Tag: Foreclosure
Michigan Woman Sentenced to 10-20 Years for Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Scheme
Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced his Corporate Oversight Division has secured a prison sentence for a Holly woman who ran a fraudulent foreclosure-rescue operation that scammed at least 60 victims across the state out of more than $250,000.
Tashia Winstanley, 38, of Holly, has been sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $243,474 in restitution by Judge Thomas J. Phillips in Grand Traverse County’s 13th Circuit Court. Winstanley and her company, TLW Mortgage Solutions, each pleaded guilty on August 3, 2012 to three felonies for collecting upfront fees while impersonating a mortgage modification company.
“Foreclosure rescue scam artists attack Michigan homeowners who are struggling financially and fighting to stay in their homes,” said Schuette. “Anyone who exploits struggling homeowners through these scams will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The criminal charges resulted from an investigation by the Attorney General after complaints against the company were filed with Attorney General Schuette’s Consumer Protection Division. The investigation revealed that from September 2009 through January 2012 Winstanley operated TLW Mortgage Solutions as a mortgage modification business.
Winstanley offered prospective clients mortgage loan modifications for a fee. Winstanley promised victims she would secure a mortgage loan modification for them. Some victims even made their mortgage payments directly to Winstanley instead of their lenders, but instead of remitting those payments to the banks, Winstanley pocketed the funds in order to feed self-proclaimed shopping and drug addiction. The Attorney General Investigation uncovered evidence that Winstanley made no efforts to secure loan modifications for many of the victims.
Affected victims reside in the following counties: Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Roscommon, Oakland, Genesee, Benzie and Macomb.
Winstanley and her company, TLW Mortgage Solutions both plead guilty in Grand Traverse County’s 13th Circuit Court to the following:
One count of Conducting Criminal Enterprises (Racketeering), a felony punishable by up to twenty years in prison;
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
Consumer Alert: Foreclosure scammers put others in poor house
Since t
he housing crisis started five years ago, more than four million families lost their homes to foreclosure.
But one person’s tragedy is often another person’s profit.
If you can afford it, buying foreclosures or the rights to properties on the verge of foreclosure can be a big business.
But if you’re not careful, foreclosure scammers can put you in the poor house too.
In this tough economy, many Americans struggle to buy food and keep up with paying property taxes and a mortgage. And in a cunning scheme, crooks are taking full advantage.
“This scam involved properties that were delinquent on their taxes, and what happens is, after a certain period of time, when your property is delinquent, the county seizes your property and sells it for back taxes,” said Kevin S. Freeman, U.S. Postal Inspector.
If someone buys that lien on the property they then get the first option to also buy that property if it is heading toward foreclosure. In this case, scammers bought the liens and then turned around and sold bogus or duplicate first options to others – at inflated rates – to unsuspecting buyers. Victims were easily duped into making what seemed like good deal, sometimes shelling out six figures only never to see a return.
“It was people who wanted to invest and buy property, used as rental property, and there were people who just wanted to buy a home, for cheaper than the market value,” said Freeman.
Investigators were tipped off to the scam after reviewing fraud complaints filed against the individual or company.
“We also had an undercover operation, where we we sent someone in to pose as a customer to purchase a tax certificate,” said Freeman.
When done legally and properly, buying a tax lien certificate can be profitable. But it requires homework: call the courthouse and learn how your county handles foreclosures and tax defaults; know what you are bidding on. Check out the property and the records; and be aware that just because you buy the tax lien, it doesn’t mean you will automatically get the house. Many times the house will never go into foreclosure.
Paladin Securitization Auditors is dedicated to helping distressed homeowners like you to save your home from foreclosure. Paladin Securitization Auditors specializes in finding securitization fraud in your loan documents. They provide you with the ammunition you need to possibly postpone your foreclosure sale and sue your lender for punitive damages. Often times this results in the lender providing new, reduced loan terms and reduced principle balances. We provide information that may help you stop foreclosure in Florida, and across the nation.
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
The Warren Group: Foreclosure activity slows in Massachusetts
Lenders initiated 1,198 foreclosure proceedings in Massachusetts in July, the lowest monthly level recorded so far this year, the Warren Group said Monday.
The number of starts fell nearly 17 percent when compared with the total from July 2011, said the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks real estate data.
“It appears there is a downward trend in foreclosure activity,” the Warren Group chief executive Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement. “A strong economy and recovering housing market is helping lift consumer confidence. This news paired with banks’ return to standard foreclosure processes is also helping.”
Foreclosure deeds, the last step in the foreclosure process, also dropped about 17 percent in July on a year-to-year comparison basis; there were 648 foreclosures in July 2012, the Warren Group said. That number is the fewest for any month this year, and July 2012 was the slowest month since May 2011, according to the Warren Group.
“Foreclosure activity has been fluctuating for the past year or so – slowing after several banks delayed and examined their own proceedings, and then ramping back up,” Timothy Warren Jr. said. “It appears we’re seeing a clearer picture now – less starts and deeds which means homeowners are making payments and working out defaults through short sales and loan modifications.”
The slowdown in foreclosure activity follows a surge this year as lenders accelerated the pace of seizing properties that had long been in mortgage default.
Paladin Securitization Auditors is dedicated to helping distressed homeowners like you to save your home from foreclosure. Paladin Securitization Auditors specializes in finding securitization fraud in your loan documents. They provide you with the ammunition you need to possibly postpone your foreclosure sale and sue your lender for punitive damages. Often times this results in the lender providing new, reduced loan terms and reduced principle balances. We provide information that may help you stop foreclosure in Florida, and across the nation.
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
For seniors, foreclosure can destroy the golden years
Marie Ginise thought she and her husband, Joseph, had prepared well for retirement. They worked hard to build up their asphalt driveway business, saved a few pennies and eventually moved to Florida from Connecticut to enjoy their golden years.
But when Joseph got sick and died, Marie, 75, realized she could not afford the two-bedroom manufactured home the couple had bought in Deerfield Beach in 2005. Now, instead of enjoying shuffleboard and card games in her senior community, she’s fighting off foreclosure.
“I cry every night when I go to bed,” Ginise says. “You work for something your whole life and then it doesn’t turn out like that at all. I don’t know if I’m here or there.”
Marie Ginese is among the tens of thousands of older Americans who owe more on their homes than they’re worth after the real estate crash — but with less time to make up the financial loss than those who are younger. An AARP report released this summer, Nightmare on Main Street: Older Americans and the Mortgage Market Crisis, revealed that:
• About 3.5 million loans held by people over 50 (or 16 percent of all loans for that group) were underwater as of December 2011.
• The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgage loans increased from 1.1 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in 2011 for people 50 and older, a 456 percent increase.
• The foreclosure rate for people 50 and older also increased, from 0.3 percent in 2007 to 2.9 percent in 2011.
AARP doesn’t include specific figures for Florida, but local senior advocates say they don’t need numbers to know that the real estate crisis has hit the elderly population hard. A RealtyTrac report released earlier this month showed that Florida foreclosure activity in August increased from August 2011 — the seventh year-over-year increase in the last eight months, meaning the state posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate.
“It’s like the end of the American Dream for them,” says Gladys Gerson, a supervising attorney for Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida. “They’re very embarrassed that they can’t maintain their own home.”
Max Rothman, president of the Alliance for Aging in Miami, says he is seeing “more older folks calling in about various issues relating to financial insecurities. It’s a symptom of the times.”
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments: While at first glance this might seem particularly egregious simply because senior citizens are more vulnerable, have fewer options for rebuilding after losses, and may be losing what they’ve worked all their lives for, a closer look reveals something even more disturbing.
During the housing crisis that is currently hitting the nation and the state of California, seniors constitute one of the hardest hit, and most vulnerable classes of citizens, and they are in the most need of protection and help. Unfortunately they have long been prime targets of mortgage rescue scams and predatory lending, and the ‘Paladin Securitization Auditors” is determined to help them.
Here’s a link to a quick video explaining why securitization audits are so incredibly successful:
Paladin Securitization Auditors offers a free mortgage fraud and securitization fraud evaluation:
Simply go to their website and complete the form. One of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will perform a preliminary review of your mortgage documents to see if a securitization audit can help your specific situation.
http://www.paladinwestcoast.com
Remember, every day you wait is another day closer to foreclosure and another day closer to becoming a victim. Contact Paladin Securitization Auditors today!
Coca-Cola Heirs Lose $37 Million in Foreclosure Crisis
Not even the founding family of one of America’s most famous brands has been able to escape the effects of the foreclosure crisis.
Descendants of Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler have had a rough go since the housing bust and ensuing recession. The soda heirs’ real estate development company has lost $37.5 million to foreclosure since the economy tanked, and the financial future of the family appears tenuous at best, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday.
The Candler family sold its stake in Coca-Cola back in 1919 and turned to real estate development. The family is responsible for several iconic Atlanta-area landmarks and remains well-known in the wealthy suburb of Sandy Springs.
Now led by 81-year-old Asa Griggs Candler V, the family has been plagued by creditors as deal after deal has gone bust. Yet Candler remains optimistic despite his family’s crumbling fortune.
“Atlanta’s future is great. Atlanta is not going away,” he said in an interview last month, according to the paper. “And we’ll be right in here trying. We’ll get out of this, along with everybody else, and build our share of the city.”
That “everybody else” includes more than just the residents of a city that’s been one of the hardest-hit by the housing bust. Even wealthy Americans like the Candlers have seen their fortunes decline due to the recession. Between 2007 and 2009, after-tax earnings by the top 1 percent of American earners fell 37 percent, according to CNBC.
Another testament to the far-reaching effects of the Great Recession is the story of real estate developer David Siegel, who, along with his yet uncompleted 90,000-square-foot Florida mansion, is the subject of a new documentary. Siegel’s house is now listed for $65 million after once being on the market for $75 million.
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments:
Free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, or foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
Mamtek CEO charged with theft, securities fraud
The CEO of a failed artificial sweetener company was charged Tuesday with theft and securities fraud in Missouri for allegedly using bond revenues to avoid foreclosure on his Beverly Hills, Calif., home and misleading financiers about the company’s troubled operations.
The charges announced by Attorney General Chris Koster cap a yearlong investigation into Bruce Cole, who was chairman and CEO of Mamtek U.S. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission also sued Cole and his wife on Tuesday, seeking financial penalties for the alleged fraud.
Mamtek received $39 million of industrial development bonds from Moberly, Mo., and authorization for up to $17 million of state incentives to build an artificial sweetener factory in the city which Gov. Jay Nixon said would eventually employ more than 600 people. But construction was halted on the partially complete facility after Mamtek missed a bond payment in August 2011.
“The collapse of this $39 million investment in Moberly was a tragedy for this town,” Koster said while announcing the criminal charges in front of the chain-locked front gate of the former Mamtek facility.
Beside him, the company’s tattered and faded canvass banner dangled from a fence to the ground covered with weeds, with the words “Mamtek U.S.” barely visible beneath a coating of dirt.
The charges filed in Randolph County Circuit Court on Tuesday allege that Cole directed a consultant to submit an invoice for more than $4 million to Mamtek for purported engineering-related services by a sham company called Ramwell Industrial Inc. Immediately after Mamtek received the bond revenues in July 2010, Cole instructed the company’s bookkeeper to wire $700,000 to his wife’s personal bank account, the charges allege. Nanette Cole then used part of the money to make a mortgage payment and avoid an impending foreclosure on their Beverly Hills home.
“Today, we have alleged that Mr. Cole deceived the city and its investors and stole at least $700,000 from the bond fund for his own personal use,” Koster said.
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments: The CEO of a failed artificial sweetener company has been charged with theft and securities fraud in Missouri. State Attorney General Chris Koster announced the charges Tuesday against Bruce Cole, who was chairman and CEO of Mamtek U.S. The company had received $39 million in bonds from the city of Moberly and authorization for $17 million of state incentives to build an artificial sweetener factory that would eventually employ more than 600 people. But construction was halted last year after Mamtek missed a bond payment.
Paladin Securitization Auditors:
If you’re facing foreclosure in Florida it’s possible that you don’t know all the entitlements you have as a landowner. Foreclosure acts in Florida can be very convoluted but Paladin Securitization Auditors is dedicated to helping distressed homeowners like you to save your home from foreclosure. Paladin Securitization Auditors specializes in finding securitization fraud in your loan documents. They provide you with the ammunition you need to possibly postpone your foreclosure sale and sue your lender for punitive damages. Often times this results in the lender providing new, reduced loan terms and reduced principle balances. We provide information that may help you stop foreclosure in Florida, and across the nation.
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
Foreclosure Crisis: Buzz Fades, Protests Continue
Dozens of disgruntled homeowners walked along East 42nd St. in Manhattan last Thursday afternoon shouting, “Stand up, fight back,” and “Freddie, Freddie, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side.” Some spoke in hope that someone, other than themselves, would hear their voice.
Their target was Freddie Mac, a federally chartered, shareholder-owned corporation that purchases mortgages from other lenders in order to increase the financing available for home purchases. Typically, Freddie packages mortgages into securities and sells them to investors. Freddie and a similar organization Fannie May are considered responsible for funding almost half of the home mortgages in the U.S.
Both received bailout money. But the protestors complain Freddie is not doing enough to help homeowners caught in the foreclosure crisis. During the first seven months of 2012 (the most recent statistics available), the number of home loans Freddie modified fell by more than half compared with the previous year, from 75,000 to 36,000.
Home loan modifications are seen as a vital defense against foreclosure, which remains a problem for the city. According to the most recent statistics from the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, more than 2,300 buildings were hit with notices of foreclosure in the city in the first quarter of 2012—down significantly from the peak of the housing crisis, but up slightly from the previous quarter.
Maria Masionet of New York Communities for Change, an advocacy group came out to protest because of what she sees in her community of East New York. “The houses have been taken over by drug dealers. It brings stuff that we don’t really need, and more crime into our community,” said Maisonet, who rents an apartment. “Low income people like myself are being priced out of East New York.”
Paladin Securitization Auditors offers a free mortgage fraud and securitization fraud evaluation:
Simply go to their website and complete the form. One of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will perform a preliminary review of your mortgage documents to see if a securitization audit can help your specific situation.
http://www.paladinwestcoast.com
Here’s a link to a quick video explaining why securitization audits are so incredibly successful:
New Jersey No. 2 Worst in Nation for Delinquencies, Foreclosures
New Jersey’s rate of foreclosures or serious delinquencies is now the No. 2 worst in the nation, second only to Florida, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The state’s court system may be partly to blame because it slowed the foreclosure process after a national robo-signing controversy revealed that uncontested foreclosures were processed without any human review.
Meanwhile, the state’s economic outlook was downgraded from “stable” to “negative” by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday.
The analysis is unlikely to affect New Jersey’s AA bond rating, which is already among the lowest in the nation.
But it does counter Governor Chris Christie’s message at appearances across the state in which he touts the “Jersey Comeback” and said the state could afford to give its residents a tax cut.
The New Jersey legislature’s non-partisan budget analyst called Christie’s state revenue projections “aggressive” on Wednesday and said mid-year budget cuts may be necessary.
Assembly Republicans and the governor say the dire budget forecast is a political move by Democrats intended to stall making tax cuts.
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments: Foreclosure actions are filed in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, General Equity Part. Foreclosure pleadings are filed with the Office of the Superior Court Clerk, Foreclosure Processing Services in Trenton until the action is contested. The types of liens that can be foreclosed are mortgages, municipal tax liens and condominium or homeowner association liens for unpaid assessments.
Paladin Securitization Auditors offers a free securitization fraud evaluation
Simply fill out the form on http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of our experienced auditors will review your mortgage documents to see if a securitization audit can help your specific situation. Paladin Securitization Auditors has a 100% track record in finding fraud in every single file they have taken on.
North-side office building falls into foreclosure
A nearly 100,000-square-foot office building on East 46th Street in Indianapolis has fallen into foreclosure after lenders found the owner in default on a $4.5 million loan.
LaSalle Bank and UBS Real Estate Investments Inc. filed suit on Aug. 15 against owners Keystone Corporation Square LP and Robert Ferree, claiming they owed a balance of $4.4 million on the loan as of June 20. Keystone Corporation Square is an affiliate of Landmark Properties Group of Allison Park, Pa.
Landmark CEO Ferree resides in Valencia, Pa., according to court documents. He did not return a phone call seeking comment on the foreclosure.
Landmark owns more than a dozen commercial properties in five states, including Hawthorn Business Centre at 5060 E. 62nd St. in Indianapolis, according to its website.
A hearing has been set for Sept. 5 in Marion Superior Court to appoint a receiver to manage the property on East 46th Street, between North Keystone Avenue and Allisonville Road, during the foreclosure proceedings. Tenants include ADT Security Services, City of Refuge Christian Church and Miller Coin Washer Co.
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments:
If you’re facing foreclosure in Florida it’s possible that you don’t know all the entitlements you have as a landowner. Foreclosure acts in Florida can be very convoluted but Paladin Securitization Auditors is dedicated to helping distressed homeowners like you to save your home from foreclosure. Paladin Securitization Auditors specializes in finding securitization fraud in your loan documents. They provide you with the ammunition you need to possibly postpone your foreclosure sale and sue your lender for punitive damages. Often times this results in the lender providing new, reduced loan terms and reduced principle balances. We provide information that may help you stop foreclosure in Florida, and across the nation.
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
Foreclosure Related Suicide on the Rise
Since the decline of the economy, more than 2.5 million homeowners have faced foreclosure. The loss of a home can be devastating to a family, and the emotional toll can add to their financial stress. The resulting depression can leave them feeling hopeless. In fact, research by Janet Currie of Princeton University and Erdal Tekin of Georgia State University concludes that there is a link between foreclosure rates and mental and physical health problems, as well as suicide attempts. The Wall Street Journal reported that the research showed that there were 39% more suicide attempts for homeowners facing foreclosure than those who are not.
On June 28, 2012, Michael Marin, a millionaire in Arizona, died in a courtroom after being convicted of arson for burning down his mansion because he wasn’t able to make his mortgage payments. Initial reports claim that he appeared to put something in his mouth shortly before suffering from convulsions and collapsing after the verdict was read. A container labeled “cyanide” was found in his vehicle.
In May, 2012, California resident Norman Rousseau was attempting to repair his RV so his family would have a place to live after being notified of an upcoming lockout. Mr. Rousseau and his wife had refinanced their home, receiving a higher interest rate than they previously had. Wells Fargo subsequently didn’t credit them with a payment, which led to a loan modification denial. Unable to repair the RV, Rousseau was distraught and committed suicide.
Paladin Securitization Auditors Comments: According to the research reported in The Wall Street Journal, there were 39% more suicide attempts for homeowners facing foreclosure than those who were not. While homeowners may not get the help from banks they deserve, every borrower should know that help IS available to them right now. If you or someone you know is struggling with mortgage debt or has been issued a notice of default, turn to a foreclosure attorney immediately for help.
Foreclosure lawyers know exactly what to do to ensure your case resolves as positively as possible. They will exhaust every possible alternative to home seizure with lenders to ensure you do not lose your home.
How would you like a free mortgage and securitization fraud evaluation?
If you want to see if there is fraud in your mortgage documents, Paladin Securitization Auditors will perform a preliminary evaluation to see if there is any evidence of mortgage, securitization, and foreclosure fraud. They will be able to tell you, for free, if a securitization audit can help your situation.
Simply complete the form at http://www.paladinwestcoast.com and one of Paladin Securitization Auditors’ experienced auditors will contact you.
If you would like more information on our services,
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