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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

Ohio AG Wins $300K+ Judgment In Loan Modification Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Fires Warning Shots Against 10 Others With Subpoenas, C&D Orders

Posted on May 05, 2009
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray [Monday] announced that a foreclosure rescue scam company operating out of Cincinnati has been shut down and now owes more than $300,000 in damages and civil penalties...

3 Accused With Stealing $4M In Escrow Funds; Title Insurer Takes $3M+ Hit; Used Photoshop Software To Create Altered Bank Statements, Say C. Fla. Cops

Posted on May 05, 2009
In Orange County, Florida, WDBO Radio reports:Orange County Sheriff's Economic Crime Unit arrested Michelle Worley [...] on grand theft charges. Deputies allege that between December 2004 and July 2006, Worley and the partners of Preferred Alliance Title, Patrick Torre and John Callaghan, misappropriated approximately $4 million in escrow funds...

Title Agency Owner Cops Plea To Pocketing $3.4M In Escrow Funds From Real Estate Closings Intended To Pay Off Existing Lien Holders

Posted on May 05, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):Deborah Williams, age 56, of Pasadena, Maryland, the owner of a Severna Park title company, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud related to a scheme to divert settlement funds to her own benefit, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J...

Suspected Memphis-Area Straw Buyer, Rent Skimming Scam Leaves Tenants Facing Eviction & Investors Holding The Bag

Posted on May 05, 2009
In Memphis, Tennessee, WREG-TV Channel 3 reports:You've seen homes across Memphis foreclosed and boarded up.But there's a deeper problem uncovered by News Channel 3; one that points to a housing hustle and one Memphis couple. Our investigation revealed a troubling pattern that has one attorney and the state promising a thorough investigation...

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Countrywide's Mozilo Attempt To Move Florida AG Suit To Federal Court Thwarted As District Judge Boots Case Back To State Court

Posted on May 05, 2009
From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] announced that his office has obtained a federal court order remanding the Attorney General?s lawsuit against former Countrywide CEO and Chairman of the Board Angelo R...

South Carolina High Court Slams Brakes On Thousands Of In-State Fannie, Freddie Foreclosures

Posted on May 05, 2009
In Columbia, South Carolina, The Associated Press reports:South Carolina's highest court has temporarily stopped thousands of pending foreclosure sales so homeowners can take advantage of a new federal program to refinance mortgages. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a restraining order preventing South Carolina judges from finalizing foreclosure sales on properties with mortgages backed

Media Report Shines Light On Use Of Multiple Corporate Hat-Wearing Dummy "Vice Presidents" By Lenders To Sign Court Documents In Foreclosure Actions

Posted on May 04, 2009
In Central Florida, an investigative report by the St. Petersburg Times shines light on, what appears to be, a bogus arrangement being utilized by foreclosing mortgage lenders in which they authorize employees of a local firm to sign as "vice president'' in assigning loans from one company to another in an attempt to expedite foreclosure actions (and, presumably, with the hope that judges hearing

More On Lenders, Mortgage Servicers Using Short Sale Contracts, Promissory Notes To Squeeze Homeowners Looking To Unload "Underwater" Homes

Posted on May 04, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports:Financially troubled borrowers may think that foreclosure or a short sale of their home means their mortgage woes are over. Not necessarily.Some homeowners are finding that when they sell their homes for less than the outstanding mortgages -- a so-called short sale -- their mortgage companies are going after them for some or all of the difference...

Woman Cops Guilty Plea In California Loan Modification Fraud That Scammed 100+ People

Posted on May 04, 2009
From the Office of the California Attorney General:Continuing his crackdown on mortgage fraud, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. late Thursday won a guilty plea from 22-year old Anna Santos, who conned thousands of dollars from homeowners in a "cruel and sophisticated" loan scam...

Massachusetts Community Organizer Uses "Sword & Shield" Approach To Stop Foreclosure Evictions

Posted on May 04, 2009
In Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, PBS' Bill Moyers Journal reports:[C]ommunity organizer Steve Meacham of City Life/Vida Urbana is fighting on the frontlines of the foreclosure crisis. Meacham and his colleagues at City Life employ a community organizing strategy they call the ["sword & shield"...

More On Property Owners Being Tricked Or Deceived By Scammers Into Signing Documents

Posted on May 03, 2009
The following California cases appear to support the proposition that criminal prosecutions for forgery can be properly brought against those (ie. equity stripping, foreclosure rescue operators and others) who trick or deceive financially strapped homeowners into unwittingly signing over interests in their homes through grant and trust deeds:People v...

Arizona Feds Being Flooded With Thousands Of Complaints On Loan Modification Scams

Posted on May 03, 2009
In Phoenix, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:At a time when families are losing their homes to foreclosure, others are seeing a way to prey on their desperation. And right now the FBI is inundated with loan modification fraud schemes.***"I've never seen these levels of fraud in the 12 years I've been in Arizona," said Julie Hafferty, Special Agent in charge of Arizona's mortgage and fraud

Another Prospective Tenant Falls Victim To Phony Landlord Scam

Posted on May 03, 2009
In Dale City, Virginia, Newschannel 8 reports:A local family who thought they had found the perfect home ended up losing more than $1,000 to an accused scam artist. The five-bedroom house on a quiet Dale City street was everything Patricia Keith had always wanted...

84 Year Old New Jersey Woman Among Those Targeted In Alleged Equity Stripping, Sale Leaseback Scam

Posted on May 03, 2009
In Bayonne, New Jersey, The Jersey Journal reports:An 84-year-old Bayonne woman is among the victims of two Union City companies that promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure save their homes, officials say. But instead of saving people's homes, the companies purchased the houses at deep discounts, saddled the owners-turned-tenants with even bigger monthly payments, and in a number of cases

Undercover Cops Bag Arizona Man Facing Foreclosure In Alleged Attempt To Strip Home Of Fixtures, Appliances & Unload Them Using Craigslist Ad

Posted on May 03, 2009
In Maricopa County, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Kailash Bhatt, a local real estate agent, in connection with stealing various housing fixtures from a foreclosed house and reselling them. He was charged April 21 with theft and defrauding secured creditors...

California Police Chief To Slap Cuffs On Negligent Bank Officials Over Blighted Foreclosed Homes?

Posted on May 02, 2009
In Indio, California, The Wall Street Journal reports:Officials at a Citigroup Inc. office in St. Louis placed a call to this desert town recently. The bank had caught word that Indio was coming after the lending giant with fines and threats of criminal charges...

Evictions, Foreclosure, Consumer Debt To Be Addressed By NYC Legal Outreach Pro Bono Effort

Posted on May 02, 2009
In New York City, The New York Law Journal reports:With foreclosures and evictions on the rise and consumers increasingly saddled with debt, New York City officials are enlisting attorneys to volunteer their time for a new pro bono effort. Approximately 40 representatives from pro bono organizations, the court system, several bar associations and city law schools gathered yesterday at City Hall

Framingham Legal Services Group Scores $20K For Post-Foreclosure Eviction Defense Project

Posted on May 02, 2009
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Business Journal reports:The Boston Bar Foundation has awarded $185,000 in grants to eight nonprofits that all work to prevent homelessness, the organization said Tuesday. Organizations that received grants include the [...

Florida Statewide Volunteer Legal Program To Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure Nearing 1,000 Attorneys

Posted on May 02, 2009
In Tallahassee, Florida, the Miami Daily Business Review reports on the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes ("FASH") program, a pro bono effort to help financially strapped Florida homeowners nearing, but not yet in, foreclosure avoid the loss of their homes...

Mother Nature Forces Family From Home Of 30+ Years; Slow-Moving Landslide Victimizes Over A Dozen Others; Lender Left Holding Worthless Mortgage

Posted on May 02, 2009
In North Salt Lake, Utah, KSL-TV Channel 5 reports:A slow-moving landslide has been described as a nightmare that has lasted more than 10 years, and it is finally forcing a North Salt Lake family to move from their longtime home. The floor and the walls are cracking, paint is bubbling and beams are breaking in Dauneen Abel's house...

Obtaining Mortgage Loan On Condo Unit May Depend On Neighbors' Financial Stability

Posted on May 02, 2009
The Washington Post reports:Benjamin Chiang nearly lost the chance to refinance his condominium when his lender discovered that many other people in the building were behind on their condo dues. "It made me a little peeved that my loan depended on the credentials and behavior of my neighbors," said Chiang, who bought his Arlington home eight years ago...

Foreclosure Mediation Program To Begin In Washington County

Posted on May 02, 2009
In Washington County, Pennsylvania, the Observer Reporter reports:In an attempt to reduce the number of people who lose their homes because of mortgage foreclosure, Washington County President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca this week set up a program to avert what she called a "crisis...

Bankruptcy Cramdown Legislation To Force Home Mortgage Modifications Fails In Senate

Posted on May 01, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports:A measure to allow bankruptcy judges to rework mortgages of strapped homeowners failed in the U.S. Senate Thursday, clouding its chances of becoming law. The defeat is a setback for the Obama administration, which had championed the measure as a central plank of its plan to right the housing market...

Foreclosure Rescue Operator Gets 60 Days In Jail Amid Ongoing SC AG Suit Alleging UTP Act Violation & Criminal Probe Into Unauthorized Practice Of Law

Posted on May 01, 2009
In Horry County, South Carolina, The Horry Independent reports:A Lexington, N.C., man, who is listed as a defendant in more than 40 mortgage foreclosures in Horry County court, was sent to jail recently on contempt of court charges. Horry County jail logs show Robert Steve Jolly, 59, was still in jail [Wednesday] morning, two weeks into his 60-day sentence...

Ohio AG Targets Loan Modification Firm Accused Of Pocketing Upfront Fees In Exchange For Empty Promises

Posted on May 01, 2009
In Conneaut, Ohio, WKYC-TV Channel 3 reports:The companies promise to rescue you from losing your home. Instead, they take your money and do nothing. Just ask Carol Jenkins of Conneaut. She and and her late son, Robert Curtis, trusted James Van Putten and his local company, Please Save My Home, to rescue them from foreclosure...

Sleazy Tactics Alleged By Washington State AG In Civil Suit Against Debt Collector

Posted on May 01, 2009
From the Office of the Washington State Attorney General:The Attorney General?s Office is suing an Everett-based collection agency accused of harassing, threatening and cussing at consumers. Representatives of Topco Financial Services, Inc., allegedly called debtors names such as ?loser,? scum,? ?plight on society,? ?no good,? ?lowlife,? ?deadbeat,? ?worthless,? or ?terrible parents,? as well as

Denver Man With Unaffordable Mortgage Strips House, Sells Fixtures On Craigslist, Walks Away, Then Apologizes After Bank Obtains Restraining Order

Posted on May 01, 2009
In Denver, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports:The man 9Wants to Know caught stripping fixtures in his home ahead of foreclosure and then yelled at our team from his front doorway, now says he's sorry. "Our intentions were never to strip the house, but after the treatment of the bank towards us it was a decision made out of hurt, anger and stress not knowing it was an illegal act," wrote Jesse

Maryland Lawmaker Accused Of Scamming Homeowner In Foreclosure Dodges Bullet As Unfavorable Jury Verdict Limits Liability To $11K

Posted on May 01, 2009
In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:An Anne Arundel County jury ruled Thursday that a state delegate will have to pay $11,000 to a woman who signed her home over to him, but that he did not intentionally defraud her. Del. Tony McConkey, a Severna Park Republican, said that the ruling was "a complete vindication...

City Of Los Angeles Votes To Ban All Upfront Fees Charged By Loan Modification Firms

Posted on April 30, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports: The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to make it illegal for so-called mortgage consultants to charge an upfront fee for services when helping distressed homeowners try to modify their payments...

Mass AG Gets Injunction Against Loan Modification Firm Accused Of Violating State Consumer Protection Act, Foreclosure Rescue Regs

Posted on April 30, 2009
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office has entered into a stipulated preliminary injunction with three defendants for their alleged inappropriate business practices in offering loan modification assistance...

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