Deteriorating Conditions, Suspended Utility Service Leave Low-Income Tenants In Limbo With Financially Strapped Landlord, Foreclosing Lender

In Las Cruces, New Mexico, the Las Cruces Sun News reports:

• Narine Rodriguez had brought her 2-day-old baby home for only an hour. "I am hoping there is not carbon monoxide here," said the 27-year-old single mom while standing with one foot propping open the apartment door at the Madrid Manor, 202 W. Madrid in Las Cruces.



• She stood with a group of other tenants who gathered Wednesday afternoon outside her apartment to address what they say is an intolerable situation throughout their complex: roofs leaking and ceilings caving in, bath tubs held together with duct tape, inoperable toilets, neglected heaters they fear may be leaking poisonous carbon monoxide and - the final holiday topper - no water service until late Wednesday, when it was restored.



• "I don't have any water, nothing running out of the sink," said Monica Salazar, a mother of five children ranging from 3 years of age to 10. She had just arrived home with her kids to find empty water pipes. "I don't know how I'm going to cook now. Obviously, I will have dishes to wash. My kids need to be bathed," said the 31-year-old, who said she always pays rent and bills promptly.



• "I will call the landlord, but you can never reach them," she said. "All you get is the answering machine. I don't know what I'm going to do."



• It's a problem that has tenants stuck between their low-income status and a landlord mired in a foreclosure that she says limits her responsiveness to tenant complaints about deteriorating living conditions and suspended utilities.



• The landlord, who tenants identified as Cheryl Butler, had her published office number disconnected. Butler is listed on the Realtor.com as an agent for Abstract Real Estate and Rentals, [...] in Las Cruces.



• When contacted on her cell phone, Butler said the Madrid Manor property had been foreclosed on and that she was not responsible for paying its bills. Butler said she was aware the water had been temporarily turned off and had done all she could to remedy it.



• But, she said, it was the responsibility of "the bank" to pay the water bill and that she could not do anything without the bank's permission. "I can only do what the bank allows me to do," said Butler. When asked for the identity of the bank, she said she could not recall the name, adding: "I only report to the person I report to, and he deals with the bank." When asked for the name of person who reported to the bank, Butler declined to give that person's name.

For the story, see Apartment foreclosure leaves tenants in limbo.

Landlord's Foreclosure Drives Church Congregation Onto Streets; Hold Xmas Services In Parking Lot

In Phoenix, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:

• A congregation said they were just locked out of their Valley church four days before Christmas. Their Christmas tree was up and the toys were still inside. Members of the Destiny Center International Church told ABC15 that since their landlord lost the church in a foreclosure, they consequently were kicked out.

***

• “We decided we’re gonna stick it out,” he said. Service will carry-on, just in the parking lot. On Friday, Lephiew said the now banked-owned property allowed members to remove all of their belongings from the building near 35th and Northern Avenues. Everything that was once inside the church is now sitting inside a storage POD outside of it.

For the story, see Congregation evicted from church four days before Christmas.

See also, Parishioners of Foreclosed Church Attend Service in Parking Lot.

C. Florida Church On Verge Of Foreclosure Gets Boot Over Unpaid Electric Bill; Fire Marshal: Lack Of Power To Premises Makes Sanctuary Unsafe For Use

In Lakeland, Florida, The Ledger reports:

• Polk County's largest church sanctuary sits idle, its power turned off and its future uncertain. Without Walls Central, the 9,000-seat sanctuary in North Lakeland formerly known as Carpenter's Home Church, has not held services since at least August, when Lakeland Electric disconnected electrical service because of missed payments by its owner, Tampa-based Without Walls International Church.



• Rev. Randy White, a co-founder of Without Walls International and the ex-husband of its senior pastor, Paula White, told The Ledger in November that the Lakeland property was on the verge of either being sold or going into foreclosure and that an announcement on its future would come soon.

***

• Lakeland Electric discontinued electrical service to the property in August, city spokesman Kevin Cook said. He said Without Walls owed more than $50,000 in unpaid bills at the time. Lakeland Electric applied the church's deposit of $51,180, he said, leaving the owners with a balance of $2,953.79.



• Lakeland Fire Marshal Frank Bass posted notices at the property in late September reading, "This structure is unsafe for human occupancy and ordered vacated. This structure must remain vacant and unoccupied until all violations are corrected."



• Bass said he posted the order because the lack of power to the sanctuary makes it unsafe for use.

For the story, see Future In Doubt for Without Walls Central Church Property (Without Walls Central has not held services since at least August).

New Texas Law Aims To Curb Property Owners' Errors, Fraud In Obtaining Real Estate Tax Exemptions On Homestead Claims

In Austin, Texas, the Austin American Statesman reports:

• Some Texas homeowners are finding that they face new rules when applying for a homestead exemption on their property, the result of a new law that took effect in September.



• The rules — which lawmakers say are intended to prevent fraudulent homestead exemptions — will affect people whose circumstances have changed. That includes first-time buyers, those purchasing a new home or people who have become eligible for a different type of homestead exemption, such as turning 65 or becoming disabled. It will not affect homeowners who already have a homestead exemption on their primary residence.

***

• Homestead exemptions remove a portion of a home's value from taxation, lowering the amount of property tax a homeowner must pay. The measure's author, state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, said the changes were needed to prevent property owners from claiming homestead exemptions on more than one property. Hilderbran said he heard complaints from appraisal districts across the state about homestead duplications — particularly from out-of-state and in-state residents filing exemptions for vacation homes.

***

• Jim Robinson, the Harris County Appraisal District's chief appraiser and legislative chairman of the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts, said the state needed to crack down on duplication of homestead exemptions.



• "You're talking about major theft, really, when (homestead duplication) occurs," Robinson said. "The homestead exemption is the single largest source of tax relief for people, and when you have people who are cheating on it and are saving gigantic amounts on taxes that they really should be paying, it means that the taxing units where this cheating is occurring have to set a higher tax rate, which penalizes everybody to raise the money that they need to fund their budgets."

***

• Robinson said one problem occurring all around Texas has been property owners applying for homestead exemptions for rental properties.



• "We had one case where a man and woman (in Harris County) had more than a dozen homesteads on their ... rental properties, and on each case, they used the address of the rental property, but they would use a different variant of their names. On some of them, they would show both of them as the owner; on some they would show either the husband or the wife as the owner," Robinson said.

For more, see Texans adjusting to changes in homestead exemption rules.

BofA Throws Foreclosure Contractor Under The Bus As Burglary Charge Brought For Alleged Unauthorized Entry, Disturbance Of Family's Belongings

In Martinsburg, West Virginia, The Journal reports:

• A Martinsburg man contracted by Bank of America to cut grass at a home a day after its foreclosure was arraigned on one count of daytime burglary Wednesday after he allegedly entered the house and rifled through the family's personal belongings.



• Warren Edward Brown, 30, of Herman Lane, was later released after posting $15,000 bail. One of the alleged victims told police that boxes in a family room had been disturbed, a bedroom closet was rummaged through, a safe in the basement was moved and copper wire had been moved from the garage to the driveway, according to court records.



• Brown has denied any wrongdoing, telling police that another man working with him found that a back door had been kicked in and that it was part of his job to enter the residence to see if there were any damages or if anything was missing, records show.



• Brown's supervisor and a Bank of America representative, however, told police that no one, including Brown, was authorized to enter the residence.

***

• On Oct. 21, [West Virginia State Trooper N.F.] Alatta contacted the field service office for Bank of America and spoke with a representative about the situation. The representative told the officer that Bank of America had submitted an order for the grass to be cut at the residence and stated that no one should have gone into the home, including Brown, records show.

For more, see Bank contractor charged with burglary (Martinsburg man hired by Bank of America to cut grass at foreclosed home arraigned).

Financially Strapped Homeowners Becoming More & More Comfortable Fighting Back Against F'closure, Using Technicalities To Leave Banksters Sucking Wind

CNNMoney reports:

• Delinquent borrowers facing foreclosure are learning that they can stay in their homes for years, as long as they're willing to put up a fight. Among the tactics: Challenging the bank's actions, waiting to file paperwork right up until the deadline, requesting the lender dig up original paperwork or, in some extreme cases, declaring bankruptcy.



• Nationwide, the average time it takes to process a foreclosure -- from the first missed payment to the final foreclosure auction -- has climbed to 674 days from 253 days just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics.



• It takes much longer than that in Florida, where the process averages 1,027 days, nearly 3 years. In D.C., foreclosure averages 1,053 days and delinquent borrowers in New York often stay in their homes for an average of 906 days.

***

• Ironically enough, the banks have given delinquent borrowers some of the ammunition they need to delay the foreclosure process. During the "robo-signing" scandal in 2010, it was revealed that bank employees signed paperwork attesting to facts they had no personal knowledge of. Now, borrowers are routinely challenging that paperwork.

For more, see Foreclosure free ride: 3 years, no payments.

Wanna-Be House-Buying Couple Left Holding The Bag In Rent To Own Scam Involving Home In F'closure; Attorney: 'Protect Yourself - Get A Title Search!'

In Columbus, Ohio, WBNS-TV Channel 10 reports:

• With the real estate market down, and some financial problems in the past, the Kaiser family decided they would try to find a home with a lease-option to buy, Consumer 10’s Kurt Ludlow reported on Friday.



• Sandy and Tim Kaiser rented a condo, with a promise from the owner that he would sell them the condo in a few years. He promised to pay the association fees and the mortgage during that time. The Kaiser’s eventually discovered that the condo was in foreclosure.



• “I’m trying really hard not to be bitter about the fact that I think he knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to be making his payments,” Sandy Kaiser said. “I think he just booked.”



• Lawyer Gary Price said what happened to the Kaisers could have been prevented if they had used a lawyer. “Lease to own, it's not the end of the world,” Price said. “Land installment contract's not the end of the world. But comply with the law."



• Under the law, any deal to sell property, even leasing to own, must be in writing, witnessed and notarized, Price said. "Find out who you're dealing with,” Price said. “Best way to do that, safest way to do that, and yes it costs a little money, is to get a title search.” Finally, the contract must be filed with the County Recorder, Price said.



• The Kaiser family said that they are waiting for the Sheriff to knock on their door. “I (have to) keep paying him, and he's already stealing from the bank is the way I look at it,” Tim Kaiser said.

Source: Risk Incurred In Renting To Own.

Minnesota Regulator Slams Loan Modification Racket For Clipping Desperate Homeowners For Illegal Upfront Fees; Victims To Get Refunds

In Bloomington, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:

• State regulators have yanked the license of a Bloomington mortgage modification company it says was preying on desperate homeowners.



• Mortgage Connection Inc., also called Mordicorp, didn't have the appropriate license, altered documents and charged illegal advance fees for loan modification services that it frequently failed to provide, the Commerce Department said Thursday. In some cases, the consumers fell behind even further on payments and are losing their homes in foreclosure.



• Thirty-six consumers, including about 19 in Minnesota, were charged on average more than $2,000 in advance fees for modifications they didn't receive. They will get refunds within the next 30 days, the department said.



• "Time and time again we see vulnerable homeowners turn over their last dollar in hopes that their homes might be saved," state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said in a statement.



• The company's license has been revoked and its president, Augustus Odoom, has been barred from originating or servicing mortgages and must pay a civil fine of $40,000 if he doesn't return fees to customers, among other things, according to the consent agreement signed last week. Odoom, 58, is recently of Eden Prairie.

For the story, see State slams alleged Bloomington mortgage scammer (Consent agreement calls for consumers to get advance fees returned).

Would-Be Tenant/Couple Stung For $2300 In Rent Scam; Cops: Matter Being Treated As A Crime

In Contra Costa County, California, the Martinez News-Gazette reports:

• This week Rachael and Ray Gray are wishing they would have asked many more questions before handing over $2300 in first, last and security deposit on a two-bedroom Pacheco Blvd. rental house, they said.



• The couple – desperate to avoid homelessness and wholly trusting that nothing was amiss – paid the advance rent and deposit via money order to a woman who represented herself as the agent for the property owner.



• A couple of weeks later, the Grays came home to find the locks changed and a warning, from the real owner, that they would be arrested by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office for trespassing and squatting at the home, [...].



• The “agent” was apparently an impostor, and the Grays haven’t seen nor heard from her since. She’s long gone, say the Grays, along with the family’s entire savings and fake lease.



• “We are looking into this case,” said CCCSO spokesperson Jimmy Lee on Wednesday. “It is being treated as a crime.”

For more, see Rental scam hits home in Martinez (Impostor landlords fleece tenants).

Florida Supreme Court Slams Six Attorneys In 'Sticky Fingers' Syndrome Cases

The Florida Bar has recently issued its quarterly gossip sheet, listing Florida attorneys that have recently received one or more forms of discipline.

Among those making this quarter's hit parade for possibly playing fast and loose with the cash sitting in their client's trust account, or who otherwise suffered from 'sticky fingers' syndrome with regard to other people's money, are:

1. Ryan Scott Hobby, 836 W. Montrose St., Suite 1, Clermont, suspended until further order, following an October 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Hobby appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds. Hobby admitted through counsel to making 13 improper transfers from his trust bank account to another bank account totaling $14,250. (Case No. SC11-1886)



2. John D. Hooker, 13610 E. U.S. Highway 92, Dover, suspended until further order, following an October 10 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Hooker appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating trust funds. Hooker improperly commingled funds. He also failed to maintain certain trust accounting records and follow mandatory trust accounting procedures. (Case No. SC11-1766)



3. James Lewis Hunter, 150 2nd Ave. N., Suite 1170, St. Petersburg, suspended until further order, following an October 10 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Hunter appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds. He also abandoned his law practice. (Case No. SC11-1919)



4. James Crenshaw Kelley, 12651 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 201, Pinecrest, suspended until further order, following an October 31 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1977) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Kelley appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating and/or diverting funds entrusted to him. Kelley disbursed more than $124,000 that was deposited into his trust account for a client’s benefit, to himself for personal use. Kelley subsequently wrote the client, begging her not to report his actions to The Florida Bar. (Case No. SC11-2035)



5. Octavio Enrique Mestre, 9031 S.W. 162nd Court, Miami, disbarred following an October 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1992) In 2005, while acting as a settlement agent in a real estate transaction, Mestre failed to satisfy an underlying mortgage and in so doing, failed to preserve and apply the funds in accordance with Bar rules regulating trust accounts. (SC11-1867)



6. Gregg Adam Steinberg, 4441 Comanche Trail Blvd., Saint Johns, disbarred effective retroactive to August 30, 2010, following an October 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Steinberg knowingly made false statements in court under oath; he failed to disclose that he was the subject of a pending criminal investigation; he misappropriated funds; and he engaged in a pattern of blaming others in an attempt to deflect attention from himself. (Case No. SC10-161)

In addition, one attorney received a scolding for associating himself with a loan modification group and sharing fees with nonlawyers:

• Curt G. Levine, 5036 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Suite 358, Orlando, publicly reprimanded following an October 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1973) Levine associated himself with a loan modification group and shared fees with nonlawyers. (Case No. SC10-536)

For the entire gossip sheet, see Disciplinary Actions (1/1/2012).

Widow Wins Battle To Wrestle Back Control Of Her Vacated Home From Adverse Possession-Claiming House Hijackers; Squatter Claims $7.5K Mechanics' Lien

In Mansfield, Texas, the Star Telegram reports:

• A teary-eyed widow got her house back from squatters Thursday morning without a fight. "This has made a toll on me and my family right now," said Brenda J. Thornton, who appeared in eviction court. "This needs to be told. ... How they can come in and do this to us? It hurts."



• The latest squatter case in Tarrant County was resolved in about five minutes in Justice of the Peace Matt Hayes court after attorney Robert Frisch said his clients, Andre and Selena Brown, were not disputing their rights to the house on Hillgrove Court under state adverse possession law.



• State law allows persons to claim a right to abandoned property if they maintain it and pay taxes on it. Over time, if no owner claims the property, then the person may stake a claim. The Browns filed an affidavit of adverse possession months ago, claiming a right to the property on Hillgrove Court.Thornton owns the title on the property and raised her family there, she said.



• "It's a little bit of an unusual situation there but it looks like everything was resolved amicably," Hayes said after the eviction hearing. No testimony was heard and no arguments were presented. Frisch said his clients only wanted to make arrangements with Thornton and her attorney to get their belongings out of the house.

***

• All told, about 55 affidavits have been filed in the last six months at [County Clerk Mary Louise] Garcia's office by people claiming rights to abandoned property. On Nov. 7, Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon instructed Garcia's office to stop taking the affidavits because of alleged fraud. Shannon's office also has vowed to pursue criminal action against those who file fraudulent paperwork.



• The Browns were arrested for burglary of a habitation almost two weeks ago. Family members Alicia and Andrew LaTour, who had filed affidavits on another Mansfield home, were arrested earlier on the same charges. Formal charges may be filed in upcoming days, officials said. Frisch represented the LaTours and the Browns.



• Andre Brown also placed a mechanic's lien on Thornton's Hillgrove Court property, asking for compensation for about $7,500 in construction and repairs he made to the house since moving in. La Rue said that claim would be discussed in the next few days, among other items, such as arranging for the Browns to retrieve their possessions from the house.

For the story, see Widow gets Mansfield house back from squatters.

See also, Mansfield squatter suspects keep it all in the family.

Bklyn Judiciary, Guardianship System Strike Again; Hijack Supervision Over Elderly Widow, Control Over Her Assets; Victim "I Was Sold Like A Slave..."

In Brooklyn, New York, the The Washington Examiner reports:

• Ella Card had it made in America. After emigrating to the United States from her native Belize, she earned a masters degree and taught third grade in the New York City Public School system for three decades.



• She and her late husband Raymond, who died as a result of taking the recalled painkiller Vioxx, had saved and invested their money wisely, so Card was looking forward to a comfortable retirement.



• But her well-laid plans took a terrible detour when she suffered temporary dementia after being struck by a car in 2010. Her two sons, whom she says lost their jobs as corrections officers due to drug abuse, petitioned the Brooklyn Supreme Court for guardianship over her affairs.



• And after recovering from her injuries, the 73-year-old widow -- a naturalized U.S. citizen who retains dual citizenship in Belize -- finds herself in an ongoing guardianship nightmare that has now gone international.



• On March 16, Brooklyn Judge Betsy Barros held one of five ex parte hearings on Card, appointing a temporary guardian. On April 26, Barros ignored Card's durable power of attorney, irrevocable trust, and two quit claim deeds and read the still-very-much-alive woman's will in open court before declaring her "incapacitated."



• The court transcript obtained contains this Kafkaesque passage: "... the Incapacitated Person, Ella Card, vigorously contested the proceedings." "It felt like a hanging. I was the only one sticking up for my mother," Card's 43-year-old daughter Cindy told us. "Every one of them standing there and allowing it knew my mother was not incapacitated."



• Card was then placed under the near total control of a court-appointed guardian, The Vera Institute of Justice, located in the same Brooklyn courthouse. The Vera Institute of Justice's website describes it as "an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit center for justice policy and practice." According to IRS records, $16.7 million of its $24 million annual funding comes from government grants.



• Card told The Washington Examiner that The Vera Institute of Justice promptly froze all of her assets (valued at approximately $1 million), including her teachers' pension, began collecting rent on the property she owned, and forced her to live in her own home without heat, hot water or access to her own money.



• Card petitioned the court to remove the guardianship. Her petition was denied. She had to borrow money to travel to Washington where, on June 14, she was one of 40 people from 17 states to tell a congressional listening session chaired by Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, about abuses of the guardianship system that strip vulnerable seniors and disabled people of their civil and constitutional rights.



• Card was the only witness deemed "incapacitated" to testify for herself: "I was sold like a slave to The Vera Institute ... which closed all of my bank accounts, took control of my money, filed a change of address to get my mail, demanded keys to my properties and contacted Belize to try to take control of my property and bank accounts in that country. ..."



• Card says her niece, who works in the American consulate, told her that the Belizean authorities confirmed she was living there, but refused to give The Vera Institute of Justice any other information.



• The Examiner has learned that Nestor Mendez, Belize's ambassador to the United States, read a November letter from Card requesting his protection and passed it on to the embassy's legal division for follow-up. Karen Goldstein, the Vera Institute of Justice's general counsel in New York, said she would look into the matter. We're still waiting for her response.



• Meanwhile, the feisty Card -- who clearly demonstrated her mental and verbal acuity in an interview with this newspaper -- continues to fight for her freedom.(1)

Source: Retired NYC school teacher fights for her freedom.

(1) For other posts on the abuse of the guardianship system and 'granny-snatching' incidents, see:

• State-Sanctioned Ripoffs Of The Elderly By Government Agencies Running Rampant On Both Sides Of The Atlantic?,
• NYC Controller Urges All Brooklyn Residents To "Make Out A Will ASAP!" To Avoid Risk Of Getting Fleeced By Public Administrator's Office,
• NYC Controller: Bronx Public Admisistrator's Office Plays Fast & Loose With Dead People's Property,
• Legalized, Court-Sanctioned Scam Allows For Vulnerable "Senior-Snatching" In Kidnapping, Ripoff Racket Of The Elderly In Arizona???,
• The BC Public Guardian's Office: A Ruthless Organization Abusing The Rights Of The Very People It Claims To Protect?,
• Estate looting 101: guarding against guardian abuse,
• Elderly Couple "Snatched" By State Of Texas Celebrate Homecoming After One Year Of Nursing Home "Captivity" - Home Went Into Foreclosure, Car Repo'd,
• No Fee For Brooklyn Attorney, Ordered To Pay Back $400K+ In Allegedly Improper Payments Taken In Guardianship Matter Of Retired Judge,
• Uniform Laws Needed to Deal With Interstate 'Granny Snatching',
• The "Granny-Snatching" Phenomenon - Filing for Guardianship,
• Granny Snatching - growing menace in North America,
• Dealing with 'Granny Snatching' (Model law aims to untangle adult guardianship),
• Utah the first state to enact anti-'granny-snatching' law.

Bankruptcy Court Watchdog In Ongoing Probe Into Allegations Of Foreclosing Banksters' Mortgage Escrow Fee Double Dipping Yielding Million$ In Profit$

In New York City, the New York Post reports:

• Federal investigators are looking into allegations that banks have wrongly pocketed tens of millions of dollars from troubled homeowners by double-billing for mortgage escrow fees, The Post has learned.



• Exactly how much in phony profits the banks may have pocketed from this alleged practice is not known, but an analysis by The Post of bankruptcy cases in 2011 shows it could range higher than $150 million for just the new cases filed this year.



• The problem has gotten so out of hand that lawyers and accountants at the New York City office of US Trustee — charged with protecting the integrity of US bankruptcy courts — are poring over local Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases for evidence of wrongdoing.



• The federal investigators were tipped to the alleged practice by metro area bankruptcy lawyers. Cases specifically involved Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage, but lawyers say most banks had double-dipped.



• “It seems prevalent, and it’s a moneymaking machine,” David Shaev, a Manhattan bankruptcy defense lawyer, said of the banks’ double-dipping.



• Westchester bankruptcy defense lawyer Linda Tirelli says 75 percent of her clients face escrow double-billing by their lender or mortgage servicer, for amounts up to $2,800.



• Here’s how the double-dipping scam can be pulled off. Many homeowners opt to pay part of their property taxes and homeowners insurance with their mortgage every month. The funds are then put into an escrow account and used to periodically pay the taxes and insurance.



• But after falling behind on a few payments, troubled borrowers in Chapter 13 often find that their bank or mortgage servicer tries to collect twice on the escrow funds — once as part of the overall mortgage payment, and again as a separate “escrow shortage” charge.



• The average double charge is about $2,000, said forensic accountant Jay Patterson of Full Disclosure in Arkansas, who sees escrow issues in half the cases he examines. In 2011, there were 362,000 Chapter 13 cases filed nationwide, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center. If three-quarters of those cases involved homeowners, and even one-third of that subset of cases had extra escrow charges of $2,000, then banks clobbered homeowners with an astonishing $179 million in false charges.



• Following on the heels of the widespread robo-signing scandal — where executives signed reams of foreclosure paperwork without reviewing it — the escrow double-dipping is just another example of the shoddy if not outright fraudulent practices by banks thirsty for profit above all else.

Source: Sloppy seconds: Feds probe million$ in 'double-billing' by banks.

Schack Blisters F'closing Bankster For Invoking "Absurd" "Pontius Pilate/Sgt. Schultz Defense" After Being Nailed For Submitting Robosigned Court Docs

In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Daily News reports:

• A Brooklyn judge ridiculed HSBC's "know nothing" defense for filing a false document in a foreclosure case and slapped the bank with the maximum $10,000 penalty. “HSBC sounds like ... Sgt. Schultz in the classic 1960s television comedy, 'Hogan's Heroes,'" Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack wrote in a Dec. 22 decision made public Wednesday.



• "The inept Sgt. Hans Schultz ... would feign ignorance about the escapades of his Allied prisoners by telling his commandant, Col. Klink, 'I know nothing! Nothing!'"(1)



• HSBC had incurred Schack's wrath earlier this year when he caught its lawyers submitting documents filed by “robo-signers" purporting to work for the bank who were were actually employed by a loan servicing firm.



• Bank officials and their lawyers are required to review and verify the accuracy of filings in foreclosure cases under regulations issued by state Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. Later, a bank senior vice president submitted a sworn affidavit claiming HSBC had no knowledge of the mortgage in question and blamed the fiasco on the loan servicer.



• But Schack, whose blistering and colorful opinions from the bench have made him a folk hero for financially troubled homeowners — said HSBC is responsible for the actions of its agents. The ticked-off judge also docked the bank's Rochester-based law firm $5,000 for its conduct in the matter, according to court papers.



• The judge had ordered HSBC President and CEO Irene Dorner to appear at a hearing last July, but she blew it off. "She was missing in action, demonstrating her personal contempt for the Supreme Court of the State of New York," Schack fumed.



• A representative for the law firm Shapiro DiCaro & Barak said it is appealing Schack's decision. Bank spokesman Neil Brazil said HSBC neither serviced the loan nor “prepared nor filed any of the underlying legal documents presented to the court.”



• The tumult stemmed from homeowner Ellen Taher's delinquent mortgage on her Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, residence.

Source: HSBC like ‘know nothing’ Sgt. Schultz from ‘Hogan’s Heroes,’ Brooklyn judge says; Blames bank in foreclosure errors.

For the ruling, see HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Taher, 2011 NY Slip Op 52317(U) (NY Sup. Ct., Kings County, December 22, 2011, Schack, J.).

(1) In hammering the foreclosing bankster, Justice Schack made these comments:

• Further, as indicated by the Musarra affidavit and the Michael Ware Memorandum of Law, HSBC sounds like a combination of Pontius Pilate and Sergeant Schultz in the classic 1960's television comedy, Hogan's Heroes.
  
  HSBC washes its hands of any responsibility and places any blame upon OCWEN, its servicer for the TAHER mortgage. To paraphrase Matthew 27:24, in the New Testament, "when HSBC saw that it could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, it took water, and washed its hands before the multitude, saying, 'I am innocent of responsibility and should not be sanctioned.'"
  
  John Banner, the actor who played the inept Sergeant Hans Schultz, a guard in World War II's Stalag 13, would feign ignorance about the escapades of his Allied prisoners by telling his commandant, Colonel Klink, "I know nothing! Nothing!"

***

• Moreover, HSBC's Pontius Pilate/Sergeant Schultz defense is absurd. The case caption states that HSBC is the plaintiff, not OCWEN. If HSBC has its name on the caption, it can't claim ignorance. HSBC as plaintiff is responsible for the actions of its agents, such as OCWEN.
  
  Mr. Ware's claim that "neither HSBC not Dorner was in any practical position to control the prosecution of this action" is ludicrous. This does not absolve HSBC of its corporate sins. If HSBC is a ship, Ms. Dorner is the Captain and responsible for both the good and the bad. However, in the instant action, HSBC appears to be the RMS Titanic. Ms. Dorner, unlike Captain Edward Smith of the RMS Titanic, did not go down with the ship after it struck an iceberg.

Man To Stand Trial For Allegedly Forging Ex-Fiance's Signature To Strip Home Title, Allowing Scammer To Sell It, Pocket The Cash, Flee To Europe

In Elkhorn, Wisconsin, The Janesville Gazette reports:

• Jacqueline Sharlein recognizes the forged signatures that stripped her ownership of her East Troy home, allowing someone to sell it and flee to Eastern Europe. The signatures were forged by her former fiancé, she said.



• Gerald Nickels was ordered [] to stand trial after Walworth County Judge John Race ruled Nickels probably committed a felony.



• Sharlein was the only witness to take the stand during the preliminary hearing, where Nickels silently watched with his attorneys. Sharlein testified she was familiar with Nickels' handwriting, and signatures on a quit claim deed and escrow check matched those of her former fiancé. Sharlein said her first name was even misspelled on one of the signatures.



• Nickels is charged with forgery and misappropriating identity, both felonies carrying a maximum prison sentence of up to six years.

For the story, see Suspect ordered to stand trial for felony forgery charge.

City Council Member Announces Re-Election Run Despite Alleged Ripoff Of 94-Year Old Man's Home; Deed Subsequently Voided; Criminal Trial Pending

In Phenix City, Alabama, the Columbus Ledger Enquirer reports:

• Despite being under indictment for forgery and perjury, Phenix City Council member Arthur L. Sumbry Sr., announced [] that he is running for re-election. If Sumbry is convicted, he would have to vacate the office and would not be eligible to run.



• His co-defendant, Ella Mae Sanders, was convicted of first-degree perjury but was acquitted of charges she forged a warranty deed that Sumbry notarized. She was sentenced to four years in prison.



• The two were indicted in January on charges they forged a deed that transferred the Phenix City home of an ailing 94-year-old man to Sanders’ son. The man’s daughter claimed her father was not competent to execute legal documents in his failing health.



• A judge declared the document null and void. Sumbry’s trial date has not been set, but will likely be next year after the Russell County Courthouse is reopened.

Source: Phenix City councilman Arthur L. Sumbry Sr. to run for re-election despite indictments for perjury, forgery.

Lien Stripping Question In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Proceedings Comes To A Head In Minnesota; Advocates Seek Case Law Consistency With Rest Of Country

The Minnesota Lawyer reports:

• [Minnesota]’s bankruptcy attorneys are hoping that a case before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals will allow debtors to get out from under second mortgages in Chapter 13 bankruptcies and bring Minnesota in line with the rest of the country when it comes to a practice called lien stripping.

***

• “In the 1990s into the 2000s bankruptcy courts said you couldn’t do lien stripping on unsecured second mortgages, but over the past few years every other circuit except for the 8th started to change its mind and say you can do lien stripping if there is no value on the home,” [Bloomington bankruptcy attorney Craig Andresen] said. “As real estate values have plummeted now you have lots of totally unsecured second mortgages, and Minnesota is still saying that you can’t strip those liens. I felt that if every other court was allowing it, why not Minnesota? It’s time to get lien stripping approved by an appeals court.”

***

• Jasmine Keller, the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for the District of Minnesota, agrees that second and third mortgages should be stripped because homeowners need help. She said some families have $200,000 mortgages on homes now worth $125,000. For them, lien stripping is no different than when corporations file for bankruptcy protection.

For more, see Lien stripping could be in state’s future (Case could allow practice now barred in bankruptcy).

Fla. AG Seeks State High Court Ruling On Applicability Of Deceptive Practices Law To Attorneys Creating, Using Invalid Assignments In F'closure Cases

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on her failed bids to investigate foreclosure law firms, saying unlawful practices have put homeowners "at considerable risk."



• In what one lawmaker called Bondi's first aggressive move against so-called "foreclosure mills", she filed a request Wednesday for the 4th District Court of Appeal to send a query to Supreme Court justices about her investigatory authority.



• State subpoenas against the Law Offices of David J. Stern and the Boca Raton based-Shapiro and Fishman, were quashed in the 4th DCA with judges ruling the state has no power to pursue firms under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices. The losses effectively killed the state's ability to pursue civil charges against seven Florida firms currently under investigation.



• While this week's request is just the first step in getting a Supreme Court decision, some foreclosure defense attorneys and lawmakers lauded the move, saying high court rulings are needed to sort out the state's foreclosure morass.

***

• At issue in Bondi's request is whether the creation of invalid assignments of mortgages by a law firm and the use of the documents in court is an unfair or deceptive trade practice subject to state investigation.



• Assignments of mortgage are typically issued to banks as a way to show ownership. They have played a bigger role in foreclosure cases since the real estate bust as the chain of ownership records were obscured when loans were securitized.



• Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court took the unusual step of deciding to take up an already settled foreclosure case involving an allegedly backdated assignment. The opinion, the majority of justices wrote, could impact the "mortgage foreclosure crisis throughout this state."

***

• Bondi is besieged by critics who say she has been apathetic about the foreclosure investigations she mostly inherited from former Attorney General Bill McCollum. The furor came to a head over the summer when it was learned two of the leading foreclosure investigators had been forced to resign despite stellar performance evaluations.

For the story, see Florida's AG files motion requesting Supreme Court decision on foreclosure cases.

Brooklyn Judge Clips Bankster, Foreclosure Mill Sweatshop For $15K In Sanctions For Wasting Judicial Resources In Continuing Heavily Defective Suit

In Brooklyn, New York, The Buffalo News reports:

• An outspoken State Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn known for taking on banks and throwing out foreclosures has fined HSBC Bank USA $10,000 for “frivolous conduct” in trying to seize a home without proper paperwork.



• Justice Arthur M. Schack sanctioned the U. S. subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings Plc last week, citing the bank’s “waste of judicial resources” in continuing a foreclosure action “with all of its defects.”



• In his ruling, he said the bank’s “use of robosigners” is “completely without merit in law,” and he accused the bank of asserting “material factual statements that are false.”



• He also sanctioned HSBC’s legal counsel, the law firm of Shapiro DiCaro & Barak LLC, for the same reasons, putting blame specifically on attorney Frank M. Cassara but imposing a $5,000 fine on the firm instead of the attorney.



• The judge did not fine HSBC USA CEO Irene M. Dorner, whom he had ordered to appear in a hearing July 15 to justify why he should not sanction her or the bank. Dorner was out of the country and did not appear at that hearing, but rather sent an attorney as her representative.



• That had triggered indignant outrage among a few online pundits and foreclosure victims, but Schack acknowledged in his ruling that, because she had the attorney present, “It’s HSBC that I might be able to sanction, not Ms. Dorner as an individual.”

For more, see HSBC Bank USA fined $10,000 in home seizure.

For the ruling, see HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Taher, 2011 NY Slip Op 52317(U) (NY Sup. Ct., Kings County, December 22, 2011, Schack, J.).

Sale Leaseback-Peddling Prosecution Ends Up With 6-Months House Arrest For One; Sentencing For Another Delayed Pending Evaluation Of Snitch's Help

In Concord, New Hampshire, The Nashua Telegraph reports:

• A former Nashua man’s sentencing on federal mail fraud charges for stripping equity from troubled homeowners facing foreclosure has been postponed again. Walter Bressler, now of Frisco, Texas, will be sentenced on federal mail fraud charges March 12. Bressler has pleaded guilty to the charges and was supposed to be sentenced Dec. 5, according to documents filed at U.S. District Court in Concord.(1)



• Meanwhile, a second man who admitted to his role in the same mortgage scheme was sentenced Dec. 6. Richard Winefield was sentenced in U.S. District Court on felony mail fraud charges and was given three years probation with special conditions, including a six-month period of home detention and electronic monitoring. He was ordered to pay $407,500 in restitution.



• Bressler’s sentencing hearings have been postponed several times to give him and prosecutors time to evaluate his cooperation in “resolving other targets,”(2) according to court documents. Bressler was supposed to be sentenced Aug. 11 and then Dec. 12, according to court records.



• Prosecutors claim Bressler and Winefield helped persuade financially troubled homeowners to sign over the deeds to their properties with the promise they could stay on as tenants, pay rent for two years and then buy the property back at a prearranged price.



• Instead, the scheme’s participants resold the homes to “straw buyers,” often in amounts that exceeded the original owner’s loans, according to the U.S. attorney. Some of the rent money was used to pay off the new mortgages, but the loans eventually went unpaid and the homes fell into foreclosure.



• The original owners had no “realistic opportunities” to buy their homes back because they had been stripped of equity and encumbered with large defaulted loans, according to the U.S. attorney.



• Michael Prieto has been identified by prosecutors as a partner of Bressler’s and Winefield’s, but he hasn’t been charged. Prieto said it was no scheme, but rather a refinancing program intended to help struggling homeowners, which would have worked if they had paid their agreed-upon rent.



• “The agreement and the program … was not a scam,” Prieto previously told The Telegraph. “It was designed for its purpose, which was helping people pay off their debts, giving them breathing room, giving them an opportunity to stay in their homes for two years.”

For the story, see Former Nashua man’s sentencing for mortgage scheme postponed.

(1) Go here for:

• Bressler's plea agreement,
• Bressler's motion to delay sentencing.

(2) "Resolving other targets" is an apparent euphemism used by the Feds and other insiders in place of the more common vernacular familiar to the public, 'throwing under the bus'. The existence of negotiations to assess the value of Bressler's contribution in dragging down more of the scam's confederates reinforces the observation made by one learned Federal judge with regard to plea deal negotiations and the so-called race to the prosecutor's office:

• "When a conspiracy is exposed by an arrest or execution of search warrants, soon-to-be defendants know that the first one to "belly up" and tell what he knows receives the best deal. The pressure is to bargain and bargain early, even if an indictment has not been filed." United States v. Moody, 206 F.3d 609, 617 (6th Cir. 2000) (Wiseman, J., concurring) (referring to the not-uncommon 'race to the courthouse' that breaks out among participants in an uncovered criminal conspiracy).

Another Screwed-Over Homeowner Needs Appeals Court To Reverse Trial Judge's Erroneous Summary Judgment In Foreclosure Case

In San Francisco, California, The Recorder reports:

• The Sixth District Court of Appeal tossed out a summary judgment for Citibank and a loan servicer in a foreclosure case on Wednesday, giving a plaintiff another shot to prove he was a victim of predatory lending.



• Jonas Lona — who claimed he was bamboozled in a mortgage refinancing scheme — had demonstrated triable issues of fact as to whether the loans were procedurally and substantively unconscionable, the three-judge panel concluded.



• "And while this evidence may not ultimately be persuasive at trial, in this case, it was sufficient to defeat the motion for summary judgment," wrote Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Brian Walsh, sitting by assignment.

For more, see Mortgage Fraud Suit Can Proceed, Appeal Court Rules.

For the court ruling, see Lona v. Citibank, N.A., H036140 (Cal. App. 6th Dist. December 21, 2011).

San Bernardino DA: Pinched Pair Conspired To Forge Documents In Title Theft Of Recently-Deceased Woman's Home

From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:

• Two men accused of using fraudulent means to obtain the certificate of title to a deceased woman’s home have been arraigned in San Bernardino Superior Court. Troy Lamar Preston, 41, of San Bernardino, and Mario Emile McKinley, 31, of Riverside, have been charged with two counts of forgery, two counts of offering a false or forged instrument, theft from elder or dependent adult, first degree burglary, and identity theft.



• On November 14, 2008, Velma Jean Lee's residence in San Bernardino was paid off. Three days later, Lee died. Preston and McKinley conspired to take over title for the purpose of selling it to an investor to benefit from the proceeds.



• On December 22, 2008, Lee's name was forged on a Grant Deed fraudulently transferring her property over to Seaboard Inc. The public notary was positively identified as McKinley. In the meantime, Preston signed an Affidavit-Death of Joint Tenant in an effort to avoid probate. McKinley was the notary for this document as well.



• Upon interviewing the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seaboard Inc., investigators learned that the CEO knew Preston, but was unaware that his corporate identity had been stolen to transfer Lee’s property over to his corporation.



• Preston was positively identified in two separate interviews by the decedent's son and the Seaboard Inc. CEO Senior Investigator Maurice Landrum from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, Real Estate Fraud Division, obtained a search warrant for McKinley's Riverside residence.



• During the course of the search, Landrum located and seized McKinley's notary journal, which placed him inside the decedent's home. Based on McKinley's statements and the notary journal, criminal charges were filed against McKinley and Preston (who, at the time, was on formal probation and had not reported in since April of 2011).

For the San Bernardino County DA press release, see Two Men Charged With Real Estate Fraud.

Latest Federal Program To Help Homeowners In Foreclosure "Looks Like More Of The Disappointing Same"

The New York Times reports:

• THROUGHOUT the foreclosure crisis, Washington has done little to help people hang on to their homes. All those programs that were supposed to help — HAMP, HARP, Hope for Homeowners — have mostly failed.



• So many were skeptical when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced yet another program in April. This one was intended to provide reparations to homeowners who’d been hurt financially by foreclosure abuses at banks.



• As the details trickle out, the program looks like more of the disappointing same. “This is just the next program that’s getting people’s hopes up,” said Alys Cohen, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Washington. “Not only will it not help people, it could easily harm them.”

For more, see Foreclosure Relief? Don’t Hold Your Breath.

Dozens Of Renters Face Possible Boot From Buildings In Foreclosure Over Code Violations, Dangerous Living Conditions

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports:

• About 60 families in St. Paul might be forced out of their apartments next month because of dangerous living conditions. City officials say the scope of the problems and the number of potentially displaced tenants are especially troubling.



• City inspectors cited nearly 600 code violations in two rental buildings near Interstate 35E and Maryland Avenue, such as missing sinks, a gas leak and an infestation of mice and cockroaches. "It's not safe, it's not sanitary, it's not healthy," said City Council member Lee Helgen. "We don't want to kick people out, but at the same time, we're not going to tolerate these kinds of conditions." Reports of drug deals and prostitution are common. Since 2000, police have received more than 700 calls involving just one of the buildings.



• City officials say part of the problem is that the landlord, Peggy Chun, is failing to screen her tenants. Some of the renters are immigrants who are afraid to report the problems.



• Marcia Moermond, the city's legislative hearing officer, said the city will revoke the buildings' certificates of occupancy Jan. 18th if the problems aren't resolved. [...] Moermond said the properties are in foreclosure. A hearing next week will determine whether the bank, Wells Fargo, can appoint a receiver.

For the story, see Dangerous conditions could evict 60 families from St. Paul apartments.

Owners Of Another Riverside County Mobile Home Park Forced To Relinquish Control Over Expensive Code Violations, Health & Safety Issues

In Riverside County, California, The Desert Sun reports:

• The conditions at a Thermal mobile home park are so bad they threaten the health and safety of the 90 or so residents there, a Riverside County Superior Court judge declared Wednesday.



• Accordingly, owners of the Hernandez mobile home park, [...] must now hand control of the property to a court-appointed receiver who is expected to start making arrangements for repairs within 30 days.

***

• It's a victory in the residents' lawsuit against the Hernandez park owners. Residents filed suit in 2010, claiming they endured more than a month without electricity during the sweltering summer heat. [...] The outages intermittently returned this past summer to the park, which lacks the proper Riverside County permits. Park residents, many of them farmworkers, also deal with sewage spills and an on-site well that has tested positive for potentially harmful bacteria.



• Scores of other east valley mobile home parks lack permits and have similar hazards. Wednesday's action makes the neglected Hernandez park the latest where conditions grew so bad, compiling expensive code violations, that the owners were forced to relinquish control.

For more, see Judge orders owner to give up Hernandez mobile home park over health violations.

Homeless Take Pass On Local Shelters, Opt For Wide Selection Of Vacant Foreclosures Instead

The Los Angeles Times reports:

• [N]ew York would seem to offer an ideal setting for squatters, with its ubiquitous apartment blocs providing safe hiding for people who can't afford the sky-high rents or stomach life in the shelters. The cutoff of funding this year for a program called Advantage, which helped needy renters pay for housing, has deepened the dilemma for people like [Tasha] Glasgow, 30, who has two children, one of them autistic. Her 9-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy have been taught to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of life in a squat, which is a bit like life during wartime.



• There is no heat. Empty jugs sit on the kitchen counter, waiting to be filled when the water comes on. Toilet-flushing and bathing are timed according to the faucets' erratic flow. Bare bulbs jut from ceiling fixtures, the wood floors are bare of carpeting, and tattered drapes cover the windows. There are none of the signs of regular family life: no dishes in the sink from the last meal, no dining table, no mail to be opened.



• Still, it's better than a shelter. "I didn't want to be in a shelter. It was depressing. I wasn't getting support trying to find a place to live," said Glasgow, who has occupied this apartment near the ocean, on the foggy tip of Queens, on and off since 2007.

***

• If all goes well, Glasgow and the children soon will move to another, better squat — a vacant Brooklyn house. The children's father, Alfredo Carrasquillo, entered it Dec. 6 as part of a nationwide effort by homeless advocates to highlight the housing crisis, which included public occupations of bank-owned properties. He won't move the rest of the family in until he has made it more suitable for habitation.



• "Honestly, we just thought it would be a great opportunity," Carrasquillo said of taking over the vacant house in a public manner, which included a march through the neighborhood and a party on the quiet street, complete with balloons and housewarming gifts. "This is for everyone who doesn't have a house right now — to show people they can fight back."

For more, see Squatters say foreclosed homes beat homeless shelters (They may lack heat and a consistent water supply, but the vacant dwellings aren't as 'depressing,' as one New York mother puts it. Advocates say the number of squatters nationwide is rising).

S. Fla. Volunteer Group's Effort To Save Canine Victims Of F'closure, Recession Runs Out Of Cash; Dog Dumping In Predator-Packed Everglades Continues

In Miami, Florida, Miami New Times reports:

• The past four months have been a horror show for local animal rescuer Amy Restucci. Along with a group of volunteers, she has spent every weekend in rural South Dade rounding up dogs -- all of them former pets abandoned on the edge of the Everglades by feckless owners.



• When she finds the animals, they're usually emaciated and sick from being tossed to the streets. "Some of them have needed leg amputations," Restucci says. "They have missing eyes. They have infections."



• But here's the really bad news: After rescuing 178 dogs -- and three cats -- and spending roughly $65,000 on vet bills, Restucci can't afford to rescue the animals anymore. She first heard about the packs of recently dumped dogs in September.



• They're found in Kendall, Homestead, Florida City, and -- most harrowing for the pets -- the predator-packed Everglades. They're not longtime strays: Many of them nuzzle Restucci when she approaches. It's unclear if the mass abandonment is a longtime phenomenon only now being discovered or a new by-product of the foreclosure spike and recession gripping the county.



• A public service announcement for the cretinous dog owners doing the dumping: Fido is not embarking on a fun Milo & Otis adventure with, like, talking owls. If you abandon your pet in the Glades, it will most likely die of starvation or under the wheels of a car. Miami-Dade Animal Services picks up the dogs only when called. Because the animals are in bad shape, Restucci says, they are almost always quickly euthanized.



• None of the animals she has rescued has been put to sleep. She raised all of the cash through donations -- documented in detail on the effort's Facebook page -- and swung discounted vet care and boarding at Acacia Animal Hospital in Pompano Beach. But she ran out of funds a couple of weeks ago. (Want to help by donating cash or adopting a rescued animal? Visit the effort's Facebook page or contact fladogs@thenokillnation.com.)



• "My heart is broken," Restucci says. "We've saved more than one hundred, but it should be one thousand. There are countless more out there suffering."

Source: With Hundreds of Dogs Abandoned Near Everglades, Rescuers Are Out of Funds.

Cops Pinch Two In Adverse Possession Home-Hijacking Scam; Use Of Forged Lease To Turn On Utilities Could Lead To More Charges

In Douglas County, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:

• A man who told Channel 2 Action News that he could help anyone move into a foreclosed house and live for free, is now in jail. Roderick Walker filed an Affidavit of Adverse Possession for a $300,000 vacant home on Mackenzie Court in Douglas County, and has lived there for the past six months for free. He also started a Facebook page teaching others how to do the same thing, but that's not what he was arrested for. Deputies charged Walker with criminal trespassing Thursday night, saying he helped one of his clients get back into a house on Prestley Mill Road which he'd been evicted from.



• "He'd come back in after the cleanup crews left. Went through the basement, up through the house and helped him move all his property right back in," said Douglas County Sheriff's Investigator Josh Skinner.



• Deputies moved the belongings right back out, and charged the client that day. "If they would have just took the 3 or 4 months of rent free living as a good blessing and left, nobody would have gotten in trouble that day," said Skinner.



• But he says Walker and the others' attempted use of Georgia's Adverse Possession law to occupy the vacant homes is not legal. He calls it fraud and says law enforcement intends to crack down on anyone using paperwork to try to claim houses they don't own.



• "I think it's a very good way to wind up in jail," said Skinner, "We just won't tolerate this kind of behavior." [...] Walker interpreted Georgia's adverse possession law to say the house would be his if he could live in it for seven years. Investigators say a successful adverse possession cannot be rooted in fraud, but unless a neighbor or realtor calls, it would be hard to catch. Plus, many homes are in foreclosure limbo right now, making them ripe for adverse possession attempts.

***

• [Skinner] says both Walker and his client could face even more charges relating to the house on Prestley Mill Road. The power company required proof of residency and investigators believe the pair forged a lease to open an account. Walker is being held in the Douglas County Jail on an $11,000 bond.

For the story, see Police arrest man who moved into vacant home.

Nevada AG: Ex-HOA Treasurer Hijacked $800K+ In Fire Insurance Proceeds, Leaving Damaged Premises Unrepaired, Elderly Residents Homeless

From the Office of the Nevada Attorney General:

• Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced [] that on Dec. 16 a Clark County Grand Jury returned a six count indictment against Massoud Aaron Yashouafar, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., for his actions in allegedly defrauding the Paradise Spa Home Owners Association of over $1 million dollars.



• “This type of crime is particularly jarring when you realize that older victims, many of whom were living on fixed incomes in Paradise Spa, were forced to find and pay for alternative living quarters when they were still obligated to make mortgage payments on their burned condo units, while waiting for repairs that would never be made,” said Masto.

***

• In his capacity as treasurer of the Home Owners Association he was provided two checks, one over $400,000 and the other check over $430,000 issued by the Civil Service Employees Insurance Group, for property damage to two separate buildings caused by fires.



• The insurance checks were issued to repair the damaged buildings. Rather than repair the buildings, Yashouafar deposited the checks in an out of state bank account on which he was the sole signator. As a result, numerous condo owners, many of them senior citizens, were forced to find other living arrangements, while still making mortgage payments on their damaged, uninhabitable units.



• In some cases, Yashouafar rented units he owned to the displaced condo owners, resulting in them paying him rent while they waited for repairs that were never done because of the alleged theft.

For the Nevada AG press release, see Attorney General Announces Indictment In Paradise Spa Home Owners Association Embezzlement Scheme.

For the indictment, see State of Nevada v. Yashouafar.

Texas AG Civil Lawsuit: Bill Collector Threatened Consumers With Arrest, Prosecution, Imprisonment In Effort To Collect Delinquent Debts

From the Office of the Texas Attorney General:

• Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott [] charged a third-party Houston debt collection firm with violating the Texas Finance Code. First Integral Recovery, LLC is a third-party collector hired by creditors to collect outstanding, short-term payday loan payments.



• According to the State’s enforcement action, First Integral Recovery’s representatives unlawfully claimed that the firm is associated with law enforcement agencies. After falsely citing their purported law enforcement ties, the defendant’s staff told debtors they faced arrest, prosecution and imprisonment because of their delinquent debt.



• In addition to improperly misleading debtors about First Integral Recovery’s law enforcement ties, the State’s enforcement action cited the defendant for attempting to intimidate debtors and using profanity during debt collection calls.



• According to state investigators, First Integral Recovery also failed to properly verify whether the alleged debtor actually owed the debt in question – even after those contacted by the firm sought additional information or insisted they did not incur the indebtedness in question.



• Although Texas law requires that debt collectors identify the name of the creditor, First Integral Recovery representatives routinely refused to identify the alleged creditor on whose behalf they were calling. Finally, the firm also operated for seven months during 2010 without having posted a surety bond with the Texas Secretary of State, a legal requirement of third-party debt collectors. The attorney general seeks civil penalties for violations of the Finance Code and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

For the Texas AG press release, see Texas Attorney General Charges Houston Debt Collection Firm with Deceiving Consumers (First Integral Recovery threatens debtors with arrest, prison).

For the Texas Attorney General's lawsuit, see State of Texas v. First Integral Recovery, LLC.

Utah Federal Court Rulings On Unqualified BofA Foreclosure Trustee In Conflict

In Salt Lake City, Utah, KCSG-TV Channel 14 reports:

• Utah senior federal Judges Dee Benson and Bruce Jenkins have ruled Bank of America's foreclosure arm, ReconTrust Company, N.A. (NYSE: "BAC") may not be qualified to perform non-judicial foreclosures in Utah.



• However, [last] week senior federal Judge David Sam ruled that ReconTrust is operating under the National Bank Act regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), is a trustee under the Texas law where ReconTrust is located rendering Utah Code 57-1-21(3) inapplicable. Ruling



• The ruling comes in a case filed by attorney John Christian Barlow, in which ReconTrust is being sued by Utah homeowner Garry Franklin Garrett accusing ReconTrust of conducting an unlawful foreclosure sale because it's is not a qualified trustee under Utah Law. The judge's decision conflicts with rulings by other Utah federal judges over the Bank of America's Utah foreclosure activities.



• The Utah Attorney General intervened in another Utah homeowner's lawsuit filing an Amicus Curiae petition charging that the Bank of America was illegally foreclosing on Utah homeowners. Peni Cox vs ReconTrust



• The Utah Attorney General accused the Bank of America in May 2011 of illegal foreclosure activities using its subsidiary ReconTrust Company. In the letter, the Attorney General said that ReconTrust is in violation of Utah law as set forth in Utah Code Sections 57-1-21 and 57-1-23, which outline the requirements for lawful non-judicial foreclosures. Support for the attorney general's position is found in a recent 10th Circuit case, Shurtleff v. Kleinsmith in which Utah Code Sections 51-1-21 and 57-1-12 were found to be constitutional.



• The letter said that ReconTrust is in violation of the National Bank Act, which does not allow national banks to operate in contravention of State and local law. ReconTrust's exercise of the fiduciary powers in the State of Utah is a violation of State law and applicable federal law, the Attorney General said.

For more, see Utah Federal Judges Decisions Conflict in ReconTrust Utah Home Foreclosure Actions.

Loan Peddler Gets 41 Months In Scam That Targeted Seniors Involving Hijacked Refinancing Proceeds From Fraudulently-Obtained Reverse Mortgages

From the U.S. Justice Department:

• A Florida loan officer was sentenced [] by U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for his participation in a nationwide $2.5 million reverse mortgage fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced.



• John Incandela, 25, of Palm Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 41 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $1.9 million in restitution. Louis Gendason, 42, of Delray Beach, Fla., is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2012.

***

• According to the information and statements made during the August 2011 hearing in the case, from May 2009 through November 2010, the defendants engaged in a reverse mortgage scheme that defrauded unwitting borrowers, Genworth Financial Home Equity Access Inc. and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).



• Working as a loan officer, Incandela, along with co-defendant Marcos Echevarria, 29, of Palm Beach, solicited seniors to refinance their existing mortgages with a reverse mortgage loan financed by Genworth. To qualify the borrowers for these loans, co-defendant Gendason altered real estate appraisals to fraudulently inflate the value of the borrowers’ properties.



• In fact, however, none of the borrowers had sufficient equity in their properties to qualify for a reverse mortgage. The defendants then submitted the fraudulently inflated appraisals to Genworth. Based on the false documentation, Genworth approved and the FHA insured more than $2.5 million in reverse mortgage loans.



• As part of the scheme, co-defendant Kimberly Mackey, 47, of Pittsburgh, a licensed title agent, fraudulently closed the Genworth loans and did not pay off the borrowers’ existing mortgage loans.



• The defendants divided up the loan proceeds and used the money for their personal benefit.



• On Nov. 3, 2011, Mackey and Echevarria received prison sentences of 60 and 24 months, respectively, for their roles in the scheme.

***

• “The masterminds of this mortgage fraud scheme targeted elders who were looking for a little financial security in their golden years,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

For the U.S. Justice press release, see Florida Loan Officer Sentenced in Connection with $2.5 Million Reverse Mortgage and Loan Modification Scheme.

Testimony In Preliminary Hearing Begins For Trio Accused Of Abusing POA To Rip Off Now-Deceased 90-Year Old Woman Of Two Homes, Cash

In Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, The Morning Call reports:

• [T]he first day of testimony at a preliminary hearing for the three people accused of stealing almost everything from [90-year-old Queen E.] Hersh, including her longtime home in Emmaus and a vacation home in the Poconos, focused on Penelope Veronikis, who authorities say masterminded the alleged thefts.



• Hersh would die months after learning she had been taken for more than $260,000, authorities say, adding that the "despair and devastation" she felt may have contributed to her deteriorating health and, possibly, her death.



• Authorities said two days after Hersh's sister died in June 2006, Veronikis, 49, of Hanover Township, Northampton County, allegedly persuaded Hersh to sign over power of attorney so Veronikis could help manage the elderly woman's finances.



• The lawyer who prepared the paperwork testified Monday that Veronikis approached her about preparing the power of attorney for a "lady who needed help paying her bills." Ewalde Cook, an attorney from Bethlehem, said Hersh, who was 88 at the time, appeared to know what she was doing. "There is no doubt in my mind, she understood," she testified.



• Months later, in December 2006, Veronikis sold Hersh's vacation home in the Poconos for $170,000 without Hersh knowing, authorities said. With the money, Veronikis reportedly got a tummy tuck and a breast lift and her then-boyfriend bought a 1974 muscle car from Veronikis' brother.



• Veronikis would later change Hersh's will to make herself the sole beneficiary, refinance Hersh's Emmaus home to obtain a $50,000 loan and open and max out two credit cards in Hersh's name, authorities said. Veronikis' then-boyfriend, Hristos "Chris" Dimou, 49, owner of the Emmaus Diner, and her daughter, Barbara Paxos, 26, are also charged.

***

• Veronikis and Paxos, both of 1246 Granite Drive, Hanover Township, and Dimou, of 3744 Church View Road, Upper Milford Township, are charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, reckless endangerment, criminal conspiracy, theft, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and receiving stolen property. Veronikis and Dimou are also charged with reckless endangerment.



• Before she died, Hersh told her lawyer she never gave Veronikis permission to sell or refinance her homes and she never lent Veronikis any money. Hersh's will was later destroyed and Emmaus police were contacted. She suffered a stroke the day she was to write a new will and died weeks later, according to testimony Monday. She was never evicted from her home because she died before anything could happen.

For the story, see Three face charges in bilking Emmaus woman of $260,000 (The 90-year-old died before she faced eviction from her home).

Florida-Based Foreclosure Document Sweatshop Targeted Again In Another Nevada Lawsuit; Homeowners Seek Class Action Status

In Las Vegas, Nevada, CBS News reports:

• A lawyer in Las Vegas has filed a civil lawsuit seeking class-action status on behalf of homeowners he says have been hurt by the filing of fraudulent foreclosure documents during an alleged "robo-siging" scheme.



• Matthew Callister said he wants a state judge to stop tainted home sales and evictions and order Lender Processing Services Inc. and several bank and mortgage companies to modify loans and pay monetary damages to affected homeowners. "This is to say, 'Stop. Let us try to modify the loan appropriately,'" Callister said. "Then we'll seek damages."

***

• The Las Vegas Sun first reported that the lawsuit alleging deceptive trade practices had been filed Tuesday in Clark County District Court on behalf of five homeowners. A hearing was not immediately scheduled.



• Callister told The Associated Press that he had at least 20 more plaintiffs to add to the case. The civil lawsuit came days after Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto filed a civil lawsuit in Las Vegas accusing Lender Processing Services of orchestrating a massive robo-signing scheme to file fraudulent documents before the local housing market collapsed in 2008.

For more, see Lawyer seeks class status for robo-signing lawsuit.

Lawyers Behaving Badly: Payouts From Wisconsin 'Attorney Ripoff Reimbursement Fund' Double; Incidents Of Dipping Into Client Trust Funds Increase

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

• A state fund that pays victims of misconduct by dishonest lawyers doled out nearly $2 million in the past six years, nearly double the amount paid in the previous six, records analyzed by the Journal Sentinel show.



• The Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection - a little-known body created 30 years ago by the state Supreme Court - issued payments after lawyers pocketed unearned fees and embezzled client funds, among other acts.(1)



• Officials and attorneys say the trends suggest there are more misbehaving lawyers, especially when it comes to stealing money from client trust funds. "It seems like there are more of them and they are for bigger amounts," said attorney Richard Cayo, who specializes in representing lawyers facing disciplinary charges.

***

• In the six-year period that ended June 30, the fund paid out nearly $1.9 million. In the previous six years, it paid out slightly more than $1 million. The money in the fund, administered by the State Bar, comes from mandatory annual payments of $25 by each of the state's nearly 20,000 attorneys.



• The Journal Sentinel also found: Since its creation in 1981, the fund has paid about $5.1 million to nearly 700 clients. Nearly 60% of that total has been paid since 2000.

For more, see $2 million paid after lawyer misconduct.

(1) For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (now includes Canadian recovery funds, courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.

Dubious Wayne County Real Estate Operator Continues Operating Despite Increasing Consumer Complaints, Media Spotlight

In Wayne County, Michigan, WXYZ-TV Channel 7 reports:

• What would you think of a man who rents houses that aren’t fit to live in? He’s well known in Wayne County where he’s taken thousands of dollars from the poor and disabled, for houses without permits to rent. When the city tells them the house has no occupancy permit, the man who took their money for deposits and rent leaves those families homeless, and he’s been doing so for years.



• His name is Leonard Bale. His company is Wolverine Investors. That might sound familiar because in a previous 7 Action News investigation we found Mr. Bale selling houses on land contract that were in some stage of foreclosure.



• Now, we’ve heard from more single mothers who say Bale rented them houses no one can live in.

***

• Bale and his company, Wolverine Investors, have hundreds of properties in Wayne County. He offers them on Craig’s list. But people who’ve told us about their experience doing business with Leonard Bale have a warning for you.



• [One victim] says “to everybody out there, please, do not rent a house from Leonard Bale.” [Another] says “do your homework. I thought he was legit.” He ads “I checked with the Better Business Bureau. He had an a plus rating.”



• But after 7 Action News aired our first investigation on Leonard Bale selling houses he knew were in foreclosure, the Better Business Bureau took him off their list of rated companies.



• We’re still hearing from people who feel they’ve been victimized by Leonard Bale, so we’ll stay on this story to follow complaints that have been made to the Wayne County prosecutor and the State attorney general.

For the story, see Tenants say man is renting homes not fit for human habitation.

See also, They thought they were buying homes for their families, but a dream come true has become a nightmare (Many are discovering what they thought was a blessing, has turned into a curse. The homes they thought they were buying are in various stages of foreclosure – and they say the man who sold them, Leonard Bale, never told them).

Lawsuit: BofA's Misapplication Of Couple's Loan Modification Payments Among Misdeeds Leading To Foreclosure; Homeowners Seek Class Action Status

In Franklin County, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:

• After falling behind on their bills, Joseph and Jennifer Woodruff arranged to modify the loan that Bank of America held on the couple’s Canal Winchester home. The couple regularly made all the payments, but the bank foreclosed anyway.



• Yesterday, the Woodruffs fired back by suing Bank of America in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The couple accuses the lender of failing to live up to the terms of the loan-modification agreement and of diverting money from the payments to other accounts.



• John Sherrod, the couple’s attorney, contends that the Woodruffs are among thousands of Ohio homeowners who were foreclosed upon illegally by Bank of America. He is asking the court to certify the suit as a class-action case and to stop Bank of America from foreclosing on any Ohio homeowner who is current on loan payments.



• “Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff made modification payments for nothing,” said Sherrod, an attorney with the Jump Legal Group. “Bank of America foreclosed on the Woodruffs even though they said, in their own documents, that they would not.”

For more, see Modified home loan is focus of lawsuit (Bank of America foreclosed despite payments, suit says).

Desperate Homeowners Continue Falling For Loan Modification Scams

In Shawano County, Wisconsin, WGBA-TV Channel 26 reports:

• A Shawano county woman looking for hope to save her home, finds only more financial heartache. Nancy DesJarlais gave $1700 to a company that promised to solve her foreclosure problem. But she claims the company took her money and ran.

***

• DesJarlais and her husband were facing foreclosure on their Shawano County home when a letter came from American Law Centers, promising to help them stay in their home. “I did a lot to make it our home and now I was going to be out, no place to go, I was really upset, I didn't know what to do I felt like a total fool,” she said.



• NBC 26 attempted to contact American Law Centers for comment, but emails were not returned and the phone number was disconnected.

For the story, see Woman Facing Foreclosure Gets Scammed.

San Diego Feds Squeeze Guilty Pleas Out Of Five Charged With Running Fraudulent Loan Modification Ripoff Operation

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (San Diego, California):

• United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy [] announced the guilty pleas of five defendants in connection with a loan modification scheme involving an Oceanside company called 1st American Law Center. Gary Bobel, Scott Thomas Spencer (a.k.a. Thomas Cole), Mark Andrew Spencer (a.k.a. Mark Andrews), and Travis Iverson each pled guilty [] before Magistrate Judge William McCurine to conspiracy charges related to their commission of wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, and criminal forfeiture.

***

• According to documents filed in court, Gary Bobel opened up a loan modification business in Northen San Diego County in 2008. Bobel hired telemarketers to sell his services, including defendants Scott Spencer, Mark Spencer, Roger Jones, and dozens of others. Defendant Travis Iverson ran a separate call center in Riverside for Bobel.



• Court records reveal that the defendants and their co-conspirators at 1st American Law Center preyed on homeowners who were struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments and at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.



• The Defendants used high-pressure sales tactics and outright lies to induce their customers to purchase loan modification services – for payments from $1,995 to $4,495 – such as falsely claiming to have a team of attorneys who pre-screened clients and having a 98% success rate in obtaining loan modifications.



• As detailed in the guilty pleas entered by the defendants, 1st American Law Center’s telemarketers were encouraged to say virtually anything it took to close the deal.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Five Defendants Admit Stealing More Than $11 Million From Desperate Homeowners In Loan Modification Scam.