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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

Owner Of Northern California Loan Modification Firm Faces Foreclosure, Files Bankruptcy; Some Customers, Ex-Employees Call Him A Con Man

Posted on May 11, 2009
In Northern California, KPIX-TV Channel 5 reports:Some customers and even former employees of the company called "Saving California", which promised to help save homes in foreclosure, have told CBS 5 Investigates the company didn't deliver on its promises and call the man who runs it a "con man...

Foreclosed Arizona Homeowner Thwarts Lender's Illegal Lawsuit In Attempt To Collect Unpaid, Non-Recourse 2nd Mortgage Used To Purchase Home

Posted on May 10, 2009
From a press release from the office of Harper Law PLC:In a[n Arizona] foreclosure proceeding, the first mortgage is given preference over the subordinate or subsequent mortgages. In today's Arizona home market this process frequently leaves subordinate mortgages entirely unpaid after a foreclosure...

Florida Man Cops Plea To Stealing Title To Vacant Homes, Then Pocketing $500K+ In Subsequent Mortgage Refinancing Proceeds

Posted on May 10, 2009
From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] announced that a Columbia County man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme. [... Rory V.] Porter, 42, was arrested in November 2007 by the Alachua County Sheriff?s Office after detectives from the Alachua and Columbia County Sheriffs? Offices discovered Porter?s involvement in a

Debt Renegotiation Scams Not Limited To Foreclosure Rescue, Loan Modification Firms As Illinois AG Hammers Settlement Outfits In Separate Civil Suits

Posted on May 10, 2009
From the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation:Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Michael T...

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NY AG Subpoenas Fourteen Debt Settlement Companies & One Law Firm In Nationwide Probe; Vows To "Rein In A Renegade Industry"

Posted on May 10, 2009
From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [Thursday] announced a nationwide investigation into the debt settlement industry, subpoenaing fourteen debt settlement companies and one law firm.(1) Companies in the debt settlement industry often prey upon consumers who find themselves unable to keep up with credit card payments during these difficult economic

More On Now-Defunct, Alleged Attorney-Based Loan Modification Scam That Victimized 2000+ Homeowners

Posted on May 10, 2009
In San Francisco, California, SF Weekly recently ran a column on an alleged loan modification foreclosure rescue scam that clipped homeowners in foreclosure out of thousands of dollars and that is now out of business:The State Bar of California has taken over the law firm of Mitchell Roth, who had, in partnership with convicted felon Paul Noe II, convinced more than 2,000 troubled homeowners to

Ohio AG Tags Two Home Improvement Outfits With Suits Alleging Pocketing Homeowner Money, Failing To Deliver Professional Work

Posted on May 09, 2009
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:Attorney General Richard Cordray has filed two lawsuits against home improvement companies accused of defrauding Ohioans. One lawsuit, filed in the Union County Court of Common Pleas, charges ABC General Contracting and its owner, Jeremy Adams, with failure to deliver promised services...

Broome County Leaning Against Stripping Mineral Rights Away From Delinquent Owners Who Repurchase Property Earlier Lost In Tax Foreclosures

Posted on May 09, 2009
In Broome County, New York, the Binghampton Press & Sun Bulletin reports:Hard-luck Broome County property owners who lose out on tax foreclosures should keep their mineral rights, a special committee is recommending. Under a proposal to update county policies, Broome County will give up its claim to potentially lucrative mineral rights on properties lost to foreclosure and then repurchased by

Maine Woman Admits Misrepresenting Value Of Home In Foreclosure & Using It As Collateral For Bail Bond

Posted on May 09, 2009
In Farmington, Maine, the Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel reports:A woman who signed a bail lien using property in foreclosure to post bail for a man charged with manslaughter in the death of a toddler pleaded guilty to forgery Monday. Jamie Badeau, 24, of Wilton, misrepresented the value of the real estate she used to bail out David Cook, 26, of Wilton...

Couple Seeking To Make Some Extra Cash Left Holding The Bag In Straw Buyer Deal; Schemes Begin Unraveling As Economy Tanks

Posted on May 09, 2009
In Calgary, Alberta, The Calgary Herald reports:About two years ago, in a lawyer's office, Linda put her signature on a document she believed would help someone buy a house. She thought it was an easy way to make some money, while doing good for someone she understood just needed her "good name" to get a leg up...

"Wire-Wearing" Mistress Key To Federal Indictment Snagging Builder-Boyfriend In Alleged Tax Evasion Scheme; Accountant, Real Estate Agent Also Named

Posted on May 09, 2009
In Columbus, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:Federal agents put a secret recording device on the mistress of a central Ohio luxury-home builder and pieced together shredded documents from his accountant's trash to unravel a tax-evasion scheme that involved kickbacks to home buyers and fraudulent loans linked to one of Franklin County's largest mansions...

Washington AG Scores Big Win In Suit Involving Bogus Equity Stripping Sale Leasebacks & Surplus Ripoffs; Foreclosure Rescue Operator Tagged For $4.2M

Posted on May 08, 2009
From the Washington State Office of the Attorney General:The Washington Attorney General?s Office declared a major victory for consumers today in response to a judge?s order that a notorious foreclosure rescue scammer must pay more than $3.2 million to victims he wronged plus $179,000 in penalties for violating the Consumer Protection Act...

Fannie's Reverse Mortgage Rule Changes To Invite Fraud, "Bait & Switch" Tactics?

Posted on May 08, 2009
The Associated Press reports:Almost daily, the reverse mortgage industry is changing, and it?s worrying plenty of people. For years, reverse mortgages have been reliable, a way for seniors to live off the equity in their homes as they age. [...] But now, reverse mortgage veterans [...

NYC Housing Officials Fear Deteriorating Conditions For Tenants In Rent-Regulated Apartment Buildings In Danger Of Foreclosure

Posted on May 08, 2009
In New York City, The Indypendent reports:City housing officials laid out their plan to deal with multi-family building foreclosures [last week] at the New York City Council. In the Council?s Community Development committee, council members grilled newly minted Department of Housing Preservation Development ["HPD"] commissioner Rafael Cestero on the foreclosure crisis...

Tenants Forced Out By Raw Sewage In Condemned Omaha Building In Foreclosure; Landlord Unavailable For Comment

Posted on May 08, 2009
In Omaha, Nebraska, KETV Channel 7 reports:There?s an apartment complex in Omaha that the city?s chief housing inspector calls deplorable and the landlord is nowhere to be found. In fact, one building has raw sewage flowing throughout it.***?All my stuff is ruined,? said tenant Kimberly Wright...

Recognizing & Avoiding Foreclosure Rescue, Loan Modification Scams The Focus Of Miami Seminar

Posted on May 08, 2009
In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Carribean News reports:Alarming foreclosure rates in South Florida are prompting many homeowners to seek the services of foreclosure rescue and loan modification companies. To help consumers avoid being victimized and losing their money, the Miami-Dade Consumer Services Department and Mayor Carlos Alvarez?s Mortgage Fraud Task Force are holding educational

Florida To Belt Mortgage Lenders With Big Hike In Fees When Filing Foreclosure Actions

Posted on May 08, 2009
In Tallahassee, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:The cost of foreclosing on homes and businesses will rise sharply under a bill lawmakers are expected to approve [Friday], a change that one state leader predicts may persuade lenders to try harder to work out alternatives with struggling borrowers...

FTC, Others Testify On Foreclosure Rescue & Loan Modification Scams

Posted on May 07, 2009
The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday:The Federal Trade Commission [Wednesday] told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services that, with the rapid increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, the FTC has intensified its efforts to protect consumers from foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams...

California Regulator Shifts Over A Dozen Deputies To Investigate Loan Modification Outfits As Firms "Are Popping Up Like Weeds!" Says DRE Spokesman

Posted on May 07, 2009
In San Diego, California, the San Diego Union Tribune reports:Complaints about loan modification companies that charge hefty fees but provide little or no service are soaring statewide as distressed homeowners struggle to avoid foreclosure. While many firms are reputable, the state Department of Real Estate ["DRE"] is shifting resources to keep up with a mounting caseload of consumers who say

California State Bar Testifies On Role Of Some Attorneys In Upfront Fee Foreclosure Rescue & Loan Modification Scams

Posted on May 07, 2009
In a U.S. House of Representatives hearing Wednesday entitled Legislative Solutions for Preventing Loan Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Fraud, Mr. Scott Drexel, Chief Trial Counsel of The State Bar of California testified as to the role that some attorneys are playing in scamming the public in foreclosure rescue & loan modification fraud...

First Of Ten Defendants In Alleged San Diego-Area Land Grant Foreclosure Rescue Scam Cops Plea; 400+ Homeowners Victimized, Say Prosecutors

Posted on May 07, 2009
In San Diego, California, XETV-TV Channel 6 reports:A man accused with nine other people of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a home foreclosure scam pleaded guilty Tuesday to seven felonies, including conspiracy and grand theft. Octavio Escatel, 29, will be sentenced to probation and a year in jail at a June 5 hearing before Judge Charles Gill...

California Probe Continues Into Man At Center Of Possible Straw Buyer Scheme Leaving 150+ Homes In Foreclosure

Posted on May 07, 2009
In Fresno, Cailfornia, KSEE-TV Channel 24 reports:Renters at Stonemark Homes in east central Fresno could be the victims of a real estate scheme that stretches from the Valley down to Southern California. At the center of the suspected scam is 58 year old James McConville...

NYC Woman Charged With Swiping Three Manhattan Apartment Buildings From Dead Ex-Boyfriend's Estate

Posted on May 07, 2009
In New York City, the New York Post reports:A former exotic dancer with a body for sin and maybe a brain for it, too, stole three Upper East Side apartment buildings from her late ex-boyfriend and brazenly started collecting rent, authorities said. Flora Soto Hernandez, 54, was arrested Thursday on 21 counts of forgery and fraud for posing as a landlady, officials said...

Northern Virginia Loan Modification Firm The Target Of Media Scrutiny, Customer Protests

Posted on May 06, 2009
In Vienna, Virginia, The Huffington Post reports:The FTC said several [loan modification] operations, which guarantee they can get lenders to reduce monthly payments and prevent foreclosure in return for an upfront fee, advertised their services under names designed to suggest government affiliation -- names like Federal Loan Modification Law Center and Bailout...

Standing-Lacking Rhode Island Mortgage Lenders Now Under Attack By "Produce The Note" Strategy

Posted on May 06, 2009
In Providence, Rhode Island, NBC Nightly News reports on Rhode Island attorney George E. Babcock, who reportedly has used the "produce the note" strategy in his effort to help 100% of his foreclosure clients slam the brakes on the loss of their homes through foreclosure...

Feds, Florida Foreclosure Rescue Operators Settle Civil Charges Of TILA, HOEPA Violations

Posted on May 06, 2009
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:Two individuals who lured homeowners into high-cost, short-term loans secured by an additional mortgage on their homes have settled FTC charges that they violated federal law ? and a previous court order against them...

Desperate South Florida Developers Turn To Lease To Own Programs To Fill Up Unsold Inventory

Posted on May 06, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:[W]ith some of the region's swankiest projects honeycombed with empty units, developers are increasingly using lease-to-own programs as a way of attracting wary buyers and eager renters. Some are offering terms unheard of in normal markets...

California Man Charged With Selling House Out From Under Vacationing Homeowners

Posted on May 06, 2009
From the Office of the Santa Cruz County, California District Attorney:Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee announced [last week] that Raymond Tate was arrested today in connection with a deed dispute involving property in Ben Lomond owned by Tom Decker and his wife Maria McArthur...

Feds Award Colorado Firm Linked To Risky Subprime Mortgages With $798M Jackpot; State Congressional Staffers Refuse Comment

Posted on May 06, 2009
In Douglas County, Colorado, The Denver Post reports:The U.S. Treasury has pledged $798 million in incentives to Aurora Loan Services LLC of Douglas County for help in refinancing homeowner mortgages, according to The Associated Press. The company, a subsidiary of bankrupt Lehman Brothers, is the 10th Colorado financial institution this year to receive federal funds intended to boost the economy.

NYC Public Forum: Options When Facing Foreclosure

Posted on May 06, 2009
In New York City, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports:Thurs. May 7, Public Forum: Options When Facing Foreclosure, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Speaker: Lynn Armentrout, director, Lawyers Foreclosure Intervention Network, City Bar Justice Center. Held at the New York City Bar Association, 42 West 44th St...

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