Help from the FTC, regarding Short-Sales and Loan Modifications, click on the box below.
Warnings from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding loan "modification" companies
]]>All work completed as of Sunday, December 20th, 2009 will be returned to clients via the usual channels. Any new orders or work in progress will unfortunately not be accepted or be able to be completed. We will make every attempt to keep our website and the data housed on it up and available to clients through January 31st, 2010, though circumstances beyond our control may prevent us fulfilling this effort.
From an email sent to appraisers and inspectors:
As I previously indicated, I regret that our bank was unable to clear funds to cover the December 15th and January 1st payments. DDN’s bank credit line was abruptly cut off without prior warning that would have allowed us to plan for and cover your payment(s). In addition, some un-cashed checks from the prior payables batches also were not cleared by the bank. All checks that we sent to you were written and processed when our credit line was up and running. They were sent out in good faith and would have cleared if they had been presented for deposit prior to the bank cutting off the line. At no time did we ever knowingly mail a check to any of our service providers that we thought would not be cleared by the bank.
As you know, DDN systems tracked the services rendered by, and the associated amounts owed to, its inspectors and contractors. The company has record of the services provided by each of you. So there is no need to send invoices to the company as there is no one here to process them.
Under the direction of our bank, a few remaining members of the management team are now working long hours every day to collect outstanding invoices from clients and to try to liquidate the company assets so that we can satisfy the bank’s claim and pay as much of our obligations to both inspectors, contractors, and all other unsecured creditors. Despite these best efforts, we do not anticipate being able to pay our remaining debts in-full. Under direction from the bank, we must repay the secured creditors (including the bank) first before we will be allowed to pay the balance of the unsecured creditors, including inspectors and contractors, as required by law and contract.
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November 2009
AMC - Fiserv Solutions, Inc.,
The appraisal management company (AMC), Fiserv Solutions, Inc., was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $115,000 by the court for their attempt to influence the information contained within appraisal reports ordered through their service. AMCs operate as a "middle man" between lenders and appraisers. Typically and AMC solicits appraisal orders from lenders and then distributes the orders to a nationwide network of appraisers. In this capacity the AMC takes a portion of the appraisal fee to pay for their "management" of the appraisers.
According to the Findings of Fact, and against the prohibition of providing a "value estimate" to the appraiser, Fiserv included the following statement in their appraisal orders:
"IF AN ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE IS INDICATED ON THIS ORDER IT IS BEING PROVIDED SOLELY TO ASSIST IN DETERMINING THE RELATIVE COMPLEXITY OF THE VALUATION AND IT IS NOT A TARGET OR EXPECTED VALUE."
A supplier who indicates an estimated value or loan amount on an appraisal request form is knowingly attempting to compensate, instruct, induce, coerce, or intimidate a person licensed or certified under R.C. 4763 for the purpose of corrupting or improperly influencing the independent judgment of the person with respect to the value of the dwelling offered as security for repayment of a mortgage loan in violation of R.C. 1345.031(B)(10). Defendant ordered to pay civil penalty of $100,000 and $15,000 in attorney fees and investigative costs.
Link to the Attorney General: HERE
Link to the Final Order: HERE
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#2
AMC - All Line Appraisals
Judge Steven L. McIntosh issued a default judgment against an AMC, All Line Appraisals, a Phoenix-based company accused of attempting to improperly influence the appraisal of a Columbus property.
The appraisal management company had a judgement entered against them in the amount of $25,000. The firm was accused of: violating appraiser independence, and causing injury to Ohio consumers via inflated appraisals.
The charges stem from All Line’s pre-printed appraisal request form, which insinuates that All Line communicated the desired appraisal valuation of this and other properties to other licensed appraisers. The company’s Request for Appraisal lists a specific value for the property by means of the following language:
"Estimated value: $85,000. If you foresee a problem with the value, contact me immediately…"
All Line’s attempts to influence the independent judgment of appraisers may have resulted in inflated appraisals, resulting in injury to Ohio consumers and violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, according to the suit.
All Line is also accused of failing to register as a foreign corporation with the Ohio Secretary of State
Link to the Attorney General's site: HERE
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#3
3-2009
AMC - Frontier Appraisals, LLC
Ohio Attorney General announced a settlement today with an appraisal management company (AMC) Frontier Appraisals, LLC, a Denver-based company accused of trying to influence the independent appraisal of a residential property.
"Frontier had sent an appraisal request form to an appraiser, listing a pre-printed loan amount and a pre-printed estimated value." The Attorney General said "That indicates [the AMC] Frontier was trying to persuade the appraiser to make an appraisal for those amounts. We are committed to taking aggressive action to stop this and other types of real estate fraud."
The original lawsuit that charged [AMC] Frontier with violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act. Frontier admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement, but the court ordered it to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and prohibited it from indicating a loan amount or estimated value in future appraisal requests.
Link to the Attorney General: HERE
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#4
April-15-2009
AMC - Apex Mortgage Services
A Belmont County judge agreed with Attorney General Cordray that the appraisal management company, Apex Mortgage Services attempted to influence the independent judgment of an appraiser, according to a judgment filed on March 10. The judge ordered the company to pay $1,800 in consumer restitution and $50,000 in civil penalties, and declared its actions unfair and deceptive.
Link to news story: HERE
Final Ruling download: HERE
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#5
AMC - Nations Lending
The AMC, Nations Lending, based in Middleburg Heights agreed to pay a $15,000 settlement to the state. The case State v. Nations Lending Corp. (Cuyahoga County, Case Number CV-07-644350) is based on the AMC’s improper interactions with appraisers.
Link to news story: HERE
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We are also aware of several other AMCs that are under criminal investigation for failing to pay the appraiser, improper influence, skimming and RESPA violations. If you know of any other specific information regarding an appraisal management company (AMC), please let us know. We will put the information to good use!
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Help from the FTC, regarding Short-Sales and Loan Modifications, click on the box below.
Warnings from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding loan "modification" companies
]]>Lie about the value, mislead the lender, steal the house.
FNMA will be watching and going after the Perps.
]]>It is alleged that Barry would approach a homeowner at risk of losing their home to foreclosure, operating as a "mortgage foreclosure rescue" agent. Barry would offer to buy the home and sell it back to the homeowner under a land contract, thereby saving their home from foreclosure. However, the defendant would 'fake' the initial down payment by giving the homeowner/seller a check but demanding it be returned almost immediately after closing, making the down payment an illusion. By using the "down payment" as proof of his financial investment in the property, Barry would obtain a mortgage from a bank under false pretense.
The five mortgages in question, worth a combined $451,707, were obtained between January 2005 and May 2005. As a result, Barry is charged with five counts of false pretenses over $20,000. Each count is a 10-year felony.
]]>Together with Michael Lewis, 57, Takoma Park, Maryland, Earnest Lewis, and Winston Thomas, 43, New Carrollton, Maryland, specifically targeted individuals who owned and had equity in their homes, but were facing foreclosure on their homes because of their inability to make monthly mortgage payments. The co-conspirators fraudulently represented to the homeowners that their "lease/buy-back program" would help the homeowners to keep their homes. Michael Lewis and Winston Thomas, a senior loan officer with a mortgage lender, told the homeowners that the "good credit" of Earnest Lewis would be used to temporarily refinance their homes, that they had to sign their homes over to Earnest Lewis and that they could repurchase the homes in roughly one year, or once they regained their financial footing. During the interim, they could remain in their homes by paying "rent" and fees to Earnest Lewis. Their bank accounts were directly debited by an account belonging to co-conspirator Cheryl Brooke's company "In the House Technologies."
In order to induce lenders to provide funds for Earnest Lewis to purchase the homeowners' houses, Thomas prepared and Earnest Lewis signed loan documents containing false financial information as to Earnest Lewis' income and liabilities.
]]>In our opinion, this man truly believed that he knew best and what he was doing "couldn't be wrong."
Now read the rest of the story....
SEATTLE – The Washington Attorney General’s Office declared a major victory for consumers today in response to a judge’s order that a notorious foreclosure rescue scammer must pay more than $3.2 million to victims he wronged plus $179,000 in penalties for violating the Consumer Protection Act.
"Joseph Kaiser’s a cunning real estate investor who made his living by claiming to help people facing tax foreclosure – then taking their homes, land and money," Attorney General Rob McKenna said. "Thanks to the hard work of our Consumer Protection Division, he will no longer be able to prey on struggling homeowners."
The Attorney General’s Office also obtained an order permanently stopping Kaiser from participating in real estate transactions with people facing foreclosure.
Kaiser, of Tacoma, was the first foreclosure "rescuer" to be tried by the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, which works to enforce a fair marketplace for consumers and businesses. He is the author of several books describing tactics for making quick profits from real estate and has conducted seminars to teach his methods for earning large amounts of money through deals involving distressed properties.
Kaiser entered transactions with more than 300 property owners. No one has ever successfully regained their home from Kaiser.
Assistant Attorneys General Jim Sugarman and Jake Bernstein represented the state in the trial, which included six days of testimony and arguments by attorneys on both sides during December 2008 and January 2009.
"Kaiser’s victims were elderly, disabled or low-income individuals – people who trusted him to solve their foreclosure problems and were betrayed," Sugarman said. "Kaiser portrayed himself to these people as an expert in saving homes facing foreclosure, when he is actually an expert in taking homes facing foreclosure."
King County Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson ordered Kaiser to pay nearly $4.2 million including more than $780,000 to partially repay the state for the costs and attorney fees for bringing the lawsuit. It’s a significant finale to a case that began in March 2007 when the state filed civil charges against Kaiser and simultaneously settled with several of his colleagues. In its complaint, the state alleged that the defendants used public records filed with county treasurers to contact property owners with offers to help solve their foreclosure problems. Their real intent, however, was to obtain ownership of the home or to let the home be sold at tax foreclosure and then take the excess sales money that should have been paid to the homeowner.
The other defendants in the case agreed to pay $290,000 to the victims as restitution and $30,000 to the Attorney General’s Office for some of its costs and fees. The state will distribute those funds starting as early as this month.
Kaiser refused to even discuss settlement during most of the litigation. Meanwhile, he continued to conduct real estate deals and schemed to convince his victims to give him a portion of the settlement money paid by his co-defendants.
While preparing for trial, the state’s team reviewed more than 70,000 pages of documents involving business dealings of Kaiser and his former partners and new allegations emerged.
The state amended its complaint to add three additional businesses created by Kaiser during the litigation. Kaiser was accused of obtaining ownership of homes with large amounts of equity for little or no cash. In other transactions, he captured excess proceeds of tax sales that would have been paid to the property owner. Kaiser also used an automatic dialing device, sometimes called "robocalling," to reach his victims – a practice that is illegal in Washington state.
Trial Judge Michael Trickey called Kaiser’s contracts "grossly unfair."
"No fully informed person, not acting under compulsion, would enter a transaction with such onerous terms," Trickey wrote in his decision.
As a result of the state’s case, Joseph Kaiser and his business entities are forever barred from soliciting or participating in any transactions involving properties facing foreclosure.
DOCUMENTS:
Case Background Fact Sheet
Restitution and Penalties Order – May 6, 2009
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law – Feb. 6, 2009
Plaintiff’s Trial Memorandum – Dec. 3, 2008
Injunctive Relief Order – Feb. 11, 2009
3rd Amended Complaint re: Kaiser, G. Hobus Investments, Bobo Buys Real Estate, Pre Flop, Unclaimed Funds – December 2008
Consent Decree re: Fiscal Dynamics, Cumulative LLC, Northwest Assets, Walter Scamehorn, Tina Worthey, Arliss Morgan – May 11, 2007
1st Amended Complaint re: Fiscal Dynamics et al – June 21, 2007
AGO News Release: “Attorney General McKenna Sues, Settles with Real Estate Investors for Mortgage Foreclosure “Rescue” Violations” – March 14, 2007
The FTC is reviewing your web sites
The FTC also announced today that it has sent warning letters to 71 companies who may be deceptively marketing mortgage loan modification and foreclosure rescue services. The FTC identified these companies through a nationwide review of Internet and other advertisements and these companies that their ads may violate federal law. State law enforcers also have sent warning letters to companies that are potential engaging in such illegal practices, including more than 60 warning letters sent by Attorney General Madigan.
View a copy of the warning letter here: Dowload
View the Press release here: Link
Many mortgage brokers and agents believe they can modify loans, however we only know of two companies that are doing this correctly, every other company we have reviewed appears corrupt.
Contact a free housing agency and seek free help and please avoid the "loan modification" and foreclosure prevention companies that charge for their services.
Find a FREE agency here: Link
]]>These rules are applicable in most states however if you would like to read Washington's very clear and simple opinion on this, download the PDF: HERE
Get licensed or get out of the Loan Mod business; And agents..... just forget about receiving a referral fee, unless you are also a loan originator..... that's considered a kick-back.
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A full copy of the indictment can be viewed by downloading the PDF: HERE
This will make at least the third person arrested that used to work for Lighthouse Funding Group. Others, including Jason Somera, have been convicted of participating in separate transactions that included various misleading components.
All face charges that may result in 30 year prison sentences and $1,000,000 fines.
Information on Jason Somera's convictions can be viewed at the Willamette Weekly: LINK
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