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

Lender Erroneously Forecloses On Home Earlier Sold In Short Sale; Soon-To-Be-Married Couple Say Thieves Took Wedding Gifts, Leave Behind Beer Cans

Posted on September 13, 2009
In Novi, Michigan, WDIV-TV Channel 4 reports:A metro Detroit couple set to be married in nine days said the house they purchased is now at the center of police investigation because of a foreclosure mixup. And to top it off, thieves broke into the house and stole thousands of dollars in wedding gifts...

Judge Allows Prosecution Of California Man Accused Of Using Forged Deed To Steal Home To Continue

Posted on September 13, 2009
In Santa Cruz, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:A man accused of taking ownership of a home that wasn't his knew the real story behind the Ben Lomond property when he moved in this spring, according to testimony in court Tuesday. The computer of Daniel Judd, formerly of Saratoga, contained records identifying the property's legitimate owner as Pleasanton couple Tom Decker and Maria

Water Shutoff, Deteriorating Conditions In Central Florida Apartment Complex Facing Foreclosure May Force Tenants Onto Street

Posted on September 13, 2009
In New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:With only a trickle of water coming from their faucets, tenants of a Wayne Avenue apartment complex find themselves drowning in a sea of foreclosure red tape and unpaid water bills. As sprinklers rain H2O onto the golf course across the street from their residence [...

"Grave-Robbing" Florida Man Used Forged Deed To Steal Dead Man's Home, Say Cops

Posted on September 13, 2009
In Panama City, Florida, The News Herald reports:Police arrested Timothy James Benson, 52, on one count of forgery, one count of uttering a forged instrument and grand theft. The arrest stems from an investigation into the theft of a parcel of property and the house on that parcel, according to a news release from the Panama City Police Department...

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Seattle-Area Man Faces Multiple Charges Of Pocketing Tenant Deposits From Would-Be Renters On Homes Belonging To Others

Posted on September 12, 2009
In King County, Washington, The Seattle Times reports:Paul Bakovich, who was arrested last month after authorities said he took nearly $4,300 in deposits from seven people he allegedly scammed into believing he owned rental properties, has been arrested again -- for allegedly using the same ruse...

Arizona Vendor Of Items Stripped From Foreclosed Homes Faces Sentencing This Month; Used Craigslist, Consignment Shop, Estate Sales To Unload Goods

Posted on September 12, 2009
In Fountain Hills, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:A Fountain Hills man will be sentenced later this month for stripping foreclosed homes of their appliances, a crime which officials say is rapidly on the rise. Mark Sydnor, 54, was a middleman in the sale of items from foreclosed homes, according to a fraud task force investigating that and similar crimes...

Housing Discrimination Based On Race, National Origin, Familial Status All On Massachusetts AG Radar

Posted on September 12, 2009
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office filed a housing discrimination complaint against two Somerville property owners for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment to a prospective tenant and his family on the basis of their race and national origin...

Florida AG, Developer Settle Civil Rights Allegations Of Violating State Fair Housing Act Accessibility Standards

Posted on September 12, 2009
From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [...] announced that his office has obtained a settlement for a Central Florida couple resolving allegations of civil rights violations related to their condominium. Under the settlement, Brevard County developer Tricon Development Corporation paid $15,000 in civil damages to Josephine and Dominic DeRusso, which

Home-Based Meth Labs A Threat To Health & Pocketbook

Posted on September 12, 2009
From the Rim Country of Central Arizona, The Payson Roundup reports:Health and law enforcement officials across the country are becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of homes being sold that were once used as meth houses or laboratories. The problem developing is that former homes where meth was either used or manufactured are in fact health hazards to anyone currently residing in them due

"Zombie Debt" Buyers Now Required To Produce Documentation Tracing Their Ownership As Part Of Collection Lawsuits Brought In NC Under New State Law

Posted on September 11, 2009
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Asheville Citizen Times reports:Companies that buy up unpaid debt and pressure consumers to pay it off are being targeted under a new state law that requires them to prove the people they're chasing actually owe them money...

Title Agent Gets 7 Years For Looting $3.4M From Escrow; Used Phony Docs, "Ponzi" Approach To Conceal Scam Involving 16 Properties With Unpaid Liens

Posted on September 11, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Deborah Williams, age 57, of Pasadena, Maryland, the owner of [Day Title, Inc.,] a Severna Park title company, [...] to 84 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for mail fraud related to a scheme to divert settlement funds to her own benefit, [...

Connecticut Woman Charged With Ripping Off Her 89-Year Old Mother Of Home, Cash

Posted on September 11, 2009
In Ansonia, Connecticut, WTNH-TV Channel 8 reports:An Ansonia woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly violating the court-ordered fiduciary duties for her 89-year-old mother. Donna D. Kingston, 61, allegedly withdrew more than $72,000 by closing a CD account and withdrawing funds from her mother's bank account in May and June 2007...

Ailing Senior Loses Home To Foreclosure Despite Paying $3K To Foreclosure Rescue Operator To Resolve Mortgage Problem

Posted on September 11, 2009
In Tauranga, New Zealand, The New Zealand Herald reports:An ailing retired man has lost his home of 22 years and thousands of dollars after agreeing to have his mortgage handled by a supposed charitable trust. [... Don Clark, 65,] first fell into debt after a vicious assault in 2006 left him with serious head injuries and impaired vision...

Foreclosure Flood Means Brisk Business For Phoenix-Area "Home Strippers" - Craigslist A Favored Outlet For Unloading Loot

Posted on September 11, 2009
In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports on the recent rash of "foreclosure stripping" incidents taking place in the area:Julie Halferty, a special agent who oversees the Phoenix FBI Mortgage Fraud Task Force, said no one knows exactly how many foreclosed houses in the Valley have been stripped by former owners, neighbors or strangers...

Deadbeat Landlord/Condo Converter Ordered To Turn Over Title To 15 Units After Pocketing Rent, Stiffing Association Out Of $175K In Maintenance Fees

Posted on September 10, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:A South Florida condominium converter who was renting out units but ducking his maintenance fees has been ordered to turn over ownership of 15 units to the condo association, plus rent checks that had been improperly collected...

Upstate NY Couple Charged In Alleged "Shotgunning" Mortgage Fraud Scam As Multiple First Mortgages Are Obtained On Same Properties

Posted on September 10, 2009
In Saratoga Springs, New York, The Business Review reports:A Saratoga Springs couple is accused of stealing $2.5 million from several banks in a mortgage scheme in which they obtained multiple first mortgages on six properties they bought more than two years ago...

200+ Poor Tenants Face The Boot As Lender Threatens Foreclosure Of Mold-Infested Complex; Failed Inspections Could Result In Rent Subsidy Cut-Off

Posted on September 10, 2009
In Daytona Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:For the past few years, some residents of the Daytona Village Apartments say mold has mushroomed on their walls and ceilings, their homes have been invaded by cockroaches and spiders, and their refrigerators have conked out and not been replaced...

Student Film Documentary On Subprime Crisis Results In Legal Threats From Brooklyn Developer

Posted on September 10, 2009
In Brooklyn, New York, The New York Times reports on three Hunter College students, a film documentary called "Subprimed" that they are working on that reportedly exposes the exploitation that lies behind much of the foreclosure and subprime crisis in Brooklyn, and a local real estate development company that has its owners, brothers Michael and Joseph Makhani, pretty ticked off...

Texas Homeowner: Updated Flood-Plain Maps, Retroactively Charged Force-Placed Insurance Leaves Me Facing Foreclosure

Posted on September 09, 2009
In Waco, Texas, the Waco Tribune Herald reports:The Federal Emergency Management Agency?s policy requiring flood insurance in flood plains is meant to protect life and property. But in East Waco, it may cost a single mom her home. Charrie Rollins, 36, is facing foreclosure on the $81,000 brick home she bought three years ago [...

Title To Landmark Minneapolis Mansion Stolen By Forged Deed, Say Owners

Posted on September 09, 2009
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports on claims that someone has tried to steal the title to the Van Dusen mansion, a 117-year-old landmark on LaSalle Avenue which resembles a Gothic castle with its thick, pink limestone walls, from its current owners...

Ohio Woman Concerned Over Claim Of Lien On Home For Debt That's Not Hers

Posted on September 09, 2009
In Batavia, Ohio, WKRC-TV Channel 12 reports:A Batavia woman was surprised to receive a letter saying a lien was placed against her property, but doesn't know how to put a stop to it. Beverly Townsend received such a letter in July from a Columbus lawyer...

Unlawful Use Of POA To Get Reverse Mortgage On 90-Year Old Mom's Home Among Charges Facing Clemson Councilwoman

Posted on September 09, 2009
In Clemson, South Carolina, the Greenville News reports:A Clemson city councilwoman was arrested [...] and charged with several counts of fraud in what authorities allege was a scheme to solicit money to pay for her daughter's legal troubles by claiming in part that her daughter had cancer...

Ex-Mortgage Broker Cops Fraud Plea In D.C.-Area Straw Buyer, Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Posted on September 08, 2009
From the Office of the FBI (Washington, D.C. Field Office):Rasheeda M. Canty, a former mortgage broker, pled guilty [...] to engaging in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in the District of Columbia and Maryland, [Federal authorities] announced [Friday]...

Bankruptcy Judge Allows Arizona Homeowner Seeking Loan Modification To Grill Wells Fargo Senior Exec Under Oath On Servicer's Poor Customer Service

Posted on September 08, 2009
In Phoenix, Arizona, The New York Times reports:Bobbi Giguere had no luck in securing a loan modification from her mortgage servicer, Wells Fargo. For months, she had sent the bank the financial documents it requested to process her modification. But each time she called to check on the request, she was told to send her paperwork again...

DA's Office Charges One, Seeks Another In Alleged "Principal Reduction" Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Suspects Believed To Have Illegally Pocketed $2M+

Posted on September 08, 2009
From the Office of the Santa Clara, California District Attorney:39-year old Rene Alvarez of San Jose was arrested yesterday by investigators with the Santa Clara County District Attorney?s Office on charges that he defrauded hundreds of homeowners, whose homes were in foreclosure, in a wide-ranging loan modification scam...

Bay-Area Mega-Landlord Barred From Clipping Tenants For Illegal Rent Hikes In Failed Attempt To Exploit "Small Landlord" Loophole Around Rent Limits

Posted on September 08, 2009
In East Palo Alto, California, Beyond Chron reports on the story of a local major residential landlord that has been barred by court order in the Oberle v. Page Mill Properties class action lawsuit from collecting or enforcing rent increases that do not comply with the limits of the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Ordinance...

Sentencing Hearing Begins For Maryland Man Convicted For Role In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Posted on September 07, 2009
In Baltimore, Maryland, WBAL-TV Channel 11 reports:A Maryland man who ran television ads claiming he could save homes from foreclosure was in court Thursday for the first day of his mortgage fraud sentencing. Michael K. Lewis pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud in a foreclosure rescue scheme...

Straw Buyer To Cough Up $6.5K To Settle Civil Charges For Role In Massachusetts Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Posted on September 07, 2009
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:[Last week], Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office entered into a settlement with Marie Bettie Mereus, resolving allegations that she participated in a foreclosure rescue scheme in which nineteen defendants ? mortgage brokers, real estate brokers, closing attorneys and straw buyers ? deceived homeowners facing foreclosure into selling their

Bronx DA Charges Two With Bilking $1.3M From Three Victims In Bogus Sales Of Real Estate They Didn't Own

Posted on September 07, 2009
From the Office of the Bronx County, New York District Attorney:Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced [...] that two Bronx men(1) have been charged with bilking three people out of more than one point three million dollars ($1,300,000) in an alleged scam involving the sale of property that the defendants did not own and were not authorized to sell...

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