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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

Southern California Loan Modification Scam Used Complicated Money Trail With $1M+ Flowing Into Mexico, Says State AG

Posted on July 09, 2009
In Southern California, the Los Angeles Times reports on an alleged loan modification scam which, according to authorities, is among the most sophisticated operating in California, that stymied investigators with a thicket of bank accounts, 1-800 numbers and wire transfers to Mexico until they finally busted the operation in October...

Freddie Video To Help Struggling Borrowers Gather Necessary Documents When Seeking Loan Modifications From Mortgage Servicers

Posted on July 09, 2009
The Washington Business Journal reports:With so many homes headed to foreclosure Freddie Mac has posted a new video on YouTube to show late-paying borrowers how to speed their efforts to get their mortgage loans modified. The video, which runs two minutes, shows borrowers which documents they need to make more effective calls to loan servicers...

Manhattan DA Bags 25 Suspects In $100M+ "Cash Back" Metro NYC Mortgage Scam; 13 Charged w/ Multiple Felonies, Dozen Others Waive Indictment, Cop Pleas

Posted on July 09, 2009
From the Office of the Manhattan District Attorney:Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced [Wednesday] the indictment of 13 individuals and a mortgage origination company(1) for perpetrating over $100 million in mortgage fraud over a four-year period in the New York City metropolitan area...

NYC Announces Program To Turn Unsold, Unfinished Condo Complexes Into Affordable Rental Housing

Posted on July 09, 2009
In New York City, The Wall Street Journal reports:New York City announced Wednesday a pilot program to turn empty or stalled condominium developments into affordable housing, an idea consumer advocates have been pushing for years. The program, which aims to convert as many as 400 units, is designed to provide grants to real-estate developers and lenders to subsidize the completion of developments

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Ex-Ohio AG Resurfaces In Cleveland Lending A Hand In Attempt To Retake Home Lost In Foreclosure; Says Void Judgment Means "No Sale"

Posted on July 08, 2009
In Cleveland, Ohio, The Wall Street Journal Law blog reports:When we last brought you word of Marc Dann, he was resigning as Ohio?s attorney general amid a sexual harrassment scandal. Where is he now? Turns out the former ?Mortgage Cop,? as he was dubbed in this 2007 WSJ profile [requires subscription; those without a subscription, go here, then click the link for the full story], is back on the

Federal Judge Orders Return Of $29M+ In Real Estate Investment Scam Thet Left Investors In Financial Ruin

Posted on July 08, 2009
In Southern California, The Press Enterprise reports:Three Murrieta businessmen must return more than $29 million they obtained in an investment scheme that allowed them to live high but drove their investors to financial ruin, a federal judge ruled Monday...

Kansas AG Files Five Lawuits Against Outfits Allegedly Running Loan Modification & "Foreclosure Redemption Rights" Scams

Posted on July 08, 2009
From the Office of the Kansas Attorney General:Attorney General Steve Six is taking legal action to stop those who are preying on Kansans facing foreclosure or other financial difficulties. [Tuesday] Six launched Operation Homestead by filing five lawsuits, extending help to Countrywide customers, and increasing educational resources available to consumers...

New State Law Allows Minnesota Homeowners In Foreclosure To Pay Off Back Payments Over Five Month Period In Exchange For Reduced Redemption Period

Posted on July 08, 2009
In St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports:Struggling homeowners now have another chance to save their homes from foreclosure. A new Minnesota law makes it possible to delay the sheriff's sale - giving people behind on their mortgage payments more time to pay back what they owe...

License Now Required For Loan Modification & Foreclosure Consultants Working With Nevada Homeowners; New Law Closes Loophole

Posted on July 08, 2009
In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:The Nevada Legislature this year showed it wants to regulate the loan-modification business when it passed Assembly Bill 152. The bill [...] requires both mortgage modification and foreclosure consultants to obtain state licenses...

10-Week Program Seeks To Steer Pennsylvanians In Financial Difficulties In The Right Direction For Assistance

Posted on July 08, 2009
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the Get Help Now, Pennsylvania program, a program announced last month that offers consumers in foreclosure, bankruptcy and other difficulties face-to-face sessions with lawyers, bankers and other professionals at Drexel University and 19 other locations around Pennsylvania from 1 to 6 p...

California AG Accuses Loan Modification Firm, Attorney Of Filing Phony Lawsuits To String Homeowners Along, Collect Upfront & Monthly Fees

Posted on July 07, 2009
From the Office of the California Attorney General:Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [Monday] sued a foreclosure consultant and an attorney -- Paul Noe Jr. and Mitchell Roth - who conned 2,000 desperate homeowners into paying exorbitant fees for "phony lawsuits" to forestall foreclosure proceedings...

Brooklyn Feds Charge Title Agency Owner With Ripping Off $1.7M In Escrow Account Funds, Failing To Record Mortgages & Deeds In Real Estate Deals

Posted on July 07, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Brooklyn, New York):[Last week] in federal court in Brooklyn, Jonathan Boxman, an owner and operator of real estate title insurance companies, was charged with defrauding clients of title companies he controlled of more than $1...

Staten Island DA Charges Title Agency Owners With Looting Real Estate Escrow Account, Illegally Pocketing $1M+ In Funds Belonging To Others

Posted on July 07, 2009
From the Office of the Richmond County, New York District Attorney:Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced that Joseph DeVito and his wife, Mary Ann Palladino-DeVito [...] have been arraigned on an indictment alleging that from 2002-2004 they embezzled over $1 million from homeowners seeking to clear titles, as well as their franchise?s parent company...

Columbus Man Suspected In "Cash Back," Ponzi, Affinity Real Estate Scam Feels The Heat Of Criminal Probe; Trusting Acquaintances Left Holding The Bag

Posted on July 07, 2009
In Columbus, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:A thief used a pen and paper to steal nearly $1.5 million from a group of well-educated, upper-middle-class Columbus professionals. [...] One man became rich; the others were left nearly penniless. [.....

Builder/Lender To Cough Up Million$ In Settlement With Feds Over Fraud Allegations That It Screwed Over Homebuyers In Loan Application Process

Posted on July 07, 2009
In Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports:Federal investigators [last week] filed mortgage and accounting fraud charges against Beazer Homes USA, but the homebuilder will escape prosecution because it agreed to pay $50 million to victims and accepted responsibility for its actions...

Central Florida Judges Hit With Federal Suit Over Implementation Of "Rocket Docket" Foreclosure Hearings

Posted on July 06, 2009
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Gregory Dixon and Maria Goldberg expect to lose their homes to foreclosure, so they have not appeared in court or tried to defend themselves. But they also think the way the judicial system handles uncontested foreclosure cases such as theirs violates the constitutional rights of all Sarasota and Manatee county residents, and they are

Title Insurer's Lack Of Action On Subcontractors' Mechanics Liens Filed Against Bankrupt Developer Leaves Recent Homebuyers In Refinancing Limbo

Posted on July 06, 2009
In Woodstock, Illinois, the Chicago Sun Times reports:Woodstock resident Deborah Sinnett's taste of the American dream has turned sour big-time, and she blames bankrupt Streamwood-based home builder Kirk Homes. Since Sinnett moved into her $355,000 Kirk home in December, 11 liens have been placed against the property by companies claiming they weren't paid by Kirk...

Lawyers Bellyaching Over Exclusion From Fannie, Freddie "Assembly Line Foreclosure Attorney List"

Posted on July 06, 2009
The Connecticut Law Tribune reports:To most Connecticut foreclosure attorneys, it's known as "the list." Inclusion is supposed to guarantee not only prestige in the legal community but, more importantly, a massive flow of foreclosure cases at a time when there's money to be made in volume work...

Bankruptcy Judge Hammers Mass. Money Lender Accused Of Predatory Practices In Piling Up Loan Charges, Wrestling Property Ownership Away From Borrowers

Posted on July 06, 2009
In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports:A loan repayment demanded at gunpoint, effective interest rates exceeding 41 percent and a near decade-long litany of coercion and strong-arm tactics left two borrowers ?between the proverbial rock and a hard place,? according to a federal judge?s ruling that comes down hard on a controversial Marlboro lending firm and its

Housekeeping Note

Posted on July 06, 2009
The links to Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge Rosenthal's rulings referred to in "Bankruptcy Judge Hammers Mass. Money Lender Accused Of Predatory Practices By Piling Up Loan Charges, Wrestling Property Ownership Away From Borrowers" posted earlier today have been fixed...

Free SoCal Legal Clinics To Advise Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on July 06, 2009
In Orange County, California, KPCC Radio 89.3 FM reports:Starting this week, some struggling Orange County homeowners are eligible for free help. KPCC's Susan Valot says a series of legal clinics that starts tomorrow is geared toward Asian-Americans.The Asian Pacific American Legal Center will host three free clinics ? two this month and one next month...

Colorado Real Estate Broker Goes Down In $10.9M Mortgage Fraud Scam Involving 10-Person Ring, 34 Deals, Straw Buyers, "Phantom" Home Improvements

Posted on July 05, 2009
In Adams County, Colorado, the Denver Business Journal reports:Uto Essien faces a possible 36-year prison sentence for his role as the ringleader in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Following a seven-day trial in Adams County, Essien, 45, was convicted of four felony counts ? two counts of forgery, and one count each of theft by receiving and violating the Colorado Organized Crime

Washington AG Intervenes On Behalf Of Mobile Home Residents Alleging Property Titles Were Never Properly Transferred By Park Owner

Posted on July 05, 2009
From the Office of the Washington State Attorney General:Residents of a Spokane mobile home park were bewildered to learn they didn?t own the homes they live in. When an investigation by the Washington Attorney General?s Office revealed that the owner of West Prairie Village never properly transferred the titles, the business agreed to make things right...

Oakland Settles Suit Charging Lender, Subsidiaries, Real Estate Agents With Illegal Foreclosure Evictions

Posted on July 05, 2009
From the Office of the City Attorney for Oakland, California:A City of Oakland lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank of wrongfully evicting tenants from foreclosed homes has been settled. The lawsuit was one of five filed by the city in recent months accusing banks, their subsidiaries and several local real estate agents of violating an Oakland law that protects tenants from unjust evictions...

C. Florida Man Accused Of Using POA To Secure $150K Credit Line On Alzheimers-Afflicted Mom's Home; Pocketed Cash, Left Her In Foreclosure, Say Cops

Posted on July 05, 2009
In Dade City, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:Thomas Davis secured a $150,000 home equity line of credit on his elderly mother's home last year, authorities said. Within seven months, he had spent it all ? on drugs, a hydroponic garden for growing marijuana, even on a $40,000 party that Davis, 47, threw for himself, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said...

Arizona Man Charged With Ripping Off Dead Man's ID, Using It To Buy Homes, Vehicles

Posted on July 04, 2009
In Anthem, Arizona, KNXV-TV reports:A Valley business owner from Brazil is accused of stealing a dead man's Social Security number and using it to purchase two vehicles and two homes, one of which is in foreclosure, according to a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office press release...

Foreclosure Stripping Not Yet On Radar Screen For SW Florida Law Enforcements Authorities

Posted on July 04, 2009
In Naples, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:Foreclosure stripping is a crime, and it has a victim. It?s you. Neighborhoods are losing more than just neighbors. Homeowners in foreclosure are ripping out bathtubs, wiring, countertops, sinks, windows, garage doors and even the palm trees from the front yard and selling them for cash...

South Florida Tenant On Verge Of Eviction Dies Of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Posted on July 04, 2009
In Broward County, Florida, MyFox National reports:A Florida woman tragically committed suicide on the day she was getting evicted from her home. Heather Newnam, 28, of Tamarac, Fla., shot herself when a real estate agent, a locksmith and movers showed up at her home on Monday after she failed to pay her rent...

Litigation In Baltimore City's "Ghetto Loans" Case To Go Forward As Judge Denies Wells Fargo's Request To Dismiss Suit

Posted on July 03, 2009
In Baltimore, Maryland, The Maryland Daily Record reports:The city of Baltimore?s mortgage-lending discrimination lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank N.A. may proceed to what will be a ?time consuming and expensive? discovery process, a federal judge ruled Thursday afternoon...

Northern Florida County Clerk Stops Issuing Summonses To Tenants In Foreclosure Actions

Posted on July 03, 2009
In Alachua County, Florida, The Gainseville Sun reports:Clerk of Court Buddy Irby said the Clerk's Office stopped issuing the summonses [to tenants in foreclosure actions] on Jan. 15 on the advice of the clerk's attorney because of concerns that they show the tenants as being sued in court records...

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