Previously I wrote a couple of articles about Fidelity Land Trust, that appeared to be selling a service to consumers where the consumer would deed their property over to the land trust company, for a fee. In the past few days Fidelity Land Trust and others have resurfaced in the news, specifically in the Palm …
by Paul Kiel and Cora Currier ProPublica States have diverted $974 million from this year’s landmark mortgage settlement to pay down budget deficits or fund programs unrelated to the foreclosure crisis, according to a ProPublica analysis. That’s nearly forty percent of the $2.5 billion in penalties paid to the states under the agreement. The settlement, …
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced they are requiring “U.S. Homeowners Relief” defendants to pay millions in their settlement along with banning them from the debt and mortgage relief business. The FTC had charged six defendants (that have agreed to settle) in the participation of a fraudulent mortgage modifications and foreclosure relief scheme. The settlement …
Earlier this month it was announced that Lisa Wright, Cathy Saffer and Carrington Coombs were all charged with fraud in a Florida foreclosure rescure scheme. Wright and Saffer were charged with conspiracy to defraud homeowners and banks in a foreclosure rescue scheme. Coombs, a certified public accountant, was also charged as a participant in the …
The millions of desperate homeowners who have found themselves upside down and at risk of losing their homes have created a fertile environment for scamsters. The scams on homeowners are varied and include audits and NPV tests, modification services, foreclosure rescue services, sell and lease-back schemes, and my personal favorite, mass joinder suits. Let’s start …
“Dear Andy, Tried twice to to get a modification with BOA with no success,have ask a law firm to help, but cant find any info on the firm Should I retain this law firm from calif. THEY WHAT THREE PAYMENTS ONE TO START, THEN ONE IN THE MIDDLE AND THE REST AT THE END. 1500-1000-500. …
by Marian Wang, ProPublica As we’ve noted in several posts, one player that has been featured in the foreclosure scandal and is currently under federal investigation is the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS. Despite the fact that MERS keeps electronic records on about half of all home mortgages in the country, the system is …
by Marian Wang, ProPublica There are more headlines every day about banks using shortcuts and questionable paperwork to push through foreclosures. A group of 40 state attorneys general is expected to announce an investigation this week into the mortgage servicing industry, while calls for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures– an idea the White House opposes— …