The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Real Estate & Property Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Real Estate & Property Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

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

Atlanta Man Faces Theft By Deception Charges For Allegedly Taking Money From 11 Homeowners Facing Foreclosure, Failing To Deilver On Promises

Posted on January 04, 2009
In Atlanta, Georgia, Fox5 News reports that a man who made money off of people about to lose their homes to foreclosure has been arrested. Dwayne Green, of Maximus Investment Group, has been charged with one felony count of theft by deception for taking $18,000 from one homeowner facing foreclosure, and one misdemeanor count of theft by deception for pocketing lesser amounts from ten other

Arizona Man Faces Charges Of Pocketing Upfront Fees For Allegedly Phony Loan Modification, Foreclosure Help

Posted on January 04, 2009
In Glendale, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports: Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced Wednesday that a Glendale man has been indicted on charges related to a mortgage assistance scam.(1) Peoria police arrested Bobby John Herrera, 33, late Tuesday...

Foreclosure Rescue Arrangement Leaves Los Angeles Homeowner Facing Eviction

Posted on January 04, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, the CBS Evening News reports: Alexendria Craig's house is full of memories. It was her parents' home and she inherited it when they died. A picture of her great grandfather sits on the mantle. Now she is about to lose that home after taking out a series of high interest loans that have left her hopelessly in debt...

St. Paul Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Opts For Free City Housing Counselor For Help; Proposal From Loan Modification Firm Didn't Feel Right, She Says

Posted on January 04, 2009
In St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports: When a man called Crystal Brown out of the blue promising to modify her loan, the St. Paul single working mother of three thought he was a godsend. "He was very smooth, very nice, very understanding, not critical," Brown said...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Foreclosure Scams Growing, Continue Hitting Northern California

Posted on January 04, 2009
In Napa County, California, the St. Helena Star reports: Rising foreclosure rates in Napa County are supplying scam artists with a steady stream of victims. Willing to do anything to keep their homes and get out of mortgages they cannot afford, these homeowners? desperation is fodder for deceit...

One Dead, One Jailed At Illegal "Pay At Door" Bash At Hillside Mansion In Foreclosure; Catered Events In Defaulted Upscale Homes More Common, Say Cops

Posted on January 03, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports: Los Angeles police have arrested a man in the shooting death of a onetime local basketball star at a heavily promoted New Year's Eve party at a rented Coldwater Canyon mansion.***The shooting [...

Connecticut Warns Consumers Against Unsolicited Mortgage, Credit Card Debt Assistance; False Offers Of Help Are A "Scavenger Hunt" Says State AG

Posted on January 03, 2009
From the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General: Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued an urgent consumer warning [last week] about unsolicited calls to consumers offering reduced rates on mortgages or credit card debt.***"Our advice to consumers: hang up on unsolicited offers," Blumenthal said...

Missouri AG Brings Civil Suit Against Homebuilder For Allegedly Pocketing Customer Cash & Either Failing To Perform Work Or Doing So In Shoddy Manner

Posted on January 03, 2009
From the Office of the Missouri Attorney General: The Franklin County Circuit Court has entered an order against homebuilder Jason Woods that prevents him from doing any home repair or construction in Missouri while a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General's Office is pending...

Massachusetts AG Continues Effort Against Housing Discrimination

Posted on January 03, 2009
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office has recently issued news releases in connection with its efforts targeting housing discrimination: AG Coakley Obtains Consent Judgment Against Cambridge Realty Company in Housing Discrimination Case: Resolved claims that company discriminated against a disabled Cambridge resident by refusing to rent her an apartment because it did not want to

Feds Put Squeeze On Vegas Landlords Accused Of Discriminating Against Families With Children; Tenant Gets $30K Settlement To Resolve Claims

Posted on January 03, 2009
In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports: The federal government recently settled a complaint against the owners of Las Vegas apartments who allegedly discriminated against families, the third such case in the valley in two years.The repeated cases involving hundreds of apartments mean ?there definitely is discrimination against families with children? in the Las Vegas Valley, said Chuck

Failure To Report Living Companion Leads To Hot Water For Alleged Housing Assistance Cheats

Posted on January 03, 2009
Ventura County, California District Attorney prosecutions of housing assistance fraud: Nina Marie McMahan was sentenced to one year in the county jail as a result of her guilty plea to a charge of grand theft. McMahan was also placed on felony probation for 36 months and ordered to pay restitution of $49,660 to two public assistance agencies...

Federal Prison Sentences Expected To Get Stiffer As Tanking Real Estate Market Drives Up Lenders' Losses From Mortgage Fraud

Posted on January 02, 2009
Buried in a recent story in the South Florida Sun Sentinel is an observation that prison sentences in federal mortgage fraud prosecutions will begin becoming stiffer than they have been: [U]ntil now, the punishments meted out to mortgage fraud offenders have been relatively mild ? usually less than five years' imprisonment and sometimes nothing more than probation...

Colorado Man Cops Plea To One Count Of Forgery In Alleged Mortgage Scam; Gets Free Pass From Prosecution In Cases Involving 15 Other Properties

Posted on January 02, 2009
In Weld County, Colorado, the Greeley Tribune reports: A Greeley man who holds himself out as a real estate broker and builder and is a defendant in a civil fraud case(1) pleaded guilty to forgery [...] in exchange for immunity on other mortgage crimes...

Sacramento Man Cops Guilty Pleas In Alleged "Cash Back" Fraud Scam Involving $11M+ In Fraudulent Loan Activity, Approximately 20 Homes

Posted on January 02, 2009
In Sacramento, California, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott (Eastern District of California) announced that Derek Davis, aka Terry McCullough, 62, of Sacramento, entered guilty pleas in an alleged "cash back" mortgage swindle involving in excess of $1 million in stolen funds and more than $11...

Virginia Developer Faces Forgery Charges Involving Bogus Certificates Of Occupancy Used To Push Thru Home Sale Closings

Posted on January 02, 2009
In Gloucester County, Virginia, the Daily Mail reports: Four Gloucester county supervisors and the sheriff have seen indictments handed up by a special grand jury in July dismissed or not prosecuted, but developer George Woodhouse is still facing 10 felony counts...

ACORN Protestors Picket Mortgage Company On Behalf Of Homeowner Facing Foreclosure; Claims Lender Screwed Up In Accounting For Loan Payments

Posted on January 02, 2009
In Fort Worth, Texas, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports: Eight people chanted, sang protest songs and marched with placards Wednesday outside the Fort Worth office of Saxon Home Mortgage in support of a man facing foreclosure despite his assertions that he was not in arrears and that Saxon had mislaid his property-tax payments...

HELOC Freeze Puts Squeeze On Family's College Tuition Plans

Posted on January 02, 2009
In Algonquin, Illinois, the Chicago Sun Times reports: Jim and Cindy Ranallo are determined to give their two sons one thing they don't have: a four-year college degree. But the home equity line of credit they were relying on to get both boys through school was unexpectedly frozen by JPMorgan Chase weeks before their elder son's recent tuition payment was due...

Buying/Selling Vacant Foreclosed Homes In Cold Weather Regions Not A "Winter Wonderland"

Posted on January 01, 2009
In the St. Paul / Minneapolis area of Minnesota, the Pioneer Press reports: [W]hether it's water heaters that have exploded like frozen pop cans, snow-covered walks and roofs, or indoor temperatures that make you want to warm up outside, unique promises await those who try to sell foreclosed homes during winter in Minnesota...

Fire Responders Feel Added Risks, Burdens From Vacant Homes, Foreclosures, Evictions

Posted on January 01, 2009
The following stories reflect the added burdens firefighters face as a result of the troubled economy: Dover-Foxcroft, Maine: As the economy worsens, state fire marshals are seeing more buildings and vehicles going up in smoke. State Fire Marshal John Dean said last week he has noticed more mention in his investigators? reports of vacant buildings or buildings under foreclosure and vehicles that

Failure To Winterize Can Lead To Vacant Home Havoc

Posted on January 01, 2009
The following stories provide emphasis to the importance of winterizing vacant homes, foreclosed or not, located in cold weather areas to avoid the havoc caused by frozen, broken, bursted water pipes: Banks Not Taking Care of Foreclosed Houses During Winter: The huge temperature swings and frozen pipes this winter are causing huge damage to houses no longer in use...

More On Anticipated Home Mortgage "Cram Downs" In Bankruptcy

Posted on December 31, 2008
The Wall Street Journal reports: Mortgage lenders who wake up Thursday with a New Year's hangover are likely to face another headache soon: The effort to give bankruptcy judges the power to rewrite mortgages is gaining steam.The banking industry hoped the mortgage "cram-down"(1) measure died when Congress removed it from the $700 billion bailout bill that passed in October...

Judge Tacks On 3 Years To Prison Sentence Sought By Feds In S. Florida Mortgage Scam

Posted on December 31, 2008
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports: [A] Fort Lauderdale federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Coral Springs man to eight years in prison for orchestrating a $12 million mortgage fraud in Broward County. In sentencing Anthony Dehaney, U...

Lenders Accused In Housing Court Of Dumping Blighted Foreclosures Onto Real Estate Market Shop For Friendlier Forum; Move Cases To Federal Court

Posted on December 31, 2008
In Cleveland, Ohio, The Washington Independent reports: The fight that neighborhoods in Cleveland are launching against banks that dump vacant and vandalized foreclosed homes back onto the real estate market received a bit of a setback, [...]. A private, non-profit housing advocacy group had filed suit in local housing court to force the banks to clean up their properties before selling them, or

Loan Modification Services Prohibited In Vermont Unless Licensed, Say State Officials

Posted on December 31, 2008
In Montpelier, Vermont, The Burlington Free Press reports: Homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments or facing foreclosure should be cautious when offers of assistance come unsolicited, requiring up-front fees, or are high-pressure sells, officials for the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration said...

Shelby County Commisioners Give Go-Ahead For Filing Race Bias, Predatory Lending Suit Against Major Lenders

Posted on December 31, 2008
In Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: Shelby County commissioners approved a resolution [last week] authorizing the county to file suit against the national lenders who, officials say, gave out risky, high-interest rate loans and enabled a foreclosure crisis in Shelby County...

Attorneys, Law Students From Seton Hall Pro Bono Program Intervene On Behalf Of Elderly Couple In Equity Stripping, Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Posted on December 30, 2008
In Newark, New Jersey, lawyers and law students from the Center for Social Justice (CSJ) at Seton Hall University School of Law have successfully vacated a foreclosure judgment against an elderly couple who were allegdly victims of a foreclosure rescue, equity stripping scam that resulted in a loss of approximately $400,000...

Failure To File Proper Paperwork A Stumbling Block For Plaintiffs In Credit Card Suits As Well As Mortgage Foreclosures

Posted on December 30, 2008
In Erie, Pennsylvania, the Erie Times News recently ran a story on how some individual consumers are fighting back against large finance companies in debt lawsuits: [A] recent ruling in Erie County Court, as well as rulings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Erie and in Pittsburgh, show how judges are forcing credit-card companies, banks and mortgage companies to play by the rules, even as those

Boston Legal Aid Firm Wins $54K Jury Verdict For Tenant Illegally Booted In Foreclosure Eviction; Now Seek Triple Damages, Attorney Fee From Servicer

Posted on December 30, 2008
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports on William Allen, a local man who, with the help of local law students at Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, fought back against a mortgage loan servicing company in a case involving an illegal foreclosure eviction...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Home is where the trailer is: Trailer on lot sufficient to destroy grandfathered lot status
The Appeals Court, in an unpublished decision, has determined that...

Real Estate Agents, Lenders, Appraisers & Home Inspectors: ARE BUYERS WASTING TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME?
PREQUALIFY, PREQUALIFY, PREQUALIFY. It cannot be said enough times...

Going Home: Remembering Long Branch eminent domain activist Anna DeFaria
While she waited for the next round in the eminent domain fi...

Pennsylvania Nursing Home Director Admits Criminal Neglect of Patient
Donna Cameron, of Ashton Pennsylvania, who was the former Director...

Nursing Home Abuse: Organizations Defend Seniors
Boston, MA: Nursing home abuse is, unfortunately, not an uncommon ...