News related to Mortgage and Foreclosure Fraud |
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occurs post loan origination when mortgage servicers use false statements and book-keeping entries, fabricated assignments, forged signatures and utter counterfeit intangible Notes to take a homeowner's property and equity.
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Date |
Article (Recent Additions) | Author |
Comment |
12/30/05 |
EMC
Mortgage Under Investigation
Bear
Stearns Is Told by FTC to Provide Data for Mortgage
Probe |
gcresci@bloomberg.net
Bloomberg |
Bear Stearns's EMC Mortgage Corp. unit, which buys and services home loans, received the demand following a Dec. 8 FTC resolution, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (What a great way to end the year! Happy New Year!) |
12/30/05 | Mortgage fraud could be classified as racketeering | Deseretnews.com/Associated Press | Ray's bill also would authorize the state to prosecute violators of the federal Truth in Lending Act. The act is designed to protect borrowers and requires lenders to disclose payment schedules, finance charges, prepayment and late payment penalties, and other information. |
2005 | ROLAND ARNALL'S AMERIQUEST: America's Public Enemy Number #1 | usnewslink.com | A few news stories about Roland Arnall, his Ambassadorship, and role in Mortgage Servicing Fraud. |
12/28/05 |
Lenders
Target State Laws
An industry that makes home loans to people with poor credit wants uniform federal rules that could undo tougher consumer protections. |
Jonathan Peterson, LA Times Staff Writer | "We started hearing borrowers come to us saying they had horrible experiences," recalled Martin Eakes, founder of the Center for Community Self-Help in Durham, N.C. "No person of fair mind could look at these loans and not feel like tens of thousands of people in one small state were being taken advantage of." |
12/23/05 | Lenders hit Katrina victims with fees |
Advocate business writer |
Some lenders (Ocwen) were charging prepayment penalties of more than 9 percent to people using insurance checks to pay off homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina -- until they got caught. With everyone so busy rebuilding, they didn't think anyone would notice. |
12/15/05 | AG REILLY STOPS FORECLOSURE BY LENDER AFTER FINDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES |
Massachusetts Attorney General |
"My office will not tolerate predatory lending, whether it's by big companies or a lone scam artist," AG Reilly said. |
12/14/05 | Hot housing market boosted mortgage fraud | Reuters | Often the fraud officials have found involved other crime as well, including identify theft and the laundering of money generated from illegal activities, such as narcotics sales, the government said. |
12/14/05 | JALA attorney in foreclosure fight |
Bradley
Parsons
Jacksonville's Daily Record |
?In my foreclosure cases, I just started seeing MERS everywhere,? said Charney. ?I saw it as a serious threat to erode Florida?s homeownership base, particularly among those people who are on the margins of financial help. I wanted to stop MERS.? |
12/13/05 |
Ad drive focuses on lender ruses |
Laura
Smitherman Sun
reporter
|
Former employees of companies accused of predatory lending reveal the skinny on how clients are lured and deceived. |
12/11/05 |
DOMINION
HOMES
Dozens of FHA loans covertly converted |
The Columbus Dispatch | Then she uncovered something else: The same thing happened to 40 of her neighbors. They, too, had signed FHA loan documents prepared by Dominion?s mortgage-brokering division |
12/11/05 | Preying on the Uninformed | Lisa Bernard/ Journal News.com | Ohio leads the nation in foreclosures, a problem compounded by predatory lenders and white collar criminals who prey on financially strapped, uneducated consumers, authorities say. |
12/7/05 |
Mortgage
Servicing Fraud is REAL!
Avoid being cheated out of your home before it's too late! |
Submitted by an anonymous victim. | We wish to thank the sender and unknown author who submitted this paper to help those targeted by Mortgage Servicing Fraud. Their experience will open your eyes to what is really happening to you and why. |
12/7/05 | Rep. Rush no longer facing foreclosure |
spatterson@suntimes.com |
Rush was just days from losing his Michigan condo and was also facing being kicked out of his Chicago home because he hadn't been paying his monthly mortgage. Then --- "poof" --- foreclosures are gone. |
12/2/05 |
Jury to hear Lending lawsuit? High court ruling favors homeowner |
Ken Ward West Virginia Gazette |
?The court recognized that families that have been victimized by predatory lending practices have the ability to void their loans and save their homes from foreclosure,? Pomponio, a lawyer with the public interest firm Mountain State Justice, had hoped the court would stand up for the rights of consumers to go to court when they feel ripped off by lenders. |
12/1/05 |
Hurricane
Victims' Bills Coming Due
Many Homeowners Face Deadline for Mortgage Payments |
Caroline E. Mayer and
Terence O'Hara Washington Post |
Their mortgage lender called to say they needed to make all three payments now -- or face late fees and penalties as well as an adverse credit report. |
11/30/05 |
Is real estate fraud getting the green light?Industry executives point to lenders' tolerance of fraud. |
By Neil
J. Morse
Inman News |
Bruce Morris, executive vice president, quality control, Saxon Mortgage Services, Glen Allen, Va., said deception has advanced so far, so quickly that, "every portfolio in the country has fraudulent loans in it." |
11/29/05 |
OCWEN
Hit With $11.5 Million Verdict
Galveston Jury Says Ocwen Federal
Bank Forced Woman Into Bankruptcy |
PRNews | A county jury in Galveston, Texas, has awarded a Texas woman $11.5 million in damages and attorneys' fees, finding that Ocwen Federal Bank engaged in "unfair, unlawful, and deceptive" loan servicing practices. "Ocwen apparently is more interested in taking away the homes of its customers." |
11/29/05 | Foreclosures Climb to 2005 High | Mortgagedaily.com | Accounting for 20 percent of the national figure, Texas held the highest number of new foreclosures for the second consecutive month -- up 68% from the prior month. |
11/25/05 |
Federal
Influence-Peddling Inquiry Casts Wider Net
Four
Lawmakers' Dealings With Lobbyist Are Studied; Low Threshold for
Bribery? |
Brody Mullins at mailto:brody.mullins@wsj.com Wall Street Journal |
A Justice Department investigation into possible influence-peddling by prominent Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff is examining his dealings with four lawmakers, more than a dozen current and former congressional aides and two former Bush administration officials, according to lawyers and others involved in the case. |
11/21/05 | Ameriquest Exec Has Unexpected Backers |
Jonathan Peterson, Times Staff Writer |
That was nearly a decade ago. Today, new allegations of unfair lending practices are dogging Arnall and his ACC Capital Holdings Corp., casting a shadow over his nomination as ambassador to the Netherlands. |
11/17/05 | Ameriquest Mortgage to Cut 1,500 Workers | latimes.com | Among other things, the company has been accused of bait-and-switch tactics that inflate costs to borrowers -- a complaint leveled at other subprime lenders in recent years. |
11/17/05 | Former HomeGold CEO indicted on 10 counts |
The State.com |
If convicted on all counts, HomeGold's
former CEO Ronald Shepard, could face 57 years in prison
and over $165,000 in fines for his role in the collapse of
Carolina Investors. |
11/15/05 | Mortgage loans that invite fraud |
Daniel P. Lindsey, Supervisory attorney, Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago |
In this sense, the big boys are not getting scammed. Or, if they are, they are inviting it. The sad fact is that until the big boys decide that it is in their best interests to truly clean house, much of the fraud will continue unabated, and the real victims--people like our clients--will continue to lose their homes. |
11/7/05 | Lenders play the foreclosure game |
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
|
Another property went into foreclosure in 1999 and was repossessed at sheriff's sale in February 2000, but Bank One didn't record its ownership. The house has a long history of code violations and neighborhood complaints. (Then after a 12 year-old dies at vacant house, the lenders play hide the pea.MSF) |
11/05/05 | Mortgage fraud is the thing to do now.' |
By David Jackson Tribune staff reporter |
A white-collar crime wave is raking Chicago's poorest communities, robbing vulnerable families of their homes and draining billions of dollars from the U.S. economy. |
11/03/05 | Landlord is victor after long battle |
BY
CAROL HAZARD TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER |
CIT
contended that White was in foreclosure and reported him in
default to credit agencies. White took the case to court again
this time in Roanoke Circuit Court and won $100,000 in damages
against CIT in
September. White obtained a court order Oct. 6 to seize all CIT property in Virginia. |
10/27/05 | Stop Foreclosure Through Private Equity Investments | By Nick Adama Ezine Articles | A self-financed investor can purchase the home out of foreclosure and do with it what he will. This can include allowing the original homeowners to live in the property and purchase it back from the investor over time. This creates a mini-economy in the community and decreases the homeowner?s and investor?s reliance on debt financing. The investor will reap a benefit from the monthly income from the property, and the homeowner will be able to stay in the home. |
10/27/05 | WSOCTV.com | Market Street's Senior Vice President, Charles Richardson, said their research revealed EMC's book-keeping errors prompted the collection efforts. | |
10/26/05 | Lawsuit protests breach of data |
By Alexander Coolidge Enquirer staff writer |
The mortgages in question were initially Provident Bank loans that were sold to Litton last year. |
10/25/05 | Cox Proposes Legislation to End Predatory Mortgage Practices | Rockbridgeweekly.com | ?What EMC Mortgage Corporation and others have done to Mrs. Sledd over the past five years is morally reprehensible. The state government needs to be taking decisive actions to prevent EMC, and any other mortgage servicers, from conducting business in such a dishonest way. |
10/21/05 | Ameriquest's Ads Reach Beyond Bad-Credit Niche | E. Scott Reckard, L. A Times Staff Writer / latimes.com | The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week delayed confirming Arnall as Ambassador to the Netherlands, saying Arnall should first resolve the investigation of Ameriquest by the states. |
10/21/05 | Ruling could shake up home equity business |
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF |
If upheld on appeal, Jenkins' ruling will "turn the whole industry on its head," said Lawrence Young, a lawyer with Hughes Watters Askanase LLP, a Houston firm that represents Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and other lenders. |
10/20/05 |
|
The nomination of Roland Arnall for ambassador to the Netherlands hit rough water on Capitol Hill today as some lawmakers advised the founder of Ameriquest to resolve his Orange County mortgage firm's problems with U.S. regulators. | |
10/19/05 |
All
the President's Men -Ameriquest Meet the biggest predatory lender in Cleveland America's new ambassador to the Netherlands. |
|
Another chapter for the book: "How To Succeed in Becoming Disliked By Everyone In The World And Enjoy It." |
10/16/05 |
Why Some Of You Are Relentlessly Attacked |
MSFraud.org contributor | They must defend at "all costs" any complaint where they are alleged to be involved in fraud. If a jury or court rules they have been involved in fraud, then it's a breach and default of their agreements with Fannie Mae. |
10/16/05 | Bankruptcy won't forestall foreclosure |
BY
SUZETTE HACKNEY FREE PRESS REAL ESTATE WRITER |
"For a lot of people, bankruptcy just prolongs the inevitable, and after filing they're worse off because they've eaten up more equity in their home," Trott said. |
10/16/05 | How to avoid falling in a foreclosure sinkhole |
BY
SUZETTE HACKNEY FREE PRESS REAL ESTATE WRITER |
Those who have sub-prime loans or creative financing often struggle to make payments as the terms adjust and payments increase over time. Most often the process of foreclosure begins when a homeowner misses three mortgage payments and the loan is considered in default. |
10/15/05 | Families fight for their homes |
BY
SUZETTE HACKNEY DETROIT FREE PRESS REAL ESTATE WRITER |
"Foreclosures are hitting people at all walks of life here, not just in the poorer areas and not just those who live in the city of Detroit," said Marjorie Whetstine, president of the Western Wayne Oakland County Association of Realtors and an associate broker at Keller Williams Realty in Northville. "It really is becoming an epidemic." |
10/13/05 |
Young
lawyer takes aim at equity strippers |
Neal
St. Anthony; Staff Writer Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) |
"It
appalls me the way people take advantage of other people who are
trying to achieve the American dream by hanging on to their
house," Weaver said. |
10/6/05 |
New
Accounting Woes at Fannie
Elevate Broader Concerns
Regulators Fear Chain Reaction That Could Roil Broader Markets |
By
DAWN KOPECKI DOW JONES NEWSWIRES |
Administration officials, bank regulators, the Federal Reserve and others began wondering aloud about the potential danger a problem at either company would pose to the broader markets and began sounding alarms that a meltdown of either could set off a chain of catastrophic events throughout the U.S. financial system. |
10/05 |
The Rockbridge Advocate |
With Fairbanks out of the picture and a court order entered, she thought her Mortgage Hell was over. But it wasn't -- now, it was EMC's turn to terrorize her. |
|
9/24/05 |
JAMES R. HAGERTY and VALERIE BAUERLEIN The Wall Street Journal |
Some sub-prime mortgage lenders are giving less-generous relief to low-income victims of Hurricane Katrina than are lenders that deal with better-off borrowers, an advocacy group said. | |
9/24/05 | Losing the American dream - what's it all about? | TNOnline.com | Pennsylvania's Carbon County foreclosure rate grew a walloping 35 per cent last year. |
9/23/05 |
MERS
Suspends Foreclosures In Florida
...and it has nothing to do with the hurricanes. |
Judge Walt Logan claimed that MERS does not have standing to act as a plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure suit if it is not the owner of the beneficial interest in the note. | |
9/22/05 | Another Crisis in the Making: Subprime Mortgage Industry Sandbags Katrina Victims; African-Americans Hit Hardest, Says ACORN | usnewswire.com | Tens of thousands of homeowners who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina are not being offered the mortgage relief that has been highly publicized in recent weeks, and as a result could face foreclosure by the end of the year. |
9/14/05 | Ameriquest: Making Mortgages a Little Too Easy | cioinsight.com | He says he was driven to quit not only by questionable loans, but by the unabashed joy his colleagues took in getting the highest possible rates from unsuspecting borrowers. |
9/7/05 |
Mortgage Company Employees Claim Harassment Employee: We've Suffered So Much Stress |
KCRA.com | Employees of BNC Mortgage allege they were the victims of a campaign of retaliation after they began reporting a rash of allegedly false loan documents. |
9/7/05 | Letting Predatory Lending Back Out of Its Cage | PR NewsWire/ CRL | These laws ensure homeowners' rights are more than symbolic by providing for meaningful damages and allowing homeowners to defend their homes against foreclosure even after their loans have been sold to another lender. |
9/2005 | A Brief Primer on Fighting Predatory Lending Practices | Melissa A. Huelsman - Attorney | State consumer protection act statutes and traditional common law causes of action, including fraud, negligence, unjust enrichment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unconscionability, also may enable consumers to prevail in claims against predatory lenders. |
8/25/05 | Predatory lending suits raise specter of assignee liability. |
Allison
Pyburn SourceMedia, Inc. |
"It really appears as though Ameriquest is making up people's incomes," |
8/25/05 | Sharks in the Housing Pool | Dean Foust and Brian Grow in Atlanta | In parts of the country where housing prices have risen especially quickly, homeowners have become direct targets of an increasing range of scams. There has been an explosion of "equity stripping" schemes, in which elderly or blue-collar homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure are preyed on by scammers, |
8/25/05 | Judge Belts Loan Fraud |
DON
PLUMMER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
What we hope is in store for mortgage company reps, CEO's, in-house and outside counsel. The amount of loss and damage suffered by the victims, plus the number of victims were factors in this 30-year/$11 Million sentence. |
8/19/05 | Ameriquest loan puts homeowner in a costly bind |
Bob
Sanders Business Review |
A $325 million settlement is not going
to help many borrowers, who could lose their homes by the time
they see any of the settlement. ?That may seem like a lot of money, but it?s a blink of the eye to them,? |
8/19/05 |
Predatory lending: There ought to be a law |
Carlos Watson CNN.com |
Surprisingly, no national politician is holding a primetime national press conference to discuss this epidemic. It is noteworthy that no senator is threatening a filibuster, and no elected official has suggested a hunger campaign to protest the injustice of predatory lending. |
8/19/05 | Seizure of Lawmaker's Home Sought by U.S. Attorney |
Charles R. Babcock
Washington Post Staff Writer
|
The U.S. attorney in San Diego is trying to seize Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's California home, asserting in a sealed civil suit that it was purchased with proceeds from a violation of the bribery statute. |
8/15/05 |
Reuters |
California had accused Wells Fargo Home Mortgage of violating state law by charging interest more than one day before mortgages were recorded in county offices, costing about $200 a mortgage. |
|
8/14/05 |
Out
from under the cloud of foreclosure
Some find way to save their home before it's too late |
Salisbury Post |
Prosperity Unlimited recently learned that it will be able to help more people in danger of foreclosure with a $100,000 grant from the Foundation for the Carolinas. |
8/13/05 |
Charges
swirl around Ameriquest. |
Saint Paul Pioneer Press | Ameriquest uses aggressive television and online advertising and direct mail to attract consumers by promising low rates. Former Ameriquest employees said they witnessed or participated in forging documents, hyping customer's creditworthiness and hiding rates and fees amid a high-pressure sales environment. |
8/13/05 |
Mortgages For Illegal Aliens: Are Banks The Treason Industry? |
By Joe Guzzardi vdare.com |
"Undocumented Latino immigrants would add an estimated $44 billion in new mortgages to the housing economy?" |
8/12/05 |
John
Wildermuth |
Ameriquest Mortgage accused of duping low-income homeowners has pumped more than $7 million into California politics since 2002, including contributions to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, plus free Rolling Stones tickets. |
|
8/12/05 |
BusinessWire |
Paying only a $40 Million fine for stealing $100's of millions from homeowners is a great selling tool for the corrupt corporation once named Fairbanks. |
|
8/12/05 |
The Roanoke Times |
Mortgage fraud is booming right along with the price of houses, and elderly homeowners with lots of equity are prime targets. Virginia legislators should act. Anybody's parents could be the next to be fleeced. |
|
8/11/05 |
HELEN HUNTLEY St. Petersburg Times |
The man accusing Ameriquest Mortgage of fraud is trying to get evidence back from his Clearwater lawyer. |
|
8/10/05 |
Predatory lenders are putting more Americans in homes ? and into the poor house. |
Dan McGraw Fort Worth Weekly |
Nationally and in Fort Worth, some of those working in the real estate and mortgage business are also coming forward to charge that the real estate lending business is fraught with fraud. And they are right! |
8/7/05 |
Ambassador
Nominee's Company Is Scrutinized
Ameriquest's Roland Arnall, tapped for the Netherlands, is known for good works and campaign gifts. His loan firm, Ameriquest, faces broad accusations. |
E.
Scott Reckard, |
Lawsuits
allege that Ameriquest agents
have engaged in fraud, falsification of documents and
bait-and-switch sales tactics and richly
rewards those who close deals by any means necessary. |
8/5/05 |
Homeowners: Upside-down is no way to be. So much for the American dream. |
CNN Money |
Foreclosures could spike and the supply of homes for sale soar. That could send real estate market into a tumble. |
8/3/05 | Customers accuse Ameriquest of excessive fees, altered terms. |
Kimberley Blanton Boston Globe |
Reilly's office said, "any resolution will require a significant payment by Ameriquest, including restitution to harmed consumers." |
8/3/05 |
Customers accuse Ameriquest of excessive fees, altered terms |
By Kimberly Blanton, Boston Globe Staff |
Ameriquest
Mortgage Co., which disclosed last week it reached a
tentative $325 million settlement
with Massachusetts and 29 other states over allegations of
deceptive sales practices, faces lawsuits nationwide by customers
who said the subprime lender charged them excessive fees or
changed the agreed terms on refinancing loans when they arrived to
sign the final documents. |
8/1/05 | Don't Bank On A Safe Mortgage |
CBS News Correspondent Trish Regan |
"When the banks are having to
foreclose on loans nowadays, they're actually making money when
they flip the house," Ahag said. Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan believes that next to rising energy prices, these potentially risky loans are the biggest threat to the economy. |
7/27/05 | Minnesota law targets foreclosure scams |
|
Minnesota officials are watching to see if a state law is helping protect people from mortgage foreclosure scams. |
7/27/05 |
|
Two different views to buying a home. |
|
7/19/05 |
Suneel Khanna NewsWire |
O' Canada. Are you scamming your homeowners? |
|
7/15/05 |
Chaos
erupts when lender's mistake brings foreclosure sale
Bank of America fails to cancel action after homeowners make late payment. |
Bank of America accepted the missing mortgage payments from the borrowers and reinstated their home mortgage. But the lender failed to cancel the scheduled foreclosure sale, although it had four days to do so. That is Bank of America's idea of Higher Standards? |
|
7/14/05 |
Commissioner Announces Settlement Between State of Connecticut and Ameriquest Mortgage |
State of Connecticut |
Ameriquest's imposition of prepaid finance charges in connection with the internal refinancing of first mortgage loans which were less than two years old and exceeded the greater of five percent of the principal amount of the initial loan or $2000 combined with the Companies' failure to register loan originators became the basis for this agreement. |
7/14/05
|
I-Team: Mortgage-Servicing Companies with VIDEO |
Joe Bergantino CBS 4 Boston |
And Litton isn't the only mortgage servicing company being accused of forcing homeowners into foreclosure. |
7/12/05 | My Name Is Lawrence Green |
Antoinette Green Mr. Green's daughter |
I have a story to tell about Ameriquest and a loan that I obtained, unfortunately I cannot tell it myself but I hope I have left enough information for Bob, George and their friends to tell my story for me. |
7/11/05 | Predatory loans hard to define, troubling when you have one |
Scott
Jenkins
Salisbury Post |
At
any given time, attorney Beth Bebber might be assessing dozens of
foreclosure cases for possible legal defenses. |
7/9/05 |
Jaclyn
Giovis |
Since 1999, the number of mortgage foreclosures filed in Montgomery County has skyrocketed 225%. Although it is difficult to determine exactly how many of the foreclosures result from predatory lending, McCarthy estimates it's at least 60 percent. |
|
6/17/05 |
Crackdown on Real Estate loan servicing fraud Illegal home loan fees part of larger scam. |
Mortgage servicing companies have been accused of charging illegal and excessive fees either for late payments or products, defrauding consumers out of their money and even causing them to lose their homes. |
|
6/10/05 |
Jennifer Bundy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
The illegal fees included excessive late fees, property preservation and inspection fees, corporate advance fees and broker price opinion fees. |
|
6/4/05 |
Con Artists Play Troubling Game: Grand Theft Home |
Sandra Fleishman |
But knowledgeable lawyers are few, and homeowners in distress often cannot afford them, say consumer groups. And the cases are so complicated that it takes more time than many lawyers want to spend. |
6/9/05 |
First Alliance Mortgage Settles "Predatory Lending" Charges For Up To $60 Million |
Kenneth Harney RealtyTimes.com |
In what officials called the largest case of its kind in history. As much as $60 million from the assets of First Alliance will be distributed to an estimated 18,000 homeowners around the country. |
June
2005 Report |
DREAMS
FORECLOSED
The Rampant Theft of American Homes Through Equity-Stripping Foreclosure "Rescue' Scams |
National Consumer Law Center |
If a tsunami were to sweep across America, selectively taking with it thousands upon
thousands of people?s homes, would the news media cover it?
What if many thousands of people awoke one morning to find their retirement savings suddenly missing? Would the Congress take note? Well, something quite similar is going on. Homes are literally being stolen from their owners all over the country. |
6/1/05 |
Banks are Quietly Wooing Undocumented Immigrants |
American Banker | As Washington signals a more lenient immigration policy toward the nation's eight million to 11 million undocumented aliens, U.S. banks like Fifth Third, North Shore Bank and Second Federal Savings & Loan, are quietly courting this group for home mortgages. |
June 2005 |
Investors
Recognize Synergies Between Loan Buying And Warehouse Lending
?It?s a good business, but many people have gotten into it without really understanding it.? |
MICHAEL J. KLING -mortgageOrb | Players are both entering and exiting the business as companies see the rewards and are burned by fraud, says Reynolds, a veteran of the sector. Returns on investment can be over 20%; however, the business poses risks, with fraud being the biggest danger. A warehouse lender can be victimized by fraud no matter how careful it is. |
May 2005 |
LOAN REPURCHASES: CRITICAL ISSUES TO KNOW
|
Nautilus Capital |
The cost of an occasional loan repurchase is small in comparison to the profits from originating many more good loans. Managed properly, loan repurchases need not be anything more than another cost of doing business. |
5/31/05 |
Record foreclosures, lender fraud and the OCC and HUD do NOTHING |
Creditsuit.org |
It
is so incredibly frustrating to see how people made their
payments, but the lenders or servicers stole their money, lied to
them, refused payments made as agreed, refused to provide
accounting, cram down horrible modifications ... and there?s
nothing I can do to help. |
5/26/05 |
|
Fortunately, Esquivel hired an attorney and was able to stop the foreclosure. He is now in legal proceedings against the lender, which the California Department of Corporations shut down last year. |
|
5/26/05 |
New York Times |
A.I.G., according to a former senior executive, used Richmond and Union Excess as "dumping grounds" for poor-performing insurance policies it had sold to clients. The clients then filed large claims, causing losses A.I.G. did not want to report. |
|
5/25/05 |
Sun Staff |
Spitzer, in an earlier statement, called the proposal a "shameless attempt" by the industry to undermine consumer protections that have been in place for decades to protect low-income, elderly and minority consumers. |
|
5/25/05 |
|
"There are a lot of people who have refinanced for more than their homes are actually worth and they're effectively already upside down." |
|
Must read 5/24/05 |
Advocates Draws Link between Predatory Lending and Mortgage Servicing Abuse in America |
PRWeb.com |
D.C. Firm's Briefing Paper concludes that the curable scourge of Mortgage Servicing Fraud and Abuse is destroying the American Dream. Mortgage servicing fraud and abuse by unscrupulous mortgage companies and their agents is stripping working families of home equity and, in certain instances, foreclosure. |
Must read 5/23/05 |
Has Predatory Mortgage Servicing Destroyed the American Dream? |
Rawle Andrews Jr., Esq Leroy Jones Jr., JD |
Predatory mortgage servicing is the scourge on the American Dream. Next to life and death, there are few, if any, human events that equal the condition of being a property owner with a tangible stake in today's reality and tomorrow's promise. |
5/23/05 |
Summary of Mortgage Servicing Fraud Offenses |
Andrews and Bowe, PLLP |
Excerpt from the above article. |
5/22/05 |
Michele Derus |
Warning that millions of dollars are being siphoned from the mortgage market via money-laundering schemes and fraud for profit. |
|
5/20/05 |
NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer against 'shameless' banking regulation proposal |
Heather Fletcher |
"This is another shameless attempt by the financial services industry to undermine state consumer protection laws," |
5/19/05 |
By:Mike Deeson WTSP Channel 10 News |
Ameriquest is accused of falsifying income levels to get larger loans than client could afford and failing to include escrow charges for insurance and taxes in the monthly payment so it appeared lower. |
|
5/18/05 |
The Honorable Judge Roy Bean |
Humorous paper about the "dumber than a box of rocks" EMC Mortgage and their "Three Stooges Play Lawyer." |
|
5/13/05 |
By Joseph Hallinan The Wall Street Journal |
The U.S. Labor Department ordered Washington Mutual Inc. to rehire an executive it fired last year after she complained of irregularities in its home-loan division. |
|
5/12/05 |
wtrf.com Channel 7 |
As a result, her monthly mortgage payment has gone up every six months since being sold to another lending company. |
|
5/12/05 |
Defendant says the mortgage companies condoned fraud. |
By STEVE PATTERSON |
A real estate guru charged with running a mortgage fraud scam is using his trial in Jacksonville's federal court to accuse lenders of complicity in millions of dollars of questionable loans. |
5/9/05 |
NYTimes |
According to insurance industry executives and others briefed on the matter, the doctoring of paperwork related to the questionable transaction between General Re and A.I.G. Insurance executives refer to such alterations as "repaperings." |
|
5/05 |
Federal Bureau of Investigation |
Based on various industry reports and FBI analysis, mortgage fraud is pervasive and growing. |
|
5/3/05 |
FinanceNews.com |
AIG has acknowledged that its accounting for the transaction with General Re was improper. The investigation by New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer earlier this year claimed the scalp of AIG's long-serving chief executive, Maurice Greenberg. |
|
5/3/05 |
Interagency Advisory on Accounting and Reporting for Commitments to Originate and Sell Mortgage Loans |
Office of Thrift Supervision |
Our review of Thrift Financial Reports (TFRs) indicates that not all savings associations are following the appropriate accounting and reporting. |
5/2/05 |
By
Jenifer Putnam |
A felony conviction for residential mortgage fraud is punishable by one to 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine up to $5,000. If someone is found guilty of multiple frauds, imprisonment increases to three to 20 years, and up to a $100,000 fine. |
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5/2/05
|
Dow Jones Newswire |
EMC Mortgage was "a wealthy debt collector that flouts the law" and added the courts were right to allow a sizable punitive damages award as "the only way to stop this debt collector's continuing reprehensible conduct." |
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4/25/05 | QSPEs Distort Fannie's Books | National Mortgage News | |
4/18/05 |
Mortgage Scams Cost Americans Tens of Millions of Dollars Each Year |
Originator Times |
Much of the law breaking is well known but is not openly discussed. "Fraud is America's little mortgage secret, and it's scary," Hummel said. "It touches those who know it's occurring and those who don't even suspect it." |
4/15/05 | Appraisal Fraud Likely Greater Than Reported |
Broderick Perkins Realty Times |
Stephen G. Bishop, turned his appraiser's license back into California's Office of Real Estate Appraisal after being fired thrice consecutively because he refused to inflate residential real estate appraisals. |
4/14/05 |
Sold
Out |
DallasObserver.com |
Facing eviction, Avery tried to forestall the foreclosure by EMC Mortgage, which had purchased Stenline's note from Sebring, but Judge Ann Ashby refused to grant a restraining order. Avery then filed a lawsuit against EMC Mortgage. |
4/6/05 |
By Peter
Eavis |
Clearly, the Fannie mess is nowhere close to being cleared up. |
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4/6/05 |
HELEN HUNTLEY, Times Personal
Finance Editor |
Ameriquest's Tampa office used inflated appraisals, lied about interest rates and fees and falsified documents to pump up business. |
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4/4/05 |
Mortgage Industry May Owe Homeowners Billions For Overcharges |
PRWeb.com |
Overcharging the homeowner and or out right fraud have reached epic proportions in the U.S. mortgage markets, according to the Justice & Integrity Project. |
4/4/05 |
Outside Audit |
JONATHAN WEIL, DAWN KOPECKI and JAMES R. HAGERTY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
As accountants and regulators continue to sift through Fannie Mae's books, they keep finding new reasons for investors to be nervous. |
3/31/05 |
TomPayne.com |
Why would 18 Senators, including co-sponsors of the original measure, vote for a tougher pro-consumer measure in 1991, and then vote against a weaker measure in 2005? Could it be that the more than $2 million these Senators took from the credit card/banking industry in the interim made them change their mind? |
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3/28/05 |
Los Angeles Times |
Plaintiffs say identical entries for 3 different Ameriquest borrowers bolster claims of fraud. |
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3/17/05 | False Signatures At Fannie Mae Tied to Employees | James R. Hagerty and Dawn Kopecki. Wall Street Journal | Ofheo accused Fannie of violating accounting rules as part of an effort to make its earnings appear less volatile. |
3/15/05 |
Los Angeles Times |
"Ameriquest
has violated not only the letter of our law," he said,
"but also the spirit of our agreement that gave them a second
chance." |
|
3/14/05 |
Ameriquest
under scrutiny in 25 States; separate
class
action settled |
housingchoice.org |
Members of the class number approximately 62,000 residents of California, Alaska, Texas, and Alabama. |
|
Predatory Grizzly "Bear" Attacks The Innocent With Predatory Lending Scams & Frauds |
Nye Lavalle |
The Story of Bear Stearns Direct Involvement In And Support Of Predatory Mortgage Fraud In America! |
3/10/05 |
HUD, Lawmakers Challenge Fannie Defense In Mortgage Fraud Case |
By
DAWN KOPECKI |
Fannie in early December reluctantly signed a consent order with the Justice Department to pay $7.5 million for its entanglement in the fraud. |
3/9/05 |
Fannie Regulator Tightens Its Grip, Ofheo Sets New Conditions To Correct 'Deficiencies'; Office of Compliance Created |
JAMES
R. HAGERTY |
Rep. Richard H. Baker (R., La.), chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees Fannie and its smaller rival, Freddie Mac, said the agreement "raises many disturbing questions, especially about tampering with records, and we need to know the nature of the records and the extent of this outrageous practice." |
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RealEstateABC.com |
Once Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and Fannie purchase the pools, they break them down into smaller ownership parcels. These are called "mortgage backed securities." Each security represents a small ownership interest, not in your specific loan, but in the pool of which your loan is only one part. The risk is therefore diversified and it is a very safe investment. |
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3/4/05 |
By
DAWN KOPECKI |
Fannie agreed in early December to forfeit $7.5 million in tainted funds. A consent order with the Justice Department said the mortgage giant accepted millions in "criminally derived" proceeds it knew had been pilfered. |
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3/2/05 |
Illinois Pressures EMC's parent company Bear Stearns Over Documents |
Dow Jones Newswire |
The state warned of severe consequences for failing to comply, saying that the hearing would determine whether Illinois should impose a fine or other penalties, including revoking Bear Stearns' license to do business in the state. |
3/2/05 |
Wells Fargo Says It Has Put Foreclosure Of Soldier's Home On Hold |
newsnet5.com |
Kansas Soldier Is In Iraq; Wife Worries About Keeping Home. |
2/28/05 |
Indianapolis Business Journal |
To some observers outside the mortgage industry, a desire to generate as many mortgages as possible at the lowest cost has contributed to the rise in fraud. |
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2/24/05 |
FTC.gov |
FTC filed a complaint against Capital City Mortgage alleging that the defendants deceived consumers about various loan terms, resulting in serious injury to borrowers. |
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2/24/05 | Set Aside Foreclosure and Decree and Motion for New Trial |
Kenneth DeLashmutt |
In a foreclosure, if a default judgment is entered you can file a Motion to Set Aside Foreclosure & Decree and Motion for New Trial. This motion seeks relief from the judgment of foreclosure on the ground that the lenders failure to produce the original of the promissory note is newly discovered evidence justifying a new trial. |
2/24/05 |
klastv.com |
Consumer Reports Money Adviser checked out Ditech's deal and found that the offer is not what it seems. |
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2/23/05 |
Special Report: Could Mortgage Servicing Fraud Happen to You? |
TV station KEYC |
The Childs will get to keep their home for now, although their legal battles with EMC Mortgage will continue. |
2/21/05 |
By
Kevin Sweeney |
The sub-prime mortgage industry is a business model that breeds complaints. I was very concerned with being fair to Ameriquest. We did public records requests to state and federal regulators and it turned out that the number of complaints for Ameriquest far outpaced others in the industry, even when you factor in volume of loans. |
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2/19/05 |
Dream Home Disasters Uncovered (Ameriquest) |
wpvi.com |
The banking department there has filed to prohibit Ameriquest from operating in the state. |
2/11/05 |
Senate
Approves Measure to Curb Big Class Actions
|
By STEPHEN LABATON |
Limiting corporate accountability at a time of rampant corporate scandals. Now there's a move in the wrong direction. |
2/8/05 |
The Struggle to Stop Predatory Lending and Foreclosure Fraud |
eMediaWire/ Andrews and Bowe, PLLP |
Resident files $3 Million Federal Lawsuit against ABN AMRO Mortgage Group. |
2/4/05
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Critics say Ameriquest, touted as an industry model, fabricated data, forged documents and hid fees. |
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Feb.
2005
|
The Detection, Investigation, and Deterrenceof Mortgage Loan Fraud Involving Third Parties: A White Paper |
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council |
The following interagency white paper focuses on ways that financial regulators and the industry can detect, investigate, and deter third party mortgage fraud. |
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The Genealogy of Wall Street Crime |
Steve Fraser | Today, faced by financial meltdowns so stupendous they make previous debacles seem almost benign, we continue to lock people up. But we have nearly abandoned the attempt to address the systemic origins of the disease through legislative reform. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which followed the collapse of WorldCom, was quite limited in reach -- yet was nevertheless bitterly attacked by business. |
1/29/05 |
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You're likely to find you can be considered in default if you are one day late with your payment. |
1/29/05 |
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About one in seven legislators is involved in the lending business, one of the state's most politically connected. Bankers and other creditors spend big money persuading lawmakers to adopt their points of view. They typically succeed. |
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1/29/05 |
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"Instead,
because she lives in Georgia, where there are few or no
protections, she is targeted for an abusive loan that could
cost her her house and is making investors on Wall Street rich." |
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Texans for Gun Safety |
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1/28/05 |
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The coalition was founded in 1993 and is funded largely by philanthropic foundations, Seifert said. It takes a grass-roots approach to identifying issues and deciding on strategies to combat problems. |
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1/21/05 |
Associated Press |
PMI Group Inc. said it will give Credit Suisse First Boston the option to buy its stake in Select Portfolio Servicing f/n/a Fairbanks. |
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1/21/05
|
businessweek.com By Adrienne Carter-Chicago, Amy Borrus in Washington |
Massachusetts' William Galvin is pushing for admissions of guilt in fraud cases. |
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1/18/05 |
Dawn Kopecki Dow Jones Newswires |
This history lesson explains why illegal foreclosures were used and innocent homeowners/families had to be destroyed to cover up this fraud. |
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1/11/05 |
Woman in fraud case is told to get lawyer Peter Rogers faces a maximum of 46 years in prison and $820,000 in fines. |
When it's the mortgage company who defrauds homeowners, the courts let them go free with no fine. |
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1/8/5 |
Ernst & Young and federal regulators have settled their long-running feud over the failure of Superior Bank FSB. |
Nationalmortgagenews.com |
In
December 2001, the FDIC sold the thrift?s residuals with an
approximate book value of $600 million to Bear
Stearns/EMC for $290
million. |
1/6/05 |
A Canadian Investor's Warranted Suspicions into Fannie Mae Trade |
Rob Kirby |
An excellent letter to Elliot Spitzer asking for an investigation into Fannie Mae. |
1/6/05 |
Rich Lord |
Ameriquest Mortgage is bringing you the Super Bowl?s halftime extravaganza -- but critics contend it roughs up borrowers and encroaches on their homes. |
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6/4/08 | Ed McMahon's home faces foreclosure | CNN | There were nearly 650,000 foreclosure filings -- which include notices of default, auction sales and bank repossessions -- issued during the first quarter of 2008. |
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