Kansas Feds Nail Two In Upront Fee, Fractional Interest Deed Transfer Rescue Scam; Bogus Bankruptcy Petitions Filed To Stall Foreclosure Actions

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Topeka, Kansas announced:

• [Isaac Yass, 42, and co-defendant Robert Andrew Blechman, 39, both of Los Angeles, California] have been convicted of running a scam in which homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments paid them to hold off foreclosure by filing fraudulent bankruptcy petitions.

According to the U.S. Attorney press release, evidence showed that:

• Yass solicited homeowners who were going through foreclosure proceedings. He told them that for a fee he could help them keep their houses.

• The defendants filed fraudulent bankruptcy petitions in federal bankruptcy courts in Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. The petitions were filed in the name of nonexistent individuals with businesses that claimed to be part owners of properties that were in foreclosure.

• The result was an automatic stay in the foreclosures, halting any further actions by creditors against the properties.

The Feds also alleged:

• The defendants used the U.S. Postal Service to deliver fraudulent petitions to the bankruptcy court. The petitions contained false names and Social Security numbers, and addresses for the creditors that were in fact mailboxes or UPS Store locations in Kansas.

For the press release, see Los Angeles Men Convicted On Charges Of Filing False Claims In Kansas Bankruptcy Courts (Isaac Yass claimed that for a fee Stopco could keep homeowners in foreclosure from losing their homes).

For a report issued by a California Federal Bankruptcy Court task force detailing the types of foreclosure scams involving the abuse of the bankruptcy courts, see Final Report Of The Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scam Task Force (available online courtesy of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review).

Go here for other posts on fractional interest deed transfer, foreclosure rescue bankruptcy scams. loan modification