Top Foreclosure Firm’s Homelessness-Themed Halloween Party
Sometimes Halloween costume choice can offer an interesting window into people’s mindsets. Via the New York Times:
The law firm of Steven J. Baum, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. Steven J. Baum is, in fact, the largest such firm in New York; it represents virtually all the giant mortgage lenders, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
A former employee recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against. When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots…
U.S. Gov’t Sues Deutsche Bank For More Than $1 Billion
The US Justice Department has sued Deutsche Bank for more than $1bn (£600m) for defrauding the government.
The complaint says Deutsche’s MortgageIT subsidiary lied in order to get Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance for its loans.
FHA rules say lenders must make sure the borrower will be able to repay the loan, but the Justice Department claims Deutsche did not do so.
A Deutsche spokesperson described the claims as “unreasonable and unfair”. “We intend to defend against the action vigorously,” she added.
The lawsuit is one of the first targeting mortgage lenders under the federal False Claims Act.
Pennsylvania Debt Collection Agency Created Fake Police Officers, Courtroom, And Judges
ABC Channel 4 in Pittsburgh reports on a Pennsylvania debt collection agency that set up its own private “legal system,” with fake sheriff’s deputies, handing out fake subpoenas, and fake courts with fake judges and phony court hearings:
Superman (Comic) Saves Family Home From Foreclosure
Damn, why can’t I find one of these laying around? Ray Sanchez reports on ABC News:
A struggling family facing foreclosure has stumbled upon what is considered to be the Holy Grail of comic books in their basement — a fortuitous find that could fetch upwards of a quarter million dollars at auction.
A copy of Action Comics No. 1, the first in which Superman ever appeared, was discovered as they went about the painful task of packing up a home that had been in the family since at least the 1950s. The couple, who live in the South with their children, asked to remain anonymous.
“The bank was about ready to foreclose,” said Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Comics and Collectibles in New York. “Literally, this family was in tears. The family home was going to be lost and they’re devastated. They can’t figure out a way out of this. They…
Silenced Financial Crisis Blogger Wins Court Case: Re-Posts Materials on Mortgage Specialists’ Fraud
The Mortage Lender Implode-O-Meter blog reports:
In a resounding ruling for free speech, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has reversed a superior court’s ruling ordering the Implode-o-Meter web site to take down contributed materials and divulge the identity of a whistleblower.
The case was The Mortgage Specialists vs. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, Inc. (the owner of ML-Implode.com). It concerned items posted to MoSpec’s “Ailing/Watch List” entry — the 2007 “Loan Chart” data for the company, and a post by username “Brianbattersby” accusing MoSpec and its President, Michael Gill, of habitual/systemic fraud.
In light of the ruling, the original content has been restored at the company’s ML-Implode profile here.
The portions of the post written by ML-Implode chiefly concerned MoSpec being fined in 2008 by the New Hampshire and Massachusetts banking departments for its practices. (MoSpec’s President, Michael Gill, called these “compliance” issues; the ML-Implode whistleblower argued otherwise.)
Read More: Mortage Lender Implode-O-Meter
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American Dream 2: Default, Then Rent
Mark Whitehouse encourages people to think it’s “okay” to default on their mortgages. In the Wall Street Journal of all places!
PALMDALE, Calif. — Schoolteacher Shana Richey misses the playroom she decorated with Glamour Girl decals for her daughters. Fireman Jay Fernandez misses the custom putting green he installed in his backyard.
But ever since they quit paying their mortgages and walked away from their homes, they’ve discovered that giving up on the American dream has its benefits.
Both now live on the 3100 block of Club Rancho Drive in Palmdale, where a terrible housing market lets them rent luxurious homes — one with a pool for the kids, the other with a golf-course view — for a fraction of their former monthly payments.
“It’s just a better life. It really is,” says Ms. Richey. Before defaulting on her mortgage, she owed about $230,000 more than the home was worth.
People’s increasing willingness to abandon their…
