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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

Chicago-Area Foreclosure Rescue Operator Peddling Sale Leaseback Programs Targeted In Multiple Lawsuits, Illinois AG Probe

Posted on May 05, 2010
In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:The accusations that have piled up against Eliseo Carrillo run counter to the image the Chicago entrepreneur cultivated as a champion of Latino immigrants. As the housing market weakened in recent years, Carrillo's smiling face appeared on billboards throughout the city's Mexican-American neighborhoods...

Cook County Continues Sitting On Million$ In Unclaimed Foreclosure Surplus Funds

Posted on May 05, 2010
In Chicago, Illinois, WFLD-TV reports:If your house has been foreclosed on, believe it or not -- you may have some money coming to that you don't know about. The Cook County Circuit Court Clerk's office has a list of former homeowners who are owed what's called a mortgage surplus...

Nevada AG's Office: Forensic Loan Auditing Is The Next Evolution In Mortgage Modification Scams

Posted on May 05, 2010
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KTNV-TV Channel 13 reports:Odds are you or someone you know is desperate to save a home from foreclosure. But as you know, many offers for assistance are simply too good to be true. For months, Contact 13 has been digging up dirt on the latest foreclosure rescue scam...

The BofA Apologies Continue For Wrongfully Seizing Homes

Posted on May 04, 2010
In Fort Worth, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:Freda Snowden's months-long ordeal to stop a bank from wrongly seizing a house her son owns in far south Fort Worth has ended. Bank of America apologized [] and agreed to pay for damage to the three-bedroom house on Oldham Court caused by agents the bank hired to secure the property for foreclosure...

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BofA Strikes Again; Hits Central Florida In Its Relentless Seizures Of Wrong Homes Followed By An Apology

Posted on May 04, 2010
In Sarasota, Florida, ABC Action News reports:Neighbor Scott Mondro started asking questions as soon as he spotted the stranger drilling holes in his neighbor's door. Turns out the guy with the hardware was representing Bank of America. Scott Mondro shares the conversation...

Another Lender Wrongfully Seizes Former REO It Recently Sold

Posted on May 04, 2010
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, WZZM-TV Channel 13 reports:It's happened again -- another recently purchased home broken into by a company that was hired to take care of foreclosed homes. WZZM 13 News reported a story Monday about a Newaygo County couple who paid cash for a foreclosed home, only to have their possessions taken six months later...

Loan Modification "Jerk-Arounds" Continue For Homeowners Seeking Relief From Foreclosure

Posted on May 04, 2010
Lenders continue in their efforts to sell false hope to financially strapped homeowners seeking to keep their homes out of foreclosure by offering them loan modification deals, then pursuing foreclosure against them anyway, despite the fact that the payments on the loan modification are current and up to date...

Florida AG Directs Attention To One Of Its Own Employees In Ongoing Foreclosure Mill Probe Into Possible Manufacturing, Filing Of Bogus Court Docs

Posted on May 03, 2010
In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:The Florida Attorney General's Office said Friday that it is investigating the involvement one of its attorneys had with one of the state's largest foreclosure firms. This comes a day after the office said it is investigating the firm, Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, for what "appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading

Media Coverage On Alleged Fraudulent Court Filings By Florida Foreclosure Mills Continues

Posted on May 03, 2010
In Central Florida, the Bradenton Herald Tribune recently weighed in with their report on the ongoing probe by the Florida Attorney General's office into what it says "appears to be [the] fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases...

"Sovereign Squatter" Movement Running Bogus "Home Adoption" Rackets By Using Phony Deed Filings Spreading Around Country?

Posted on May 03, 2010
In Polson, Montana, the Missoulian reports on the so-called "home adoption" racket being run by self-proclaimed "sovereign squatters" that recently hit locally and is apparently hitting other spots around the country:What?s occurred in Montana is evidently more prevalent elsewhere...

NJ Woman Indicted In Alleged Theft Of $274K From Her Now-Defunct Law Firm/Employer's Trust Account

Posted on May 03, 2010
From the Office of the Monmouth County, New Jersey Prosecutor:[A] Monmouth County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Kimberly Dehl, 33, of Toms River, N.J., with one count of second degree Theft and one count of second degree Misapplication of Entrusted Property...

Feds Obtain Judgment Against Southern California Loan Modification Racket For Clipping Homeowners With Upfront Fees & Failing To Deliver On Promises

Posted on May 03, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:The Federal Trade Commission has put a permanent stop to another mortgage foreclosure ?rescue? operation that allegedly promoted bogus loan modification and foreclosure relief services. The case is one of 17 lawsuits the FTC has brought in the past 11 months in a crackdown on mortgage relief frauds that target financially strapped homeowners, and

Federal Judge Clobbers Sobbing Sale Leaseback Peddler With 270 Months For Victimizing 17 Minn. Homeowners In Equity Stripping, F'closure Rescue Ripoff

Posted on May 02, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (St. Paul, Minnesota):A 41-year-old Prior Lake man was sentenced [] in federal court in St. Paul on charges connected to an equity-skimming scheme that targeted vulnerable homeowners. United States District Court Judge Patrick J...

NJ AG Gets $11M+ Judgment Against Foreclosure Rescue Operator Who Screwed Financially Strapped Homeowners With Bogus Loan Modification Services

Posted on May 02, 2010
From the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General:Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Division of Law Director Robert Hanna announced today that a New Jersey loan modification company and its owners have agreed to an $11.45 million judgment to settle civil charges they defrauded homeowners who sought help in staving off mortgage foreclosure...

Colorado AG Targets Foreclosure Rescue Outfit With Lawsuit Alleging Illegal Upfront Fee Loan Modification Racket

Posted on May 02, 2010
From the Office of the Colorado Attorney General:Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that his office has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against American Mortgage Consultants ["AMC"], its owner, Oliver Paul Maldonado, and its principal employee, Santiago Fabian Pineda, on suspicion that they defrauded consumers seeking loan modifications and foreclosure relief...

Phoenix Media Outlet Conducts Hidden Camera Probe Into Valley Outfit Offering Allegedly Bogus Assistance For Consumers Seeking Home Loan Help

Posted on May 02, 2010
In Scottsdale, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:A 5 Investigates hidden camera investigation has been examining a Valley company that promises to devote billions of dollars to reduce mortgage payments for desperate homeowners. It was the combination of a slick website and desperation that Cheryl Van Berkum said led her to a company called the Guardian Group...

Philly U.S. Attorney Warns Against Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Posted on May 02, 2010
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania writes in the Philadelphia Daily News, warning financially strapped homeowners and investors alike against sale leaseback, foreclosure rescue scams:SOMETIMES it begins as a telephone call or mailing that offers help...

Alleged Rent-To-Own Scam Artist Gets 37 Months For Leaving Would-Be Homeowners, Straw Buyers, Lenders Holding The Bag On Fraudulently Obtained Loans

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Portland, Oregon, The Columbian reports:A Vancouver man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to 37 months in prison for mortgage fraud. Jeremy Richardson, 33, pleaded guilty in September 2008 to money laundering. As part of his sentence, Richardson must pay more than $496,000 in restitution to four title companies and a number of victims affected by his fraud scheme...

Texas Man Sues Homebuilder For Allegedly Filing Invalid Mechanics Lien, Stiffing Three Subs, Giving Bogus "No Lien" Affidavit To Title Insurer

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A man claims a Beaumont contractor wrongly filed a mechanic's and material man's lien against him, and he fears he will lose his property. Clifford D. Hardeman filed a lawsuit April 15 in Jefferson County District Court against Elton James Senegal, doing business as Elton's Construction...

Admitted Home Improvement Scam Artist Wastes No Time Getting Back Into Hot Water, Allegedly Pocketing Cash For Another Project He Failed To Complete

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Danville, Pennsylvania, The Daily Item reports:One day after pleading guilty to scamming two Montour County couples, a Riverside contractor accepted payment for a job he never completed, a Columbia-Montour judge said [] while sending Wayne Lee Biddinger to jail on a total $150,000 cash bail...

Contractor Accused Of Unloading Condemned Home Acquired At Foreclosure Sale To Unwitting Single Mom, Leaving Her Homeless

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, WNEP-TV Channel 16 reports:A single mom in our area saved for years to make a down payment on a dream house. Ten months later, she was forced out when she learned the home she bought was condemned. Of all the houses on Eynon Street the one Teresa Shelp bought last summer appeared to her to be the newest and the nicest, outside and inside...

School District Treasurer Charged With Clipping $14K From Till; Recently Convicted Of Pocketing $50K By Forging Loan Docs Secured By In-Laws' Home

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Northampton, Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Courier Times reports:The treasurer of a Centennial School District Home and School Association has been charged with stealing $14,860 from the group. Christina Lynn Troy, 32, of Colonial Drive in Warminster, allegedly stole the money from Fred J...

Woman Charged w/ Using POA To Rip Off Ailing Elderly Dad Of $98K+ In Life Insurance Cash From Mom's Death; Fails To Turn Over Proceeds To Nursing Home

Posted on May 01, 2010
From the Office of the Monmouth County, New Jersey Prosecutor:On April 22, 2010, Lorie Langridge, 47, of Jackson Township, N.J., was arrested by Detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor?s Office on a complaint charging her with second degree Theft...

Daughter Of Now-Deceased, Dementia-Suffering Couple Claim Court-Appointed Lawyer Made Easy Pickings Of Parents

Posted on May 01, 2010
In London, England, the Daily Mail reports:An elderly, frail couple were charged a swingeing �44,400 by lawyers who handled their simple finances for four years when they were no longer capable of looking after themselves. Their case exposes a gaping loophole in the legal system, which leaves the elderly at the mercy of greedy solicitors who, relatives fear, can charge what they liked, while the

Another Residential Apartment Complex In Foreclosure Leads To Health, Safety Risks For 30 Families; Local Officials Declare State Of Emergency

Posted on May 01, 2010
In Leflore County, Mississippi, The Greenwood Commonwealth reports:The Leflore County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency at the Delta Apartments, where grass growth and trash build-up have begun to pose a health risk. Joyce Chiles, attorney for the board, told the supervisors that the complex?s management group lacks the funds to maintain the grounds there...

Assembly Line, F'closure Mill Law Firm Targeted In Fla. AG Civil Probe Into Allegations Of Manufacturing False, Misleading Documents In Legal Actions

Posted on April 30, 2010
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, The Wall Street Journal reports:The Florida attorney general's office is investigating possible misconduct by a large law firm that files foreclosures for banks, according to a posting on its Web site.(1) The Web site said the office is looking at whether Florida Default Law Group, based in Tampa, was involved in "fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading

Fort Worth Feds Invoke Mail Fraud Statute To Bag Suspect For Allegedly Using Forged Deeds To Acquire, Convey Interests In 100+ Properties

Posted on April 30, 2010
In Fort Worth, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:A federal grand jury returned an indictment for mail fraud against an Arlington man accused of stealing houses. The indictment alleges that between January 2007 to Feb. 26, 2010, when he was arrested, Norris Fisher, 62, illegally acquired real estate that did not belong to him by creating and filing forged warranty deeds with the Tarrant County

Homeowner May Be Victim Of Fraudulent Title Transfer & Wants To Know What To Do

Posted on April 30, 2010
In Washington, D.C., syndicated columnist and attorney Benny L. Kass recently addessed the following question:My father is in his 90s and in frail health. He owns a house in the District [of Columbia], free and clear of any debt, and my cousin just told me that she now owns it...

82-Year Old, Blind, Diabetic, Wheelchair-Bound Mom Accuses Son In Lawsuit Of Using POA To Sell $650K Home Out From Under Her

Posted on April 30, 2010
In Brooklyn, New York, Courthouse News Service reports:A blind, wheelchair-bound 82-year-old mother claims her adult son sold her $650,000 home out from under her for nothing - taking only a $6,000 kickback for himself. There was "no contract ... no closing, no closing statement ...

Oregon Man Accused Of Using POA To Pocket $122K+ In Proceeds From Sale Of Ailing Mom's Home After Getting Medicaid To Foot Her Nursing Home Bills

Posted on April 30, 2010
In Multnomah County, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:A 52-year-old man is accused of defrauding his elderly mother, who suffered from dementia and was placed in an adult foster home, and fraudulently applying for Medicaid to cover his mother's nursing home bill while he spent his mother's savings...

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