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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

Massachusetts Court Ruling Gums Up Resales Of Foreclosed Homes Across State; Title Insurance Unavailable For Clouded Ownership Due To Faulty Paperwork

Posted on June 10, 2009
In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reports:A Springfield judge?s ruling has thrown the entire Massachusetts foreclosure market into disarray by bolstering claims that lenders improperly seized thousands of Bay State homes. Experts say Land Court Judge Richard Long?s recent decision to void two Springfield-area foreclosures over procedural flaws has gummed up resale of foreclosed

"Entire Industry Is A Scam," Says NY AG As Subpoenas Go Out To 14 Loan Modification Firms; "Intent To Sue" Sent To Another

Posted on June 10, 2009
Bloomberg News reports:New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed 14 loan-modification companies and plans to sue [another] as part of a probe of the ?foreclosure rescue? industry.(1) [...] "Many of these companies charge upfront fees which are specifically prohibited by law,? Cuomo said in a conference call...

NY Attorney Charged In "Seller Financing" Mortgage Fraud Scam; Accused Of Using Bogus Documents To Cheat Property Sellers, Banks

Posted on June 10, 2009
In New York City, the New York Law Journal & the Office of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney announce:An attorney with the New York City Law Department who had a gambling problem was arrested [last week] for mortgage fraud that involved inventing a lawsuit and forging the signature of a bankruptcy judge...

Lawyers' Client Compensation Fund Left Holding The Bag On $38.4M Bill Due To Closing Attorney's Escrow Funds Theft In Real Estate Deals

Posted on June 10, 2009
In Vancouver, British Columbia, The Vancouver Sun reports:Both the B.C. Crown counsel who is prosecuting former Vancouver lawyer Martin Wirick for perpetrating the biggest fraud in Canadian legal history, and the lawyer who is defending him have recommended a seven-year prison sentence...

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Massachusetts AG Settles Subprime Suit; Fremont To Cough Up $10M

Posted on June 10, 2009
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Associated Press reports:A bankrupt California-based subprime mortgage lender has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations of unfair practices that contributed to the current spike in Massachusetts home foreclosures...

Countrywide Vets Look To Score Big Profits Buying, Fixing, Reselling Bad Loans

Posted on June 09, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:Can folks who made millions peddling subprime loans use that same Midas touch to mint money from the housing market downturn? Former top executives from Countrywide Financial, once the nation's largest mortgage firm and a poster child for loose lending standards, have launched a company to buy distressed mortgages from banks and the government at a discount,

Expiring Statute Of Limitations Saves Alleged Scammers From Prosecution; Accused Of Recording "Obviously Phony" Forged Lien Satisfaction

Posted on June 09, 2009
In Stanislaus County, California, The Modesto Bee reports:A judge Friday threw out six felony charges in the 1993 sale of a Modesto home, saying fraud allegations against a doctor, a real estate broker and a notary public are too old to take to trial...

Colorado Mortgage Broker Charged With Using Phony Documents To Obtain Loan In Property Sale, Then Stealing Portion Of Proceeds From Seller, Buyer

Posted on June 09, 2009
In Aurora, Colorado, The Denver Post reports:The owner of an Aurora mortgage service company has been indicted by the state grand jury for fraudulently obtaining a home loan for a client and then stealing some of the proceeds from the subsequent real estate transaction...

Connecticut Voluntary Foreclosure Mediation Program Now Becomes Mandatory

Posted on June 09, 2009
The Connecticut Law Tribune reports:A voluntary foreclosure mediation program has worked so well in the eyes of [Connecticut] legislators that the General Assembly pushed through a measure to make the program mandatory starting July 1. Nearly 60 percent of those participating in the voluntary program have remained in their homes, and supporters contend that even more distressed mortgage holders

Delaware Regulators Form Task Force To Aggressively Attack Foreclosure Scams

Posted on June 09, 2009
In Dover, Delaware, WGMD Radio 92.7 FM reports:A mortgage fraud task force has been formed to help homeowners stay in their homes. The task force is dedicated to reducing foreclosure and foreclosure-related fraud in Delaware by providing information about mortgages and the foreclosure process, directing homeowners to certified housing counselors and agencies that offer free services, linking

California Feds, Local DAs Create Task Force To Target Foreclosure Scams, Mortgage Fraud

Posted on June 09, 2009
In California's San Joaquin Valley, the Contra Costa Times reports:Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back. The FBI, IRS, Secret Service, Department of Housing and district attorneys in Fresno, Tulare and other counties are among those involved...

Conn AG Probe Into Foreclosure Lawyers, Homeowner Complaints About Not Receiving Proper Notice Focuses On Lender Processing Services, Fannie, Freddie

Posted on June 09, 2009
In Hartford, Connecticut, The Wall Street Journal reports:Connecticut's attorney general is seeking information from mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and mortgage-processing services company Lender Processing Services Inc. on how they select law firms for foreclosure services...

Racial Steering, Bonuses For Referring Prime Borrowers To Subprime Loans Among Accusations By Ex-Wells Fargo Employees In Discriminatory Lending Suit

Posted on June 08, 2009
The New York Times reports:As she describes it, Beth Jacobson and her fellow loan officers at Wells Fargo Bank ?rode the stagecoach from hell? for a decade, systematically singling out blacks in Baltimore and suburban Maryland for high-interest subprime mortgages...

Arizona Loan Modification Scammer Gets 5 Years For Scamming 47 Struggling Homeowners Out Of Upfront Fees In Exchange For Phony Promises Of Help

Posted on June 08, 2009
From the Office of the Arizona Attorney General:Attorney General Terry Goddard [Friday] announced that Bobby John Herrera, 33, of Glendale, has been sentenced to five years in prison as the result of a mortgage loan assistance scam he orchestrated that victimized 47 Valley homeowners...

Judge Throws Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Scammer In Jail; Accused Of Engaging In Real Estate Business While Awaiting Criminal Trial, Violating Bond

Posted on June 08, 2009
In Orange County, Florida, WFTV Channel 9 reports:The accused ringleader in a major mortgage fraud case is back in jail because of an Eyewitness News investigation that found he was already back in business even though he was out on bond. Friday, a judge revoked it...

Sue First & Ask Questions Later!

Posted on June 08, 2009
A Pew Mortgage Investigations report by primary author, Nye Lavalle, describes the practice of using fraudulent affidavits and methods to assign promissory notes and conceal wrongdoing that some mortgage servicers and lenders are being suspected of. Among other things, this report shines light on the conduct of a certain Ocwen Loan Servicing employee, one Scott Anderson, who has received mention

Using "Gifts" & "Bonuses" To Screw Over The Unwitting New Home Buyer

Posted on June 07, 2009
In Washington, D.C., Public Citizen reports:Millions of new home purchasers each year are forced into binding mandatory arbitration by deceptive ?warranties,? and those warranties may violate the law in as many as 17 states, Public Citizen has found.This conclusion is contained in a report titled ?Home Court Advantage: How the Building Industry Uses Forced Arbitration to Evade Accountability...

Straw Buyer Scheme Coupled With Subsequent Sale Using Contract For Deed Constitutes Sale Of Unregistered Security, Says Arkansas Securities Regulator

Posted on June 07, 2009
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Arkansas Business reports:A Missouri real estate investment company that was popped last year by regulators in its home state has drawn a cease-and-desist order from Arkansas Securities Commissioner Heath Abshure.The Arkansas Securities Department announced Wednesday that it had ordered Greenleaf Cos...

NC AG Obtains Court Order Temporarily Shutting Down Loan Modification Firm Taking Upfront Fees; Seeks Permanent Ban, Penalties, Homeowner Refunds

Posted on June 07, 2009
In Raleigh, North Carolina, WRAL-TV Channel 5 reports:A Superior Court judge has ordered a Raleigh company that advertised on local gospel radio that it could save homes from foreclosure to stop doing business in North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Thursday...

Developers Knew Of Chinese Drywall "Stench" & Installed The Defective Wallboard Anyway?

Posted on June 07, 2009
In South Florida, the Broward-Palm Beach New Times reports:[S]everal sources involved with the investigation of Chinese drywall tell [New Times] that they've discovered that the developers and their employees knew about the stench while they were installing the defective wall board...

Las Vegas Landowner Prohibited From Developing Property Due To Airspace Restrictions Imposed By County To Pocket $15M In Lawsuit Settlement

Posted on June 07, 2009
In Clark County, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:A Las Vegas family that missed out on a chance to develop land near McCarran International Airport and blamed airspace restrictions will receive nearly $15 million from Clark County, an attorney for the family said Tuesday...

Brooklyn Feds Charge Nine In Straw Buyer Scam That Left Two Lenders Holding The Bag On $92M In Fraudulently Obtained Mortgages

Posted on June 07, 2009
From the Office of the United States Attorney (Brooklyn, New York):A federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned an indictment charging nine defendants with a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in losses exceeding $90 million. The indictment alleges the defendants conspired to defraud Washington Mutual Bank (?WAMU?) and DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc...

Suit Charges City Of St. Pete With Targeting, Harassing Homeless

Posted on June 06, 2009
In Central Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:St. Petersburg officials and police are using local ordinances to target and harass the homeless, depriving them of their constitutional rights, according to a federal lawsuit. A Gainesville public advocacy law firm and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington filed the 63-page complaint [...

Late Mob Godfather's Daughter Cuts Deal With NY Feds To Save Long Island Mansion From Foreclosure

Posted on June 06, 2009
In Old Westbury, Long Island, the New York Post reports:Mob princess Victoria Gotti is staying in her castle -- she's cut a tentative deal with Feds that will allow her to save her Long Island estate from foreclosure. Gotti had maintained she needed money owed to her by her ex-husband, Carmine Agnello from their divorce to make payments on the Old Westbury mansion...

Harvard Law Class Of 2009 Sets School Pro Bono Record

Posted on June 06, 2009
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard Law School News reports:Demonstrating a strong commitment to public service, the class of 2009 put in a record total of 308,605 pro bono hours, more than any previous class. This year?s graduates achieved an average of 542 hours of pro bono work per student, 502 hours more than the 40 required for graduation...

NYC Pro Bono Recruiting Effort Continues

Posted on June 06, 2009
In The Bronx, New York, the New York Law Journal reports:NYC Legal Outreach will hold its second meeting [Monday, June 8] to recruit attorneys to provide pro bono representation for the growing number of unrepresented consumers with financial and immigration problems...

Feds Hammer Countrywide's Mozilo, Two Top Deputies In Securities Fraud Civil Suit; Allegedly Hid Firm's Crumbling Finances During Subprime Meltdown

Posted on June 05, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, Bloomberg News reports:Former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo and two of his top deputies were sued by regulators for allegedly hiding the home lender?s deteriorating finances as the subprime mortgage crisis unfolded...

Ex-Mortgage Broker Gets 9+ Years In Subprime, Straw Buyer Mortgage & Foreclosure Rescue Scams Involving $200M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Loans

Posted on June 05, 2009
In New York City, The Wall Street Journal reports:A one-time mortgage broker was sentenced to more than nine years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty last year in a home-foreclosure rescue scheme and in a separate scheme to defraud subprime lenders...

Orange County DA Busts Alleged Straw Buyer, Mortgage Scam Ring; Involved $17.5M In Fraudulently Obtained Loans On 35 Properties

Posted on June 05, 2009
From the Office of the Orange County, California District Attorney:A real estate broker, her boyfriend, and his brother have been charged with conspiring to commit $17.5 million in real estate fraud for purchasing 35 properties in the names of ?straw buyers? and intentionally defaulting on loans in order to steal the loan money...

Florida Woman Charged In Alleged Foreclosure Surplus Scam; Accused Of Using Forged Documents To Swipe Excess Proceeds From Tax Deed Sales

Posted on June 05, 2009
In Pasco County, Florida, the Charlotte Sun reports:A Zephyrhills, Fla., woman is accused of conning local officials out of $93,104 in excess taxes from foreclosure sales, a reported scheme state investigators say spans three counties. Michelle Boyett, 33, was arrested [last week] and charged with first-degree grand theft of more than $100,000...

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