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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

Homeowner Lawsuit: Loan Servicer Wrongfully Sought Foreclosure After Screwing Up Application Of Mortgage Payments To Escrow, 'Suspense' Accounts

Posted on March 26, 2011
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Beaumont couple has filed suit against the mortgage holder they claim destroyed their credit ratings and forced them to face foreclosure. Vertis Malvo Jr. and Fran Malvo claim they obtained a home equity mortgage in 2006, a debt that was later purchased by defendant Deutsche Bank National Trust Co...

As Crackdown On Fraudulent Tax Exemption Claims For Florida Homesteads Continues, Lawmakers Ponder Bill To Authorize Up To $500 Whistleblower Bounty

Posted on March 26, 2011
In Orange County, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:You pay all your property taxes, but not everyone does. Homestead exemption fraud is taking a big bite out of the tax money for Florida counties, but now more than ever Florida property appraisers are biting back...

SWAT Team Gasses Foreclosed Home, Takes Three Suspected Squatters Into Custody On Criminal Trespassing Charges As State DCF Snatches Two Pre-Schoolers

Posted on March 26, 2011
In Naples, Florida, WBBH-TV Channel 2 reports:Three people were arrested after authorities were called to a home on Curling Ave. in North Naples just after 8 a.m. Thursday. They had gotten complaints of a disturbance there. When deputies arrived, 25-year-old Ryan Kiskadden reportedly went into the attic of the home...

Duo Cop Pleas To Income Tax Charges; Dodge Fraud Convictions In Alleged Sale Buyback Rental Flipping Scam That Left Unwitting Investors Holding Bag

Posted on March 26, 2011
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, The Journal Gazette reports:A Fort Wayne man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison Monday for tax charges stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme. Jeffery Radabaugh pleaded guilty in November, the day he was charged with failing to report income he collected from the scheme, which operated from 2005 to 2007...

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Florida Foreclosure Attorneys "Routinely Made" False Statements When Cranking Out Cases Through Assembly Line: Fannie 2006 Internal Report

Posted on March 25, 2011
The Wall Street Journal reports:Fannie Mae was warned in a 2006 internal report of abuses in the way lenders and their law firms handled foreclosures, long before regulators launched investigations into the mortgage industry's practices.The report said foreclosure attorneys in Florida had "routinely made" false statements in court in an effort to more quickly process foreclosures and raised

Iowa Couple Who Scored 'Free House' When Homestead Law Led To Void Mtg To Face Heat From State AG Probe Into Possible Fraud In Filing Loan Application

Posted on March 25, 2011
The Des Moines Register reports:Attorney General Tom Miller has assigned a mortgage investigator to review the case of an Ankeny couple who used a more than 100-year-old law to save their house from foreclosure after making a single payment, a spokesman said this week...

Couple Facing Foreclosure Face Criminal Charges For Allegedly Recording Bogus Documents In Public Records To Keep From Losing Home

Posted on March 25, 2011
In Ceres, California, The Modesto Bee reports:A Ceres couple was arrested Monday on suspicion of recording bogus documents in an attempt to save their home from foreclosure. Two Southern California men helped Narciso and Alisema Plancarte, ages 58 and 55, prepare documents claiming that they no longer owed IndyMac Bank for a $294,000 loan obtained in 2005, according to an arrest warrant

Arizona AG Thwarts BofAs Attempt To Move State's Lawsuit To Federal Court; Action Alleges Deceptive Practices In Processing Loan Modifications

Posted on March 25, 2011
In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:The Arizona attorney general's lawsuit against Bank of America over alleged mortgage fraud will remain in state court. The lender had asked the case, filed in late December, be moved to federal court. State Attorney General Tom Horne, who inherited the lawsuit from former Attorney General Terry Goddard, said state-court cases often move more

Another Alleged HAMP Violation, Another HAMP Lawsuit

Posted on March 25, 2011
In Victoria, Texas, the Victoria Advocate reports:A Victoria woman is suing BAC Home Loan Servicing over the wrongful foreclosure of her home. Plaintiff Patricia Garcia originally filed the lawsuit in state court in February. It was re-filed in federal court on March 18...

Vermont Judge: 'Mortgage Does Not Follow Debt' Where Banksters Intend Otherwise; Failure To Assign Security Agreement With Note Stalls Foreclosure

Posted on March 24, 2011
In states where the common law provides that a transfer of a secured promissory note generally carries with it an equitable assignment of the mortgage securing it (ie. "mortgage follows the note"), does this mean that the mortgage will automatically follow the secured note upon the transfer of the latter?The answer clearly is no, at least not according to Rutland County, Vermont Superior Court

Screw-Up By Sloppy Mortgage Servicer Leads Cash-Lacking F'closed Calif. Couple To Pay Income Tax They Didn't Legally Owe; Lawyer: Not An Isolated Case

Posted on March 24, 2011
In Salinas, California, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports:People whose homes have been foreclosed are now facing another financial shock: a hefty tax bill. William Purdy, a tax attorney with Simmons & Purdy in Soquel, tells the story of a husband and wife who got a first mortgage of $700,000 and a second mortgage of $80,000 to buy a home in Salinas...

$105K Bail Set For Suspected "Deadbeat Dad" Pinched By Cops For Allegedly Hijacking Vacant Homes & Renting Them Out In Adverse Possession Racket

Posted on March 24, 2011
In Hillsborough County, Florida, The Brandon News & Tribune reports:A Valrico man whose company is accused of taking over homes and renting them without the owners' permission was jailed [last week] on a string of charges. George Williams, 41, was arrested at the Orient Road Jail [last week], records show...

Central Florida Woman Succeeds In Costly Effort To Move Back Into Home That Was Hijacked By Outfit Engaged In Adverse Possession Scheme

Posted on March 24, 2011
In Hillsborough County, Florida, Newschannel 8 reports:After a costly, four-month ordeal, Danuta Brown regained the house and property taken out from under her. When she walked into the Dover house on Raven Manor Drive on Wednesday, she wiped tears from her eyes...

NH Couple Score TILA Victory; Convincing Testimony Establishes Bank Failure To Provide Rescission Rights Notice In Mortgage Refinance Transaction

Posted on March 23, 2011
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire recently found that Wells Fargo Bank violated the Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA") on a refinancing loan it made to Nashua couple Mary Beth Sousa and her husband, William Sousa, Jr. where it failed prove that it provided the couple with two copies of notices of their right to rescind the mortgage transaction, thereby extending the period for rescission

Use Of Undated Allonge May Sink Mortgage Lender's Claim In Homeowner's Bankruptcy Case; Vermont Judge Says Bank Must Have Standing On Filing Date

Posted on March 23, 2011
A U.S Bankruptcy Court in Vermont recently denied a mortgage lender's motion for summary judgment in an adversary proceeding brought against it by debtor/homeowner Barry Alton Parker, in which Parker claimed that the bank lacked standing to enforce the mortgage note against him...

2nd Mortgage Lien Stripping Still Viable In "Chapter 20" Bankruptcy Cases???

Posted on March 23, 2011
In an apparently unsettled area of law, a recent ruling from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Michigan addressed the appropriateness of a debtor having two bankruptcy cases pending at the same time where a so-called "Chapter 20" bankruptcy(1) is involved (where a homeowner first files a chapter 7 to relieve himself of unsecured debts, followed by a Chapter 13 to "lien strip" a completely underwater

Hapless Homeowner Scores Win As Lawyers Drop Legal Claims Against House In Probe Into Bid Rigging Of Baltimore Tax Lien Sale & Related Fee Gouging

Posted on March 23, 2011
In Baltimore, Maryland, Investigative Voice reports:Lawyers who admitted to gaming local tax lien auctions have dropped legal claims against the home of a city resident who has been fighting to keep it for nearly 12 years.Shortly after Investigative Voice revealed that DeLaurentis Reiff & Turer, a firm that is cooperating with federal authorities in their probe of rigged tax lien auctions, had

Parade Of Suspects Copping Guilty Pleas In Foreclosure Sale Bid Rigging Racket Continues As Sacramento Feds Notch Sixth Score In Ongoing Probe

Posted on March 22, 2011
In Sacramento, California, The Record reports:A San Joaquin County investor pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to charges he illegally rigged bids with others at home foreclosure auctions in Stockton, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento reported...

Servicer Who Victimized Homeowner With Illegal Lockout Mysteriously Moves To Vacate Foreclosure, Release Mortgage, Return Keys To Now-Vandalized Home

Posted on March 22, 2011
In Jacksonville, Florida, First Coast News reports:In 2008, Kimberly Clark was behind on the mortgage of her duplex that she rents out, but not in foreclosure. Her mortgage debacle since has been a roller coaster that many times has not made a lot of sense...

"Oxycontin Made Me Do It!" Says Lawyer As He Cops Plea To Ripping Off $865K From Clients' Escrow Funds From Real Estate Closings

Posted on March 22, 2011
In Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Connecticut Post reports:A Stratford lawyer is facing up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to stealing more than $800,000 from nearly a dozen clients. John M. Rodia, of Minerva Street, Derby, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge George Thim to six counts of first-degree larceny and five counts of third-degree larceny...

Home Equity Loan Made In Violation Of Texas Homestead Law Declared Void; Lender's Assignee & Post-F'closure Sale Mortgage Lender Left Holding The Bag

Posted on March 22, 2011
The following facts are taken from a recent ruling from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth, Texas:A certain Mrs. Kimberly Arnold, together with her late husband Mr. Arnold, purchased a home in Haslet, Texas in 2004, paying all cash for the property...

Six Mortgage Servicers Agree To Special Master Oversight In New Jersey Foreclosure Actions

Posted on March 21, 2011
Bloomberg reports:Bank of America Corp. and five other mortgage servicers agreed to the appointment of a special master to examine foreclosure procedures in New Jersey, a court- appointed lawyer said [].A blanket suspension of foreclosures in New Jersey isn?t necessary in light of the settlement, which subjects the banks to a performance review for a year, the lawyer, Edward Dauber, said in a

BofA Tagged w/ Racketeering Suit For Allegedly Screwing Over Hoosier Homeowners In Foreclosure Using Robosigner Docs; Action Seeks Class Action Status

Posted on March 21, 2011
In Indianapolis, Indiana, WRTV-TV Channel 6 reports:Bank of America is in the bull's-eye of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Marion County. The complaint accused the bank of racketeering mortgage documents in order to crank out mass foreclosures, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported...

State AG Settlement Proposal Won't Fix Crappy, Uninsurable Real Estate Titles Created By Mtg. Servicing Racket When Fraudulently Processing F'closures

Posted on March 21, 2011
In a recent story on AOL's Daily Finance, attorney Abigail Field discusses how the foreclosure settlement proposed by the state attorneys general won't come close to rectifying the problems relating to the clouded real estate titles that were created by the mortgage loan servicing racket through their use of fraudulent practices when processing foreclosure actions:The Enormous Clouded Title

Wisconsin Appeals Court: Legal Notice Published In Wrong Newspaper Sinks Foreclosure Judgment

Posted on March 21, 2011
The following facts are taken from a recent ruling by a Wisconsin state appeals court:Mortgage lender files a foreclosure action against homeowner;The home subject to the foreclosure action is located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin;Process server can't find homeowners to serve lawsuit, so lender serves the lawsuit by publication of a legal notice in a local newspaper;For reasons not explained,

Couple Who Successfully Voided Mortgage Begin Feeling Heat Over Questionble Past; State Officials Say Earlier Incident Foreshadowed Their Legal Path

Posted on March 20, 2011
In Ankeny, Iowa, The Des Moines Register reports:The Ankeny couple who used a loophole in Iowa law to pay almost nothing for a home have a history of questionable foreclosures that have raised red flags among state authorities, The Des Moines Register has learned...

Group Accused Of Using Stolen IDs To Sell Homes Out From Under Unwitting Long Island Owners To Straw Buyers Impersonating Others In Mtg Fraud Ripoff

Posted on March 20, 2011
In Nassau County, New York, WNYW-TV Channel 5 reports:After a two-year investigation, authorities have charged 17 people of the largest mortgage fraud and identity theft scheme in Nassau County history, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice...

Uptick In Suspect 'Quit Claim' Filings Moves Court Clerk To Issue Deed Theft Warning To County Homeowners

Posted on March 20, 2011
In West Palm Beach, Floida, The Palm Beach Post reports:People filing false deeds to take over vacant homes has Palm Beach County's clerk of courts warning owners to keep an eye on their property records the same way they do their credit reports.With hundreds of vacant houses countywide - fallout from the real estate boom and bust - Clerk Sharon Bock said her office is investigating an increase

Police: Phony Cop Sold Cars He Didn't Own, Hijacked Possession Of Vacant Foreclosed Homes, Clipping Cash From Unwitting Tenants On Subsequent Rentals

Posted on March 20, 2011
In Louisville, Kentucky, WHAS-TV Channel 11 reports:June Perry found an ad on Craig?s List back in August that looked promising. Perry needed a car so she went to test drive it, that's when she met Gary Hammond. ?I believed every word he said,? Perry said...

Minnesota AG: Out-Of-State Outfit Masqueraded As Homeowners' Current Lender To Perpetrate Upfront Fee Refinance Ripoff

Posted on March 20, 2011
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:An out-of-state mortgage company is being accused of cheating Minnesota homeowners out of thousands of dollars by masquerading as their current lender. A lawsuit filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court by Attorney General Lori Swanson alleges that Meredian Financial Corp...

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