a customer...

Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Programs Get Low Grades From National Consumer Advocacy Group

Posted on September 24, 2009
From a press release from the National Consumer Law Center:A spate of new state and local programs that have emerged over the last year requiring mediations or conferences before foreclosures sales take place have great potential to help homeowners, but are suffering from the same lack of industry accountability that has plagued voluntary federal mortgage modification programs, according to a

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Ex-Real Estate Agent Faces Forgery, Theft Charges For Use Of Fraudulent HUD-1s To Dupe Lenders Into Giving 100% Financing To Same Buyer For 6 Homes

Posted on September 24, 2009
In Weld County, Colorado, The Greeley Tribune reports:A former Greeley Realtor whose license was yanked last year faces 12 felony charges in Weld District Court upon a grand jury indictment. The Weld County Sheriff's Office has a warrant out for the arrest of Tracy Todd, 35, of Greeley...

Mortgage Servicers Drifting Into Upfront Fee Loan Modification Scam Racket??? Media Intervention Helps Undo Screwing Over Of Two Arizona Homeowners

Posted on September 23, 2009
In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:Many homeowners say their banks won't call them back regarding a loan modification; however, some homeowners are paying hundreds of dollars for a loan modification only to have the bank foreclose on them...

Loan Officer Gets 37 Months For Role In Maryland Foreclosure Rescue Equity Stripping Scam Peddling Bogus Sale Leaseback Deals To Desperate Homeowners

Posted on September 23, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Winston Thomas, age 43, of New Carrollton, Maryland today to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for failure to file federal tax returns and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which he and his conspirators offered to help financially

Connecticut AG: Foreclosures Might Be Void Where Unauthorized Process Servers Are Used To Deliver Legal Papers To Delinquent Homeowners

Posted on September 23, 2009
In Hartford, Connecticut, The Hartford Courant recently reported on state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal slamming some state marshals for charging inflated fees when engaged in process serving in foreclosure actions. Another issue of concern raised by the AG was whether non-marshals were being subcontracted out to deliver the legal papers on the delinquent homeowners...

Arizona Couple Seeks Loan Modification; Lender Responds By Freezing Funds In Checking, Savings Accounts

Posted on September 23, 2009
In Scottsdale, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:A Scottsdale couple who asked for a loan modification and then got behind on their payments recently got a rude surprise. Roger and Staci Schneider went to their bank, the Desert Schools Credit Union, on Thursday to make a withdrawal...

Loan Servicer Drags Feet On "Deed In Lieu" Offer By Delinquent Borrower; Home Sits Vacant For A Year Before Title Finally Passes In Foreclosure Sale

Posted on September 23, 2009
In Hopkins, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:Bob Lerner knew he couldn't afford the mortgage payments on his family's home in Hopkins. So in January, Lerner told the bank: The house is yours. Eight months later, Lerner is still wondering why the bank wouldn't take it...

Mortgage Servicer Threatens Foreclosure, Initiates Debt Collection Proceedings Despite Valid Loan Mod Being In Effect, Says Ohio Homeowner In Lawsuit

Posted on September 23, 2009
In Hamilton County, Ohio, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:Carolyn S. Cable thought she had worked out a deal with her mortgage company to save her home from foreclosure after she had multiple brain surgeries and suffered a stroke that made her unable to work...

Final Conspirator In Maryland Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam Gets 46 Months

Posted on September 23, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Cheryl Brooke, age 52, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland [...] to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which she and her conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from

Minister, Wife Charged Of Duping Elderly Man Into Signing Over Home; Subsequent Refinancing, Failure To Make Payments Leave House In Foreclosure

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Ventura, California, the Ventura County Star reports:The pastor of the Solid Rock Christian Center in Ventura and his wife were arrested Thursday for allegedly duping an elderly man into signing over the deed to his home. Alonzo Gene McCowan, commonly known as the Rev...

Conn. AG Slams State Marshals For Double Billing When Process Serving In Foreclosures; Practice Coincided With Possible Attorney Kickback Arrangement

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Hartford, Connecticut, The Hartford Courant reports:Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in a sweeping action against some of the highest-earning state marshals, has concluded that a handful of marshals broke the law when they double-billed for the delivery of papers in foreclosure actions...

Jury Finds Central Florida Couple Guilty Of Grand Theft For Tricking Elderly Widow Into Signing Away Title To Her Home

Posted on September 22, 2009
In New Port Richey, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:To Cynthia and Joseph Clancy, it wasn't enough to spend Eloise Mudway's savings, take her home and isolate the elderly widow from her friends. Mudway didn't die fast enough for the couple, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told jurors on Monday...

Attorney/Ex-Georgia Lawmaker Gets Six Years In Sale Of Forged Title Insurance Policies To Unwitting Homebuyers; 180 Files Involved, Says Underwriter

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Carroll County, Georgia, the Times Georgian reports:A Carroll County attorney was sentenced [last week] to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 57 counts of theft by taking and forgery. Charles A. Thomas Jr., who at one time represented the city of Temple and the Carroll County Board of Education and formerly served in the Georgia House of Representatives, had been under

Use Of "Blanket Receivership" By Florida Condo Associations In Struggle To Stay Afloat Continues; Rent Skimming, Deadbeat Landlords Left Furious

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:Each month, Judd Tyler, the president of his townhome association, discovers his community doesn't have enough money to pay all of its bills.(1) So the townhome board took action. It is among the first in the area to obtain a court order to force delinquent landlords to turn over rent payments to them...

200 Families In C. Florida Condo Complex Temporarily Dodge The Boot As Association Coughs Up $10K For Unpaid Water Bill; Most Units Face Foreclosure

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Kissimmee, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:The water was still flowing Monday afternoon for nearly 200 families in a Kissimmee condo complex. Toho Water Authority put up a giant lighted sign in the Cascades condo complex last week, warning residents their water would be turned off at noon on Monday because of a $50,000 unpaid water bill...

City Turns On Spigot For Tenants In Home In Foreclosure; Landlord Bolts After Skimming Rent & Stiffing Bank, Leaving Unpaid Water Bills Behind

Posted on September 22, 2009
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, WOOD-TV Channel 8 reports:An apartment building left dry for five days after the landlord failed to pay the water bill has water again. A city water employee turned the valve near the curb just after 1 p.m. [Friday]. "Thank you...

Calif. Bar Official: "The Number Of Attorneys Using Their Law Licenses To Essentially Take Money From Unwary But Trusting Consumers Is Astounding!"

Posted on September 21, 2009
From a recent press release from The State Bar of California:The State Bar of California, alarmed by the number of lawyers preying on vulnerable homeowners, [last week] identified 16 attorneys who are under investigation for misconduct related to loan modification...

Lack Of Resources, Capabilities, Knowledge Or Manpower Doesn't Stop Some Operators From Pocketing Upfront Fees For Bogus Loan Modification Services

Posted on September 21, 2009
ABC News reports:The housing crisis has left millions of homeowners desperately trying to avoid foreclosure, but their plight is only made worse by schemers who promise help but instead seek only to scam. Now the Obama administration is highlighting its multi-agency effort to stop these scams...

Nevada AG Calls For More Criminal Prosecutions & Jail Time For Loan Modification Scammers

Posted on September 21, 2009
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:Nevada ranks number one in the nation for mortgage modification scams. Most of the resources in the Nevada Attorney General's Office have been dedicated to tracking down and prosecuting fraudulent loan modification companies...

Michigan AG Criminal Prosecution Yields Guilty Pleas From Three Outfits For Bogus Loan Modification Services

Posted on September 21, 2009
In Lansing, Michigan, The Bay City Times reports:Victims of foreclosure fraud schemes by three Michigan companies will be able to receive refunds, state Attorney General Mike Cox announced [...]. SaveMyHome USA, Payment Doctors and the Michigan Economic Reinstatement Program each pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Michigan Credit Services Protection Act, Cox said in a press

Long Island-Based Loan Modification Firm Faces Attack From Both NY AG & Homeowner Class Action Suit For Allegedly Peddling Bogus Foreclosure Help

Posted on September 21, 2009
In New York City, Fox 5 News recently ran a story on Amerimod, a Long Island-based loan modification operator whose activities have prompted a lawsuit in August by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, as well as a class-action lawsuit by homeowners in July...

Obama Administration Meets With 12 State AGs In Effort To Squash Foreclosure Rescue Scams; FTC Considers Nationwide Ban On Upfront Fees For Loan Help

Posted on September 20, 2009
The Washington Post reports:The Obama administration vowed Thursday to squash scams targeting homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, reviving a five-month-old pledge as millions of borrowers remain at risk of losing their homes. A group of high-ranking government officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy F...

California AG Bags Three Suspects In Refinancing Scam; Allegedly Fleeced 70+ Borrowers Of $950K+; Victims Left With $30M In Loans w/ Unwanted Terms

Posted on September 20, 2009
From the Office of the California Attorney General:Continuing his fight against mortgage scams, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [...] announced that agents from his office have arrested Michael McConville, and two of his associates(1) for their roles in a "criminal conspiracy" to steal nearly $1 million from borrowers seeking to refinance their homes...

Ex-L.I. Lawmaker Accused In $82M Mortgage Scam Now Charged w/ Forging Lender Endorsement On Check To Illegally Pocket Insuance Cash For Burned Home

Posted on September 20, 2009
In Suffolk County, New York, The Southampton Press reports:Former Suffolk County Legislator George O. Guldi was indicted for a second time this year Thursday, September 17, in a Riverhead courtroom, on unrelated felony insurance fraud charges stemming from a fire that destroyed his Westhampton Beach home nearly a year ago...

Maine Regulators Warn Of Scammers Posing As State Agency Employees To Target Homeowners With Foreclosure Help

Posted on September 20, 2009
In Augusta, Maine, WBZ-TV Channel 38 reports:The Maine State Housing Authority says homeowners who've been receiving recorded phone messages from someone using its name should be wary of a scam. Callers tell homeowners to call the "Maine Housing Authority" to help with foreclosures or to refinance their mortgage...

Illegal Use Of POA To Rip Off Homes, Other Assets Of The Elderly & Vulnerable Now Tougher To Pull Off In NYS ... Hopefully

Posted on September 19, 2009
In New York City, Time Magazine reports:Misappropriation of an elderly person's assets by someone legally authorized to oversee them may now be a lot tougher to pull off in the State of New York. New legislation that went into effect Sept. 1 ? in the form of a radically changed power-of-attorney (POA) document ? couldn't have come at a better time...

Oregon Regulators To Crack Down On Self-Titled "Specialists" & "Advisers" Having Little Or No Professional Training

Posted on September 19, 2009
In Portland, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:State regulators are trying to clamp down on the use of misleading financial services and insurance credentials that they say leave seniors vulnerable to abuse and fraud. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services is proposing new rules that would ban the use of "specialist," "adviser" or similar titles by salespeople who lack legitimate

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