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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

Tear Gas Triggers Gun Battle Between Detroit Cops & 78-Year Old Man Distraught Over Eviction Proceedings

Posted on August 08, 2009
In Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports:A standoff involving a 78-year-old gunman distraught over being evicted from his Detroit apartment ended in a hail of gunfire [last week]. The man, who was not identified, was shot multiple times after firing at police, according to Detroit Police spokeswoman Sgt...

Virginia Couple Facing Foreclosure Discover Their Home Listed For Rent On Craigslist By Nigerian Scammer

Posted on August 08, 2009
In Lake Jackson, Virginia, InsideNova.com reports:A Lake Jackson couple was shocked to see their house for rent on Craiglist this week. [... T]hey are losing it to foreclosure, and now it appears a scam artist is trying to make a buck by fraudulently listing it for rent...

Ex-Florida Appeals Court Judge Cops Plea To Falsifying Mortgage Application In Alleged Attempt To Help Stripper Cover Up Her Assets

Posted on August 08, 2009
In Tampa, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:A former Florida appeals court judge who resigned amid controversy over his financial and personal relationship with a stripper has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Thomas E. Stringer appeared in Tampa federal court Thursday morning...

NY AG Files Criminal Charges Against Judge For Allegedly Swiping Bail Money, Fees From Court Bank Account To Save Home From Foreclosure

Posted on August 08, 2009
From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [Tuesday] announced criminal charges against a former town judge for using $27,000 in fees and bail money from a court bank account for personal use. According to the complaint, James Funk, 47, of Hudson, while sitting as a judge of the Stockport Town Court in Columbia County, withdrew funds from the court?s bank

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Outfit Accused Of Online "Astroturfing" As Part Of Facelift Peddling Program To Cough Up $300K Settlement In Lawsuit Brought By NY AG

Posted on August 08, 2009
From the Office of the New York Attorney General:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [...] announced a settlement with cosmetic surgery outfit Lifestyle Lift over the publishing of fake consumer reviews on the Internet. Under the settlement, Lifestyle Lift will stop publishing anonymous positive reviews about the company to Internet message boards and other Web sites, and will pay $300,000 in

High Interest In Low Sticker-Priced SW Florida Homes With Chinese Drywall?

Posted on August 08, 2009
In Cape Coral, Florida, WINK News reports:For the first time, we're starting to see homes that are known to have toxic Chinese drywall put up for sale. A never-lived-in, four bedroom, two bath home in Northwest Cape Coral is selling for a steal -- just $19,800...

Michigan Bride Settles For Outdoor Tented Wedding Reception After Being Bounced Twice By Country Clubs In Foreclosure

Posted on August 08, 2009
In Holland, Michigan, The Holland Sentinel reports:After twice relocating their wedding reception when both venues they chose went into foreclosure earlier this year, Rachel Selle joked that maybe her marriage wasn?t meant to be. The Hudsonville couple had to change venues after their reception plans at Holland Country Club and then Raleigh Woods were thwarted when both businesses closed...

Feds Sought 400 Years, Get 100 In Sentencing Of Owner Of 1031 Exchange Intermediary Accused Of Using Clients' Escrow Cash As "Personal Piggy Bank"

Posted on August 07, 2009
In Richmond, Virginia, Bloomberg News reports:Edward Okun, the Miami businessman convicted of stealing from customers of his tax-deferral firm, 1031 Tax Group LLC, was sentenced to 100 years in prison for running a $126 million fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne handed down the sentence [Tuseday] in Richmond, Virginia, where Okun?s company was based...

Boston Homeowner Dodges Possible Loan Modification Scam As Ex-Employee Warns That Firm Was "Just Flat Out Stealing"

Posted on August 07, 2009
In Boston, Massachusetts, WCVB-TV Channel 5 reports:On the verge of foreclosure, Nancy Coxall of Boston was ecstatic when she received a flier from Nation's Housing Modification Center, promising to lower her interest rate and erase bad credit. [...] All she had to do was make a one-time payment of less than $3,000...

Feds Move In On South Florida Loan Modification Peddler; Seize Luxury Cars, Boat In Criminal Probe As State Court Judge Upholds Temporary Injunction

Posted on August 07, 2009
In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:Jason Vitulano reached out to troubled homeowners with the promise that he could save them for foreclosure, an investigator for the Florida Attorney General said in Palm Beach County Circuit Court [Wednesday]...

Major Bay Area Landlord Hit w/ Numerous Foreclosure Actions Now Accused Of Stiffing Former Tenants On Security Deposit Refunds, Lease Buy-Out Payments

Posted on August 07, 2009
In San Francisco, California, the San Francisco Examiner reports:Rental security deposits held by one of The City?s largest residential landlords were funneled into an array of bank accounts and plundered, potentially affecting thousands of tenants, according to lawsuits...

El Paso Woman Facing Foreclosure Allegedly Tricked Into Signing Away Home; Investor Rented Out Premises After Taking Possession

Posted on August 07, 2009
In El Paso, Texas, KFOX-TV Channel 14 reports:A former El Paso woman says people are living in her Lower Valley home that she never sold. Tammy Diaz asked a real estate investor to help her sell this home more than two years ago. Diaz moved to Corpus Christi, and almost never heard from him again...

Victims Accuse Colorado Man Of Tricking Owner Into Signing Over Home, Then Pocketing Rent From Unwitting Tenant While Allowing House To Be Foreclosed

Posted on August 07, 2009
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, KKTV reports:Imagine you and your children being kicked to the curb with all your belongings left in the front yard in an undignified, but very legal way. That's the situation facing this tenant who decided to rent a property in foreclosure...

Judge Orders Wells To Turn Over Evidence, Execs To Appear At Depositions In City Of Baltimore "Ghetto Loans" Case

Posted on August 07, 2009
In Baltimore, Maryland, WJZ-TV Channel 13 reports:Baltimore has won an early battle in its lawsuit against Wells Fargo. A federal judge ruled Thursday that the lender must turn over data on its Baltimore loans and make company officials available for depositions...

NJ Feds Bag Brooklyn-Based "Home Savers" Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Racket; High Equity Homeowners Allegedly Conned w/ Bogus Sale Leasebacks

Posted on August 06, 2009
From the Newark, New Jersey Office of the FBI:It?s the type of story that is becoming increasingly more common: FBI Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced [Wednesday] the arrests of GARTH CELESTINE, age 44, of [...] Brooklyn, New York; and PHIL A...

Two Lenders Targeted In Mass. Class Actions Over Toxic "Payment Option, Pick-A-Payment" Loans, Could Slam Brakes On In-State Wells, BofA Foreclosures

Posted on August 06, 2009
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:A Boston attorney has filed lawsuits against two major lenders claiming they knew - or should have known - their mortgage loans that can grow bigger over time were unaffordable to borrowers.(1) The suits are being watched locally and nationally because, if successful, they would provide strength to advocates and litigators struggling to make

The Loan Servicing Horror Stories Continue For Homeowners

Posted on August 06, 2009
A recent story by The Associated Press gives an "honorable mention" on the fine work of mortgage servicers Bayview Loan Servicing, Select Portfolio Servicing, and Ocwen Financial Corp. in their dealings with the average consumer homeowner. With respect to Bayview:In February 2005, Janet Simmons was more than $30,000 behind on her mortgage...

Recession Drives Increase In Those Representing Themselves In Court; Trend Alarms Observers

Posted on August 06, 2009
In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:Legal service has never come cheap, but lawyers, judges and other experts say that for many people the recession has made it a nearly impossible expense. That has created a surge of litigants who must navigate the often-bewildering justice system by themselves...

Florida AG Probes Central Florida "Charity" For Allegedly Clipping Homeowners For Upfront "Donations" For Loan Modifications

Posted on August 06, 2009
In Oviedo, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:An Action 9 investigation has exposed a local charity that collects thousands in donations to help people avoid foreclosure. Some clients and a former employee claim it's really charging advance fees for loan modifications many homeowners never get...

Lenders Begin Bypassing Foreclosure On Large Projects, Using Receiverships To Unload Collateral Securing Bad Loans While Avoiding Builder Liability

Posted on August 06, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports:Some banks are starting to bypass foreclosure on large, troubled real-estate developments and instead are throwing the properties into receivership, a move intended to reduce some of the headaches associated with taking over problem assets...

Calif. State Bar Gets Serious About Loan Modification Scams; Forms 10-Person Task Force To Work With Law Enforcement In Statewide Eradication Effort

Posted on August 05, 2009
The August 2009 issue of the California Bar Journal reports:The State Bar has taken action to lift the law licenses of three California attorneys(1) allegedly engaged in loan modification fraud and is investigating nearly 140 more. One of the three resigned with charges pending, another faces involuntary inactive status and the third has been formally charged with seven counts of professional

Impatience Grows Among Lawmakers With Lenders, Mortgage Servicers On Lack Of Progress On Loan Modifications

Posted on August 05, 2009
The Washington Independent reports:A top Democrat on Monday warned the nation?s banks that, unless they get more aggressive in modifying mortgages to prevent foreclosure, Congress will renew previous efforts to empower families to keep their homes through bankruptcy...

Alleged Florida Fraudster Nabbed In Costa Rica; Accused Of Running Lease To Own, Rent Skimming Scam That Left Would-Be Homeowners Out On The Street

Posted on August 05, 2009
In Lee County, Florida, WINK News reports:One of the alleged ring leaders of a major mortgage fraud scheme in Southwest Florida has been tracked down in Costa Rica. Erich Heckler allegedly fled Ft. Myers leaving behind 61 felony charges and a host of victims homeless and broke...

"It's Almost Like A Scary Movie" Says Unit Owner As Weak Sales Leave Family With 32-Story, 200-Unit Florida Condo Tower All To Themselves

Posted on August 05, 2009
In Fort Myers, Florida, CBS News reports:The Vangelakos' southwest Florida condominium has marble floors, a large pool overlooking a river and modern furnishings that speak of affluence and luxury. What they don't have in the 32-story building is a single neighbor...

Feds Begin Releasing Monthly "Hall Of Shame" List Of Foot-Dragging Mortgage Servicers Failing In Effort To Modify Home Loans

Posted on August 05, 2009
The New York Post reports:Uncle Sam yesterday released its "hall of shame" for banks that haven't lifted a finger to help struggling homeowners prevent foreclosures -- with Bank of America as one of the worst offenders. Even after taking tens of billions in bailout aid from Uncle Sam, BofA and dozens of other banks have helped just a tiny fraction -- just 9 percent -- of the desperate 2...

Queens Homeowner Fights To Hold Onto Home Stolen In Deed Theft Scheme; May Lose House Anyway Despite Successful Forgery Prosecution Against Scammers

Posted on August 04, 2009
In Queens County, New York, The Black Star News reports on the story of Sun-Ming Sheu, a local resident and immigrant from Taiwan who had his home ripped off from out from under by scammers in 2001 in a straw buyer scam which utilized a forged power of attorney to complete a fraudulent trandfer of the title to the house...

Use Of "Deadbeat Lists" Gaining In Popularity With Florida Condo Associations Seeking To Boost Unpaid Maintenance Collections From Delinquent Owners?

Posted on August 04, 2009
In South Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:In defiance of state laws, some condo associations are seeking to use all means at their disposal to get condo owners who are behind on fees to pay up, including public humiliation. A few years ago, not many boards would have asked to see a list of condo owners who were behind on association fees, because not many were delinquent...

Builder's Unpaid Bill From Stiffed Sub Leaves New Home Buyer Stuck With Unrecorded $42K Mechanics Lien & Unprotected By Title Insurance

Posted on August 04, 2009
In Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Northwest Arkansas Times reports:Banks aren't the only ones losing money thanks to the developer who built the mostly empty luxury condo development near Dickson Street known as the Legacy Building. A Fayetteville couple faces possible foreclosure of their home because one of troubled developer Brandon Barber's companies did not pay for the materials to build it...

California Man Charged With Using Forged Docs To Swipe Estranged Wife's Share Of Home; Notary Stripped Of Commission, Faces Felony For Role In Scam

Posted on August 04, 2009
From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Unit arrested Omar Paz, 52, of San Bernardino [...]. Co-defendant, Christi Fry, 56, of West Covina was also arrested [...

NY Homeowner Tired Of Crappy Conditions Living Next To House In Foreclosure With Failing Septic System

Posted on August 04, 2009
In Putnam Valley, New York, The Journal News reports:Belynda Rella has a really smelly problem and she can't seem to get it fixed. She lives at 17 Oriole St., and her neighbor's septic at 19 Oriole drains into her yard, which is a health hazard and downright unpleasant...

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