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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

Central Florida Judge Admits Foreclosure Ruling Subsequently Reversed On Appeal Wasn't His Best Work

Posted on March 07, 2010
In Central Florida, Sarasota Herald Tribune columnist Tom Lyons writes:When a ruling is reversed by an appellate court, the judge faulted sometimes grumbles. So I didn't know what to expect when I asked Circuit Court Judge Robert Bennett about an appellate court ruling that overturned a house foreclosure he had granted...

Minnesota Mortgage Broker Gets 24 Months In $800K+ Real Estate Escrow Ripoff

Posted on March 07, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (St. Paul, Minnesota):A 41-year-old Brooklyn Center mortgage broker was sentenced today in federal court for using for personal benefit money deposited on behalf of clients into the escrow account at his mortgage title company...

Brother Cops Plea To Screwing Siblings Out Of $200K Of Equity In Home Inherited From Deceased Mom

Posted on March 07, 2010
In Napa County, California, the St. Helena Star reports:A Napa man has pleaded no contest to swindling his siblings out of about $200,000. Stephen Beal Berg, 67, was named as executor in his mother?s trust after she died Aug. 5, 2006, leaving her property to Berg and his four siblings, according to the Napa County district attorney?s office...

Cousin, Niece Get Year & A Day After Copping Pleas To Abusing POA To Loot Accounts, Sell Home Out From Under Senior Thought To Be On Deathbed

Posted on March 07, 2010
In Multnomah County, Oregon, the Corvallis Gazette Times reports:An 83-year-old woman was in court to watch as two relatives who wiped out her savings and sold her home were sent to prison. Court records indicate the relatives expected Evelyn Roth to die when she was diagnosed with a cancerous growth on her esophagus in February 2008...

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Wisconsin Regulator Orders Firm To Refund Fees Received From Unlicensed Loan Modification Services

Posted on March 07, 2010
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:A regulator has ordered a Janesville foreclosure consultant not to sell mortgage modification services and to refund fees it has charged to customers. Rightway Solutions Inc. has been operating without an "adjustment service company" license needed to provide services to help debtors modify mortgages, the Wisconsin Department of

Arizona Jury Convicts Real Estate Agent Facing Foreclosure Of Stripping Fixtures, Appliances From Home; Used Craigslist In Attempt To Unload Goods

Posted on March 07, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced [] that a man who stripped an Anthem home and put the items for sale on Craigslist was convicted of fraud after a five day trial. Kailish Bhatt, 44, was accused of illegally removing fixtures from the home that was in foreclosure...

Gang Member Who Led Mortgage Fraud Racket Cops Plea In Scam That Left Lenders Holding The Bag On 100+ Homes, $20M+ In Losses

Posted on March 06, 2010
In San Diego, California, the San Diego Union Tribune reports:A San Diego gang member who federal authorities said was the leader of a massive mortgage fraud scam pleaded guilty yesterday to participating in a racketeering conspiracy involving bank fraud, money laundering and other crimes...

Insurer To Owner Of Fire-Damaged Inn Facing Foreclosure Who Filed $6M Insurance Claim: "Take A Hike!"

Posted on March 06, 2010
In Asheville, North Carolina, WRAL-TV reports:The company that insured a historic inn in western North Carolina is refusing to pay for damages from a fire, saying someone associated with the owners is responsible for the blaze. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Thursday the owner is accusing former employees of the Richmond Hill Inn of setting the fire last year that destroyed the inn's

Cal. AG Urged To Follow Connecticut Colleague In Hammering Lenders, Lawyers, Real Estate Agents Illegally Steamrolling Tenants Out Of Foreclosed Homes

Posted on March 06, 2010
In San Francisco, California, Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together, writes in Beyond Chron:Across our state, realtors and lawyers working on behalf of banks are violating federal law by illegally pushing renters out of their homes after foreclosure...

Dane County Ordinance Protects Renters From "Section 8" Discrimination

Posted on March 06, 2010
In Madison, Wisconsin, WISC-TV Channel 3 reports:A Dane County ordinance bans landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on their low-income status. In 2007, Dane County enacted an ordinance that prohibits landlords from turning Section 8 renters away...

Prohibitive Repair Costs May Be Cause Of Foreclosing Lenders Avoiding Taking Title To Properties Securing Delinquent Loans

Posted on March 06, 2010
In Akron, Ohio, WKYC-TV Channel 3 reports:Neighbors say the Hite Avenue home has set empty for more than six months, another casualty of the foreclosure epidemic that has ripped across Northeast Ohio. After Friday's sheriff's sale, the home will likely sit empty a while longer...

Woman Holding POA Charged In $60K Ripoff Of Elderly, Care Facility-Bound Mom; Unpaid Nursing Home Bills Trigger Probe

Posted on March 06, 2010
In Napanee, Ontario, The Canadian Press reports:A woman holding power of attorney for her elderly mother has been charged with stealing from her, in a community near Kingston, Ont. Angela McKenna-Cox, 38, whose last known address was in Prince Edward Island, was charged after a lengthy investigation into a complaint from a retirement home in Amherstview...

Jury Convicts Bay Area Woman Of Forging POA Used To Retake Title To Home Earlier Conveyed To Friend To Stop Foreclosure

Posted on March 05, 2010
In Alameda County, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:A counselor at College of Alameda has been convicted of multiple felony charges after prosecutors said she forged a power of attorney document to secure the title of her friend's home during the height of the real estate boom...

Miami Judge Orders $9K+ In Sanctions On Lender For Purposely Delaying Foreclosure Sale On Condo

Posted on March 05, 2010
In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:Can Florida banks be held financially accountable for purposely delaying condo bank foreclosure sales? A new South Florida circuit court ruling says yes. Amid a growing clamor for Florida banks to bear more of the financial burden caused by widespread condo foreclosures, the Miami-Dade Circuit Court case settled last week shows an example

Brooklyn Arson Probe Leads To Duo's Convictions In Straw Buyer Scam; Pair Pocketed $300K+

Posted on March 05, 2010
From the Office of the Brooklyn, New York District Attorney:Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes [] announced the conviction(1) of Mavis Samuel, 41, and Carlyle Ebanks, 55, for selling the same Crown Heights building twice, to two different straw buyers...

Information On Foreclosure Mediation Programs & Mandatory Conferences Around The Country

Posted on March 05, 2010
The National Consumer Law Center provides links on its website to information that summarizes the state/local programs around the country that establish some type of foreclosure diversion program requiring lenders to engage in mediation, conciliation, or a settlement conference...

Florida Appeals Court Boots Another Rubber-Stamped Foreclosure Case; Docs Supporting Judgment Filed Late, Failed To Establish Legal Standing

Posted on March 04, 2010
Florida's 2nd District Court of Appeal struck again and reversed another trial judge for allowing a lender steamroll a foreclosure action against a financially strapped property owner.(1) In this case, the trial judge rubber-stamped a foreclosure judgment for a lender despite the fact that the property owner argued, among other things:that his response to the lender's foreclosure complaint was

San Mateo Authorities Issue Arrest Warrant For Alleged Scammer Accused Of Conning 89-Year Old Woman Into Signing Loan Docs For $312K Mortgage

Posted on March 04, 2010
In San Mateo, California, The Daily Journal reports:County prosecutors issued an arrest warrant last week for a man accused of bilking an 89-year-old Pacifica woman out of nearly $600,000. Fetuu Tupoufutuna faces up to nine charges in the elder abuse case including elder fraud by a caretaker, forgery and a great taking allegation among others, San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Melissa

Son Gets 30 Days In $300K Ripoff Of Dementia-Stricken Mom; Victim's Rent Went Unpaid, Left w/ $13K Tax Bill On Foreclosed Home Put In Her Name

Posted on March 04, 2010
In Ramsey County, Minnesota, the Pioneer Press reports:A Minneapolis man will spend 30 days in jail for financially exploiting his 95-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, a Ramsey County judge ruled Tuesday. Joel Berntsen, 58, will serve an additional 60 days because the crime was a probation violation from a previous offense...

Zombie Debt Buyer Reneges On Oral Settlement Agreement, Moves To Force Sale Of Texas Couple's Home After Already Pocketing $9K, Says Suit

Posted on March 04, 2010
In Beaumont, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Jefferson County couple has filed suit against a debt purchasing company, alleging the company has reneged on an oral settlement agreement and is now attempting to sell the couple's home.Leonard and Beverly Randle claim they had been sued for deficiencies they owed on their credit cards...

Another "Lease To Own" Horror Story As Rent Skimming Landlord Stiffs Bank, Pockets Payments From Would-Be Buyer; Single Mom, Kids Left Facing The Boot

Posted on March 04, 2010
In Burleson, Texas, WFAA-TV reports:It's not her dream house, but it is Teresa Salinas' first home. Now, the single mother said she is afraid she will lose her home after learning it's in foreclosure. The Burleson house is up for public auction Tuesday at the Johnson County courthouse...

Use Of Owner Financing, Failure To Obtain Title Insurance Lead To Purchase Of Homes w/ Undisclosed Liens By Unwitting Buyers, Says Texas AG In Lawsuit

Posted on March 04, 2010
From the Office of the Texas Attorney General:Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott charged a South Texas developer with defrauding first-time home buyers by unlawfully selling houses that were encumbered by undisclosed liens. The defendant, McAllen-based Grande Valley Homes LLC, which is registered to do business as Casa Linda Homes, both sells and finances residential real estate property...

Foreclosure-Related Federal Lawsuits Against Lenders Skyrocket In California; Reflect Borrowers' Difficulty In Getting Loan Modifications

Posted on March 03, 2010
In San Jose, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:In the last five years, the number of foreclosure lawsuits filed in federal court in California has ballooned ? like an exploding adjustable-rate mortgage ? from only 29 statewide in 2005 to nearly 1,400 last year...

NY Bankruptcy Court Bounces Bank For Lack Of Standing, Insufficient Documentary Proof Substantiating Debt; Chase Gets 21 Days To File Proper Paperwork

Posted on March 03, 2010
A ruling this week by a New York Federal bankruptcy court bounced, without prejudice,(1) a creditor's claim filed by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in a Chapter 13 proceeding filed by a homeowner. According to the ruling, Chase both:failed to present evidence necessary to demonstrate that it is either the servicer, note and mortgage holder, or assignee such that it has standing to bring the claim, and

SF Man Dodges Murder Charge; Gets Five Years For Role In Using Forged POA In Attempt To Sell Missing 74-Year Old's $1M Home, Loot Bank Accounts

Posted on March 03, 2010
In Riverside, California, The Valley News reports:An art dealer accused of conspiring with five other men to bilk a Palm Springs retiree -- who is missing and presumed dead -- out of his financial assets, pleaded guilty [] to fraud-related charges and was sentenced to five years in prison...

Lawsuits Alleging "HAMP" Violations By Lenders Not Following Through On Loan Modification Promises Begin To Gain Traction

Posted on March 02, 2010
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Fox News reports:You qualify. Those two words, from the mouth of a bank representative last October, triggered a wave of relief for Tracy Davis and her husband James. The couple had been in and out of work for three years and were struggling to pay their mortgage -- so when the Bank of America worker told them they qualified under a federal program to have their loan modified

Gary Cop Cops Plea, Dodges Hard Time After Admitting To Using Bogus POA To Rip Off Title To Elderly, Now-Deceased Alzheimer's Victim's Home

Posted on March 02, 2010
In Lake County, Indiana, the Post Tribune reports:Gary police Lt. Joshua Wiley, who admitted under oath he stole from an elderly neighbor with dementia and Alzheimer's disease and illegally took her home, was sentenced to three years in the Lake County Community Corrections Kimbrough Work Program...

Ex-Mortgage Broker Pocketed $1M+ By Acquiring, Selling Vacant Lots, Abandoned Properties Using Forged Deeds, Say Fort Worth Feds

Posted on March 02, 2010
In Fort Worth, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:For more than two years, authorities say, former mortgage broker Norris Lynn Fisher toured Tarrant County looking for vacant lots and properties that looked abandoned. When he found one, he would forge a deed to transfer the property to fictitious owners, repeating the process several times before selling it to one of his companies, investigators

Colorado AG Indicts Three In Alleged Fraud Scheme Designed To Rip Off Home Sellers, Lenders

Posted on March 02, 2010
From the Office of the Colorado Attorney General:Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced [] that the Statewide Grand Jury has indicted Marcus Williams [], Kimberly Anderson [] and Scott Peters [] on suspicion of running an elaborate mortgage-fraud scheme under the auspices of Blackhawk Property Management...

S. California Lender Accused Of Pushing Homeowners Into Foreclosure By Jacking Up Escrow Payments After Borrowers File Bankruptcy

Posted on March 01, 2010
In Pasadena, California, the Whittier Daily News reports:Allegations that OneWest Bank is systematically pushing home loan borrowers toward foreclosure has elicited concerns from two Southland lawmakers. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, said the claims contained in several lawsuits - if true - don't bode well for people who are trying to remain in their homes...

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