to prove they still hold their notes
"Fraud is an everyday occurrence in foreclosures," said Madison attorney Reed Peterson. But many irregularities are never uncovered. The vast majority of foreclosed homeowners in Wisconsin don't contest the banks' actions, walking away from their homes, uprooting their families and leaving their credit in tatters.
"If there is not a clear chain of title in the foreclosure process, how can there be a clear chain of title for the person buying foreclosed property?"
"Given our report, it calls into question whether entities selling a foreclosure really have the right to transfer that property to somebody else." said San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting.
“Raging Hurricane of Theft and Fraud”
This bank has systematically defrauded almost everyone with whom it has a significant business relationship; cheating investors, insurers, homeowners, shareholders, depositors, and the state.
WHEN THE MORTGAGE IS RECORDED AT MERS
Often the banks seize the wrong properties—because MERS recorded the wrong address. Often they steal homes that never had a mortgage. Or they lose the payments the homeowner tried to make, then claim default, then steal the home. Or they advise the homeowner to stop making payments in order to qualify for a “loan mod”—then steal the home.
But banks and their lawyers consider these “victimless crimes”
- Professor of Economics and Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray
Who didn't hear this train coming?
Cancelled Notes After Foreclosures, Hit by Later Claims
How can there be a Satisfaction or Release if the foreclosing entity didn't own the loan?
“A misunderstanding about a lender’s identity could prompt a homeowner to make a critical error at a time when he or she is struggling to avert foreclosure,” the court said in the opinion.
In a case before the Washington Supreme Court, McKenna said that actions by MERS Inc. violate Washington's deed of trust and consumer protection laws. He said MERS has illegally deceived homeowners about the true owner of their mortgages and about its authority to foreclose and transfer deeds or loans.
Document Fraud
"What we have for the first time is hard data about the level of systematic
San Francisco Foreclosure Fraud Report
The study also determined it was possible that some homeowners were falsely accused of defaulting on loans - including loans that they had never agreed to in the first place - and that lenders who did not own the loans were driving the foreclosures.
"The allegations are deeply troubling and, sadly, no surprise to homeowners and law enforcement officials in California," Harris says.
In the settlement, Citi, which was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008 to the tune of $45 billion, "admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility" for passing on bad loans.
An audit by San Francisco county officials of about 400 recent foreclosures there determined that almost all involved either legal violations or suspicious documentation.
Because MERS was never the lawful holder or assignee of the notes, it is not the "beneficiary"?" under the Washington Deed of Trust Act and cannot initiate any foreclosures or appoint any trustee.
The state’s judges have grown increasingly vocal about what some of them have called “outrageous” conduct, “patently false” statements and “inexcusable” actions by lenders’ lawyers.
FOR USING MERS
Complaint Charges Use Of MERS By Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo Resulted In Fraudulent Foreclosure Filings
… maybe it's time to just Occupy it
"Some of this activity amounts to networked criminal enterprise."
They Don’t Have That “Paper” Up There On Wall Street”
Under the terms of the settlements, even if subpoenaed, borrowers can’t reveal any unflattering information about the bank. They couldn’t talk about misrepresentations the bank made about loan mods, which is what the state is investigating, she said
Problems occur everywhere
Judge Magner has dug into the accounts of more than 20 borrowers in her court since the Stewart case and found mistakes in every one of them, she said in a recent interview.
“These are loans of working-class people who bought homes they could afford and whose loans were not administered correctly from an accounting perspective,” she said. “I think that these types of problems occur in almost every [defaulted] loan in the country.”
What the Bowers never imagined was that their old loan, the one Wells Fargo told them was paid off, would resurrect itself, trashing their credit report, scotching their son's student loans and throwing the whole family into foreclosure...
even though they didn't miss a single mortgage payment.
We see a lot of cases where they are trying to collect even though there is no mortgage.
This well-written brief argues the issue of standing.
Fabricated Documents?
Banks are left with (a) an unsecured PAID loan to an unknown creditor and (b) liability for fraud. And they can’t fix it.
So they started foreclosing; and in order to do so they needed to finesse the borrowers and the Court system with documents that looked right but were pure fabrication.
Now, like to or not, all those foreclosures need to be reviewed for fatal errors. And homeowners, getting wise to the fact that they might still legally own homes they were kicked out of years ago, are visiting lawyers to see what can be done to recover the property. My guess, is that the tide has turned.
Atta Poku never missed a mortgage payment, fought in court for more than five years.
The bank foreclosed in 2005, eventually putting him, his wife and four children out of their house. In a court hearing early this year, the title company engaged in the refinancing agreed that Atta Poku had done nothing wrong.
Are judges listening to this?
“It clarifies that those people can have their story heard before the housing court or whatever court is hearing the eviction case, and they can’t be evicted unless the bank can prove a valid foreclosure.”
A judge ruled on Tuesday that foreclosures involving any title exchanges controlled by MERS were improper. That ruling could void thousands and thousands of foreclosures in the state because it is likely the bank or mortgage company had no legal right to foreclose on the property.
The evidence is clear: banks flubbed mortgage assignments in MBS deals, and are backdating, fabricating and forging documents to cover it up.
These "show me the paper" cases have been winding through the courts for several years. But in recent months, some judges have been siding with borrowers and stopping foreclosures after concluding that banks' paperwork problems are more serious than previously thought and raise broader ethical questions.
Owners in Florida, Nevada, Texas and Pennsylvania have filed lawsuits alleging they were victims of mistaken foreclosure. In many cases, the bank went so far as to haul away belongings and change the locks on the wrong homes.
“These revelations clearly show how banks are responsible for many of the problems that caused the mortgage foreclosure crisis and care only about their profit margin,” said Vito Torchia, Jr. “Their treatment of their clients as evidenced by their internal emails was almost as disgusting as the fraud they are alleged to have committed.”
"It could be a fairly significant issue," Crandall said. "It does call into question foreclosures that are pending and those that have already been completed."
MERS did not own the indebtedness, own an interest in the indebtedness secured by the mortgage, or service the mortgage. MERS' inability to comply with the statutory requirements rendered the foreclosure proceedings in both cases void ab initio. Thus, the circuit courts improperly affirmed the district courts' decisions to proceed with eviction based upon the foreclosures of defendants' properties.
Fed-up judges crack down on disorder in the courts
Angry and exasperated by faulty foreclosure documents, judges throughout Florida are hitting back by increasingly dismissing cases and boldly accusing lawyers of "fraud upon the court.
In a growing number of cases judges are awarding homeowners their homes free and clear after finding fraud upon the court.
Florida Bar President Mayanne Downs predicts some Florida attorneys will pay the ultimate professional price for foreclosure-related wrongdoing - disbarment - as investigations mount statewide.
"It's the death penalty of the legal profession,"
To put it plainly: Because of these bad titles, property owners can't prove they own the properties they think they bought, and banks can't prove they had the right to sell them.
"Horwitz has found one case where an $80,000 property was being insured for $10,000 a year, and also notes that at Assurant, 'the unit handling force-placed insurance has accounted for $811 million of its $879 million in profits during the last two years.'"
The bottom line is this: Either the original issue of that mortgage and its subsequent securitization went through all previously-required assignments and you can prove it or your ability to convey a title via Trustee Sale is gone.
MERS and the banks screwed up big time, and there is no "do over" -- there is no valid lien on the property, so owners have got their homes free and clear.
MERS Lacks Right to Transfer Mortgages, Judge SaysA California woman whose home was foreclosed may be able to obtain financial damages as a result of wrongly being dealt with by U.S. Bank in the foreclosure of her home, a federal court ruled.
When fraud is suspected, an attorney's duty to the court supersedes the attorney's duty to the client, said Cynthia Booth, an ethics attorney with the Florida Bar.
Many or most foreclosures that are taking place are "illegal" because those doing the foreclosing do not have legal standing.
Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC, called for a “foreclosure claims commission” to handle complaints from homeowners who say they have lost their homes through errors made by their mortgage companies. The commission, she said, could distribute claims to affected borrowers–much like Gulf Coast oil spill fund–and would be paid for by the mortgage industry.
What Is The Legal Status Of A Property Bought After An Unlawful Foreclosure?
State guilty of 'delusional behavior' in slow response to foreclosure chaos
Fed up with the foreclosure chaos, the New Jersey courts demanded that banks prove the integrity of their home repossession systems or face SHUTDOWN.
by State Ruling on Mortgage Transfer
The Massachusetts Supreme Court
It's pretty straightforward: The banks didn't have the proper paperwork to foreclose, says the court. Hence, no legitimate foreclosure.
(including a bona fide purchaser for value)
"No one can manufacture a note, claim to be a creditor, and then take a homeowner's property."
(But they do and the courts allow it.)
Former employees at banks and foreclosure law firms have testified that they also knowingly pushed through foreclosures on the wrong people.
"In principle, foreclosure fraud can end a lawyer’s career.
Knowingly giving false documents to a court or lying to a judge can lead to disbarment.
Just knowing another lawyer did that and not saying anything can be grounds for suspension."
Judges have pledged they will not approve eviction notices unless documents include the "original" note.
Broken Chain of Title and Fraudulent Law FirmsMERS tried to Quiet Title, and paved the way for millions of homeowners to sue MERS to quiet title. The net result is that the encumbrance is invalid. That means the debt, the obligation, MIGHT exist, but it is NO LONGER secured by the home.
(Separation of Note & Mortgage is Fatal)
"In the event that the note and the deed of trust are split, the note, as a practical matter becomes unsecured. The practical effect of splitting the deed of trust from the promissory note is to make it impossible for the holder of the note to foreclose, unless the holder of the deed of trust is the agent of the holder of the note. Id. Without the agency relationship, the person holding only the note lacks the power to foreclose in the event of default. The person holding only the deed of trust will never experience default because only the holder of the note is entitled to payment of the underlying obligation. Id. The mortgage loan became ineffectual when the note holder did not also hold the deed of trust." Bellistri v. Ocwen
MSFraud Forum Crosslinks, Findings and Case Citations add to Ohio Federal Court Case Discussions
MBIA sues Credit Suisse, DLJ Mortgage and Select Portfolio
MERS SMACKDOWN in NEVADA!!!
Judge Blasts Bank's Foreclosure Conduct and Cancels Mortgage
Mortgage debt waived after bank can't find paperwork
Ruling could UNDO Thousands of Foreclosures Bank(s) Lose When Judge Understands the Banks' Scam
Ohio Supreme Court Lets Wells Fargo v. Jordan Stand. Foreclosure Plaintiffs Who Do Not Own the Mortgage at the Time of Filing Lack Standing to Pursue Cases
LANDMARK DECISION Massive Relief for Homeowners and Trouble for the Banks
The proposal to have the victims of Bank of America's violation pay an additional penalty for their own victimization was enough to give the Court pause.
A Springfield judge’s ruling has thrown the entire Massachusetts foreclosure market into disarray by bolstering claims that lenders improperly seized thousands of Bay State homes.
"[a] bank that was not the mortgagee when suit was filed cannot cure its lack of standing by subsequently obtaining an interest in the mortgage." "Thus, Wells Fargo Bank lacked standing to bring a foreclosure action against Jordan. As such, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of WFB because WFB was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. We sustain Jordan's first assignment of error, reverse summary judgment, and order the trial court to dismiss the complaint without prejudice."
Wells Fargo vs. Jordan
Ohio Supreme Court DECLINES jurisdiction!
The biggest investment most Americans will make is now the target of the biggrest financial crimes in history and labeled:
"The Perfect Crime."
When fully exposed, this will make Enron look like a parking ticket.
- MSFraud 2003 -
From the 2005 transcript of hearing in MERS v. Cabrera
"It truly concerns me, however, that thousands and thousands -- thousands and thousands of mortgage foreclosure actions have been filed with these allegations. I am not certain what remedy, if any, these people would have were it to be determined that MERS was not ever the proper party notwithstanding that these folks [might] have been in default what their recourse, if any, would be. I'm not certain with the satisfaction of mortgages that have been filed on behalf of MERS how good those are and I am not certain how good title to property is that people bought at these foreclosure sales if it turns or becomes established that MERS was indeed not only not the right party but misrepresented by way of their pleadings and affidavits that they held something they didn't own, so I'm not certain of the consequences but it seems vast."
- The Honorable Judge Jon Gordon - September 2005 (Emphasis added)
"It truly concerns me, however, that thousands and thousands -- thousands and thousands of mortgage foreclosure actions have been filed with these allegations. I am not certain what remedy, if any, these people would have were it to be determined that MERS was not ever the proper party notwithstanding that these folks [might] have been in default what their recourse, if any, would be. I'm not certain with the satisfaction of mortgages that have been filed on behalf of MERS how good those are and I am not certain how good title to property is that people bought at these foreclosure sales if it turns or becomes established that MERS was indeed not only not the right party but misrepresented by way of their pleadings and affidavits that they held something they didn't own, so I'm not certain of the consequences but it seems vast."
- The Honorable Judge Jon Gordon - September 2005 (Emphasis added)
