Saturday, October 24, 2009

Special Forces Iraq Vet Returns Home To Find Delinquent Mortgage On His Free & Clear House; Friend Accused Of Using POA To Drain Equity From Property

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In Mount Clemens, Michigan, C & G Newspapers reports: When Kevin Robertson, a sergeant with the Army’s Special Forces, returned from th...

Wisconsin Woman Charged With Ripping Off Dad Of $91K+; Used POA To Pocket Mortgage Money From Father's Home, Get Credit Cards

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In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, WQOW-TV Channel 18 reports: An Eau Claire woman is accused of stealing more than $91,000 from her dad as his powe...

Man Charged With Abusing POA, Looting $122K From Elderly Mom's Bank Accounts; 82-Year Old Woman Left With Big Nursing Bill & No Funds To Pay For Care

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In Daytona Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports: A man who had power of attorney over his mother's affairs faces a fe...

Overleveraged NYC Apartment Buildings Leave Tenants In Tens Of Thousands Of Units Threatened With Consequences Of Foreclosure

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In New York City, National Public Radio reports: Ever since it was purchased in 2007, tenants of the hulking old apartment building on Univ...
Friday, October 23, 2009

NYS Regulators Form Fraud Unit To Tackle Title Insurance Crimes; Will Target Corrupt Closing Agents, Real Estate Scam Artists

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From the Office of the New York State Insurance Department : Superintendent James J. Wrynn [last week] announced the formation of a special ...

Fake Attorney Gets 7+ Years For $1.7M Escrow Ripoff In Conducting Real Estate Closings; Pocketed Funds Due To Existing Lienholders, Homeowners

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In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports: A con man who passed himself off as an attorney was sentenced in federa...

South Florida Title Agency Duo Charged With Looting $10M From Escrow Account; Cash Earmarked For Completing Real Estate Closings

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In West Palm Beach, Florida, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced four mortgage/real estate fraud indictments of 15 individuals in four ...

Massachusetts Attorney/Title Agent Cops Plea In "Mortgage Stacking" Scam; Pocketed $2M+ While Stiffing Existing Lienholders On Loan Payoffs

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From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General : Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced the guilty plea of a former Somer...

The Broken Gavel Awards

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Incorrigibles and other assorted knuckleheads seem to infiltrate all fields and occupations. A recent column in The Southeast Texas Record ...
Thursday, October 22, 2009

Psychiatric Patient Dodges Prosecution In Alleged Contract For Deed Scam; Court Officials Say Man Lacks Mental Capacity To Commit Crime

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In Cloquet, Minnesota, KQDS-TV Channel 21 reports: By midnight Tuesday, a Cloquet man must be out of his home, which he thought he partiall...

More Borrowers Using Court System To Save Homes From Foreclosure

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CNNMoney reports: During the housing boom, mortgage lenders were doling out the dough, giving loans to people who could never have qualifie...

Class Action Status Sought For Elderly Homeowners Persuaded To Borrow Against Home To Invest In Alleged Ponzi Scheme

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In Constantine, Michigan, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports: For more than three decades, Orrin and Jama Bowlby have enjoyed a quiet life on Pa...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mass. AG Settles With Straw Buyer In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Scam That Used Sale Leaseback Deals To Rip Off Equity From Strapped Homeowners

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In Boston, Massachusetts, the Worcester Business Journal reports: Attorney General Martha Coakley's office has reached a settlement wit...

Ex-NBAer Leaves Adoptive Mom Homeless; Duped Her Into Signing Over Home, Failed To Make Payments On Subsequent Financing, Resulting In Foreclosure

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In Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Detroit News reports: Rumeal Robinson got famous for his performance under pressure -- two free throws wit...

Nevada AG Bags Two, Seeks Another In Alleged Scam That Used Unwitting Homeowner's Stolen I.D. To Pocket Proceeds From Fraudulently Obtained Mortgage

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In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports: Two Las Vegas men have been arrested on several charges of theft, mortgage fraud, identity...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

California Tenant Advocacy Group In Forefront In Fight Against Banks, Real Estate Agents Attempting To Illegally Oust Tenants From Foreclosed Homes

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In Sacramento, California, NewsBlaze reports: Backed by Tenants Together , California's statewide tenant rights organization, tenants i...

Arizona AG Obtains $580K Default Judgment Against Alleged Loan Modification Racket For Fleecing Homeowners Out Of Upfront Fees, Breaking Promises

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In a recent press release, the Office of the Arizona Attorney General announced the obtaining of a default judgment in a civil lawsuit it b...

Short Sales Coupled With Lease-Buyback Option A Way To Help Those Facing Foreclosure Stay In Their Homes?

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In Manteca, California, The Stockton Record reports on local homeowner Rachael Vasquez and her attempt to stay in her home despite a pendin...

Cop Accused Of Duping Girlfriend Into Signing Over Her Share Of Jointly-Owned Home, Then Giving Her The Boot

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In Elk Grove, California, the Elk Grove Citizen reports: Authorities arrested and jailed former Elk Grove City Council Member Michael Leary...
Monday, October 19, 2009

Defunct Miami Loan Modification Outfit Faces Class Action Suit; Key Company Employee Bolts Florida & Resurfaces In Nevada With New Firm, Says Attorney

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In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports: A Miami lawyer has filed a class-action suit in hopes of recovering millions of dollars paid b...

Right To Counsel In Key Civil Cases Now Recognized In California; Levels Playing Field For Poor In Certain Housing, Other Litigation

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In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports: California is embarking on an unprecedented civil court experiment to pay for at...

Foreclosure Rescue Operator To Cough Up $690K+ To Resolve Arizona AG Civil Charges In Alleged Sale Leaseback Equity Stripping Scam

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In a recent press release, the Office of the Arizona Attorney General announced the settlement of a civil lawsuit it brought against a loca...

Statewide Ban On Upfront Fees For Loan Modifications Now Includes Attorneys, Out Of State Operators Who Solicit California Homewoners

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In Sacramento, California, The Sacramento Bee reports: Loan modification firms that promise to help struggling borrowers get their mortgage...

Nevada Homeowners Saddled By IndyMac With "Exploding ARMS" To Freeze Foreclosure By Joining Class Action?

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In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports on homeowner Luis Armando Benito and others who allege to have been duped into u...

CT Feds Indict Two In Alleged "Short Sale" Flipping Scam Using Straw Buyers To Dupe Lenders Into Accepting Less Than Full Payment On Underwater Loans

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From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Bridgeport, Connecticut): Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, [....
Sunday, October 18, 2009

NYC Feds Bag 41 Suspects In Eight Separate Fraud Cases Involving Home Flipping, Short Sales, Foreclosure Rescue, Equity Stripping

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From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (New York City): PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York [and ...

Indianapolis Feds: Attorney Skimmed $106K In Foreclosure Sale Proceeds From Lender

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In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports: An Indianapolis lawyer was charged today with bilking a mortgage company of $106,0...

Arizona HOA Thrown Into Receivership Amid Allegations Of Board Members' Fraud, Theft Of Association's Funds

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In Pinal County, Arizona, the Arizona Capitol Times reports: A Casa Grande homeowners association was placed in receivership, following all...

Housing Authority Seeks To Boot 86-Year Old Tenant; Son Sold Drugs On Property, Say Officials

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In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Courier Times reports: Officials said Belle Perry violated her lease because her son sold d...

Virginia Couple Get Prison Time For Running Foreclosure Rescue Ponzi Scheme Resulting In $9.7M In Losses

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In Richmond, Virginia, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports: Darrell and Cynthia Underwood were sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and th...
Saturday, October 17, 2009

Woman Fraudulently Obtains Property Tied Up In Bankruptcy Case, Then Pockets Refinancing Proceeds, Say California Feds

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From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (San Jose, California): Vallejo, Calif., resident Myra Holmes was indicted by a federal grand jury wit...

Federal Law w/ Foreclosure Eviction Safeguards No Help To Tenants Forced From Building As Burst Sewer Pipe, Power Cut Leads City To Condemn Premises

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In Opa Locka, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reports: Imagine being told you had only days to move out of your home. That's the reality for...

Minnesota Regulators Take Action Against Title Agency That Allegedly Stiffed Underwriter Out Of Insurance Premiums Collected From Real Estate Closings

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In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Duluth News Tribune reports: A family-owned and operated title insurance agency in Duluth and Two Harbors has b...

Financially Strapped Title Agency Owner Charged With Illegally Dipping Into Escrow Accounts To Pay Off Gambling Debts

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In Brevard County, Florida, Florida Today reports: Mark Brady seemed to have it all during the real estate boom -- two title companies, BMW...
Friday, October 16, 2009

Could Recent Land Court Ruling Impact Title To Any Massachusetts Home Foreclosed Upon In Last 20 Years?

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In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reports on the recent Massachusetts Land Court ruling that threatens to undo thousands of forec...

NY Court Kiboshes Town's Attempt To Seize Mentally Unfit Homeowner's $200K+ Property For $13K In Back Taxes

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In Lewisboro, New York, The Lewisboro Ledger reports: Lewisboro erred in foreclosing on a resident’s property without ascertaining that the...

Elderly California Retiree Files Suit Alleging Negligence, Fraud, Elder Financial Abuse In Attempt To Undo Predatory Loan & Fight Off Foreclosure

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In Carmel Valley, California, The Monterey Herald reports: A Carmel Valley woman is facing the loss of her home of 50 years after she alleg...

Attorneys Accused Of Misleading Consumers About Nature Of Legal Services, Level Of Attorney Involvement When Offering Loan Mods Begin Feeling The Heat

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Buried in a recent column in the Miami Daily Business Review is a recounting of a South Florida homeowner's experience with a local att...

New Report Shines More Light On Lack Of Lawyers To Represent The Poor In Foreclosure Actions

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In New York City, The Huffington Post reports: As bad as America's foreclosure crisis is -- and it's very bad, with over 300,000 ho...

Loan Modification Outfit Accused Of Failing To Deliver Services For Strapped Homeowners Also Stiffs Its Notaries, Says One Victim

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An alleged loan modification racket featured in two recent stories (1) that has been accused by homeowners of peddling bogus foreclosure re...
Thursday, October 15, 2009

Lenders' Problem "Entirely Of Their Own Making" Says Judge In Affirming Earlier Ruling That Puts Title To Foreclosed Massachusetts Homes Into Question

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In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports: A Massachusetts Land Court justice's ruling [Wednesday] puts into question the owne...