countrywide - FORECLOSURE FRAUD

Archive | countrywide

Institutional Holders of Countrywide-Issued RMBS Issue Notice of Non-Performance Identifying Alleged Failures by Master Servicer to Perform Covenants and Agreements in More Than $47 Billion of Countrywide-Issued RMBS

Institutional Holders of Countrywide-Issued RMBS Issue Notice of Non-Performance Identifying Alleged Failures by Master Servicer to Perform Covenants and Agreements in More Than $47 Billion of Countrywide-Issued RMBS

PR Newswire

HOUSTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ –Today, the holders of over 25% of the Voting Rights in more than $47 billion of Countrywide-issued RMBS sent a Notice of Non-Performance (Notice) to Countrywide Home Loan Servicing, as Master Servicer (“Countrywide Servicing”), and to Bank of New York, as Trustee, identifying specific covenants in 115 Pooling and Servicing Agreements (PSAs) that the Holders allege Countrywide Servicing has failed to perform.

The Holders’ Notice alleges that each of these failures has materially affected the rights of the Certificateholders under the relevant PSAs. Under Section 7.01 of the PSAs, if any of the cited failures “continues unremedied for a period of 60 days after the date on which written notice of such failure has been given … to the Master Servicer and the Trustee by the Holders of Certificates evidencing not less than 25% of the Voting Rights evidenced by the Certificates,” that failure constitutes an Event of Default under the PSAs.

In a previous release, the Holders emphasized their intent to invoke all contractual remedies available to them to recover their losses and to protect their rights. Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns LLP, lead counsel for the Holders, emphasized that the Holders’ notice does not seek to halt loan modifications for troubled borrowers. Instead, it urges the Trustee to enforce Countrywide Servicing’s obligations to service loans prudently by maintaining accurate loan records, demanding the repurchase of loans that were originated in violation of underwriting guidelines, and compelling the sellers of ineligible or predatory mortgages to bear the costs of modifying them for homeowners or repurchasing them from the Trusts’ collateral pools.

Patrick also noted that the group of Holders that tendered today’s Notice of Non-Performance is larger, and encompasses more Countrywide-issued RMBS deals, than were included in the August 20 instruction letter. When asked why the group of holders was larger, Patrick replied, “Ours is a large, determined, and cohesive group of bondholders. We have a clearly defined strategy. We plan to vigorously pursue this initiative to enforce Holders’ rights.”

The Notice of Non-Performance, which is the first step in the process of declaring an Event of Default, was issued on behalf of Holders in the following Countrywide-issued RMBS:

Deal Name   .   .                 .       .
Deal Name    .       .      .                      .
Deal Name
CWALT 2004-32CB

CWHL 2004-22
CWL 2006-15
CWALT 2004-6CB

CWHL 2004-25
CWL 2006-16
CWALT 2004-J1
CWHL 2004-29
CWL 2006-19
CWALT 2005-14
CWHL 2004-HYB9
CWL 2006-2
CWALT 2005-21CB
CWHL 2005-11
CWL 2006-20
CWALT 2005-24
CWHL 2005-14
CWL 2006-22
CWALT 2005-32T1
CWHL 2005-18
CWL 2006-24
CWALT 2005-35CB
CWHL 2005-19
CWL 2006-25
CWALT 2005-36
CWHL 2005-2
CWL 2006-26
CWALT 2005-44
CWHL 2005-3
CWL 2006-3
CWALT 2005-45
CWHL 2005-30
CWL 2006-5
CWALT 2005-56
CWHL 2005-9
CWL 2006-7
CWALT 2005-57
CB CWHL 2005-HYB3
CWL 2006-9
CWALT 2005-64
CB CWHL 2005-HYB9
CWL 2006-BC2
CWALT 2005-72
CWHL 2005-R3
CWL 2006-BC3
CWALT 2005-73CB
CWHL 2006-9
CWL 2006-BC4
CWALT 2005-74T1
CWHL 2006-HYB2
CWL 2006-BC5
CWALT 2005-81
CWHL 2006-HYB5
CWL 2006-SD1
CWALT 2005-AR1
CWHL 2006-J2
CWL 2006-SD3
CWALT 2005-J5
CWHL 2006-OA5
CWL 2006-SD4
CWALT 2005-J9
CWHL 2006-R2
CWL 2006-SPS2
CWALT 2006-14CB
CWHL 2007-12
CWL 2007-2
CWALT 2006-20CB
CWHL 2007-16
CWL 2007-5
CWALT 2006-37R
CWHL 2008-3R
CWL 2007-6
CWALT 2006-41CB
CWL 2005-10
CWL 2007-7
CWALT 2006-HY12
CWL 2005-11
CWL 2007-9
CWALT 2006-OA11
CWL 2005-13
CWL 2007-BC1
CWALT 2006-OA16
CWL 2005-16
CWL 2007-BC2
CWALT 2006-OA17
CWL 2005-2
CWL 2007-BC3
CWALT 2006-OA6
CWL 2005-4
CWL 2007-QH1
CWALT 2006-OA9
CWL 2005-5
CWL 2007-S3
CWALT 2006-OC10
CWL 2005-6

CWALT 2006-OC2
CWL 2005-7

CWALT 2006-OC4
CWL 2005-8

CWALT 2006-OC5
CWL 2005-9

CWALT 2006-OC6
CWL 2005-AB2

CWALT 2006-OC7
CWL 2005-AB3

CWALT 2007-17CB
CWL 2005-AB4

CWALT 2007-23CB
CWL 2005-BC5

CWALT 2007-24
CWL 2005-IM1

CWALT 2007-OA7
CWL 2006-10

CWALT 2008-2R
CWL 2006-12

.

Copyright 2010 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bac home loans, bank of america, bank of new york, countrywide, pooling and servicing agreement1 Comment

Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo Must Face Trial in SEC Suit, U.S. Judge Rules

Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo Must Face Trial in SEC Suit, U.S. Judge Rules

I’m really waiting to see who else will join Madoff with “Racketeering”?

By Edvard Pettersson – Sep 17, 2010 12:01 AM ET

Countrywide Financial Corp. former Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo must face trial on regulators’ claims he misled investors about risks tied to subprime lending, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter in Los Angeles yesterday denied requests by Mozilo and two other former senior Countrywide executives, David Sambol and Eric Sieracki, for a ruling that there were no genuine issues to be tried. The case is now set for a jury trial in October.

“It remains to be seen whether the Securities and Exchange Commission will be able to convince a jury that defendants’ statements were indeed misleading and material,” Walter said in his decision. “At the summary judgment stage, the judge’s function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter.”

The SEC sued Mozilo, 71, in June 2009, saying he publicly reassured investors about the quality of Countrywide’s loans while he issued “dire” internal warnings and sold about $140 million of his own shares.

Mozilo is the most prominent executive targeted by U.S. regulators examining the subprime mortgage crisis. He co-founded Countrywide in 1969 and built it into the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, helping trigger the subprime bubble by offering loans to customers with below-average credit scores.

‘Flying Blind’

He wrote in an e-mail that Countrywide was “flying blind” and had “no way” to determine the risks of some adjustable- rate mortgages, according to the SEC complaint.

Continue reading…. BLOOMBERG

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bloomberg, concealment, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, investigation, mbs, mozillo, rmbs, stopforeclosurefraud.com, sub-prime, trade secrets, Violations, Wall Street0 Comments

Open Letter To California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.: Foreclosure Crisis

Open Letter To California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.: Foreclosure Crisis

LAW OFFICES OF MOSES S. HALL, APC
2651 East Chapman Avenue, Suite 110
Fullerton, California 92831
Telephone (714) 738-4830
Facsimile (714)992-7916

September 9, 2010

Attorney General’s Office
California Department of Justice
Attn:  Edmund G. Brown Jr.
1300 “I” Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Benjamin G. Diehl
Office of the California Attorney General
300 S. Spring Street,. Ste 1702
Los Angeles, CA  90013

Kathrin Sears
Office of the California Attorney General
455 Golden Gate Ave., Ste 1702
San Francisco, CA  94102

Re: Civil Code §§ 2923.52 and 2923.53
The People of The State of California vs. Countrywide et. al. LC093076
Petition for Writ of Mandamus

Dear Colleagues and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr:

As you are aware, my office represents homeowners caught up in the foreclosure crisis currently occurring in the California housing market.

You may recall that my office sought your assistance in the matter of Mabry vs. Aurora Loan Services. Wherein the 4th Appellate District Division Three acknowledged a private right of action to prevent foreclosures on a citizen’s primary residence, when the bank and/or mortgage holder has not complied with Civil Code § 2923.5. However, your office opted not to participated in what I believe was a landmark decision for homeowners in the battle against foreclosure prevention here in California.

Notwithstanding the Stipulated Judgment and Injunction that your office had obtained against Countrywide/Bank of America in the above referenced case, Bank of America filed an Amicus Curia Brief in the Mabry action espousing no private right of action and no obligation to modify distressed loans.

I am fully aware, grateful and commend your office for its attempts to crackdown on loan modification schemes that have swindled millions of dollars out of frightened and frustrated homeowners. Some homeowners who were and still are willing to believe against all logic or reason that the companies, whom practiced such schemes, could actually get the mortgage holder to give them some sort of State or Federal assistance that could prevent the losing of their homes and becoming homeless.

I further commend your office for its 2008 lawsuit against then Countrywide Financial, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., and Spectrum Lending, Inc., who are now commonly referred to as Bank of America N.A. and BAC Home Loans (BAC).  An action which ultimately resulted in the successful acquiring of a Stipulated Judgment and Injunction against (BAC) on October 14, 2008.

The BAC lawsuit’s primary focus was on the predatory lending practices of the Defendants. The Stipulated Judgment and Injunction provides a remedy that creates yet another avenue for BAC borrowers to find relief and even the possibility of preventing the loss of their homes. The loss of a home is a threat that is ever too common, albeit avoidable with help from BAC, for numerous California BAC borrowers in this foreclosure crisis.

I wish this letter could end here or at least continue to praise your efforts and accomplishments as the present Attorney General of California. However, unfortunately, it must now turn to the present state of affairs and your lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit against the foe you identified and successfully prosecuted in the People vs. Countrywide, et.al. action.

I believe judgment obtained against BAC was merely the tip of the iceberg.  You may or may not be aware that IndyMac Bank, now OneWest Bank, has been sued by their investors for providing false and misleading appraisals along with committing many underwriting violations, which gave thousands of Californians their present unconscionable loans [a copy of the court’s opinion is attached for your edification].

There are presently hearings scheduled on September 21, 2010 and September 22, 2010, that involve issues that would substantially curtail the foreclosures in California:

  • September 22, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 68 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Mabry vs. Preston Dufauchard, Commissioner For the California Dept of Corporations, Real Party in Interest Aurora Loan Services, LLC, Case No: BS 127903. Petition for Writ of Mandamus.
    • The issue: Whether possessing a HAMP program equates as compliance with California Civil Code § 2923.53.
  • September 21, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at the California 4th Appellate Court Division Three Vuki vs. Superior Court of California, Orange County Case No: GO43533, Real Party in Interest HSBC. Oral Argument.
    • The issue: Whether a bad faith compliance with Civil Code § 2923.53 makes the foreclosing beneficiary (HSBC) a bona fide purchaser pursuant to Civil Code §2923.54.
  • September 21, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at the California 4th Appellate Court Division Three Sanchez vs. Superior Court of California, Orange County Case No: G043300, Real Party in Interest Litton Loan Servicing LLC.. Oral Argument.
    • The issue: Whether a fully executed and performed loan modification is terminated by the lender’s inadvertent sale of the subject real property in lieu of Civil Code § 2923.54.

These decisions are being sought by my office to help clarify citizens’ rights under the present Foreclosure Prevention Statutes.

My office has been very instrumental in not only the prosecution of these issues, on behalf of my clients, but all citizens of the State of California.

Unfortunately, the BAC Stipulated Judgment and Injunction does not provide a component for a private right of enforcement.  Thus, with respect to possible violations by BAC, such Stipulated Judgment and Injunction can only be enforced by your office.

My office would love to step into your shoes and be granted permission and the rights to enforcement under the Stipulated Judgment and Injunctions. That way we may stop all the Countrywide loan foreclosures presently scheduled and being conducted in California until each

prior Countrywide and/or BAC California borrower is offered the benefits under the Stipulated Judgment and Injunction your office obtained.

I do not believe that you could or are able to assign such a right, but I make it as a gesture of sincerity as to my conviction and belief of the wrongdoings of BAC.

I ask that you immediately seek Court intervention enjoining all Countrywide and/or BAC foreclosures proceedings that fall within the auspices of the Stipulated Judgment/Injunction.

Alternatively, you leave my office no choice but to seek a Writ of Mandamus asking the Court to instruct you and your office on your obligations as Attorney General of our great State.  I realize your business and acknowledge that this may not be your primary priority, but if I do not receive a response indicating your intent by September 17, 2010, I will deem you have no intent to respond, investigate this matter, or take other appropriate action and at that time will seek the Writ of Mandamus.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned paragraph, I wish you well on your campaign to return to the position of Governor of our great State.

Sincerely
Moses S. Hall;

Msh:

Attachments.

[ipaper docId=37177918 access_key=key-1z4imv8h7qye94n6t6b7 height=600 width=600 /]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bac home loans, bank of america, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, countrywide, deed of trust, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, injunction, investigation, mortgage, mortgage modification, Real Estate, securitization, servicers, TRO, trustee, trustee sale, Trusts, Violations2 Comments

FORECLOSURE FRAUD | AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT FOR ‘SUMMARY JUDGMENT’

FORECLOSURE FRAUD | AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT FOR ‘SUMMARY JUDGMENT’

AFFIDAVIT FAIL!

Just like the Lis Pendens arriving before the Assignment from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. with 1st Vice President Mark Bishop (who also signs for CityWide Mortgage Corp and America’s Wholesale Lender,etc.). There is no Assignment “created” from MERS to BAC Home Loan Servicing LP.

In this Affidavit we have Suzanne M. Haumesser signing as SR. Vice President of BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP. For Owner and Holder of Mortgage and Note, Bank of New York as Trustee for the Certificate Holders CWALT inc Alternative Loan Trust 2006-oa10 mortgage pass through certificates, series 2006-oa10

The Notary is Dolores V. Bald from Erie County, New York.

The day of service August 26. 2010

Date showing for the amount due “FEBRUARY 17, 2010”

Signed in California but notarized in New York!

Did Suzanne make a special trip just to sign this in NY?

NOW, Take a look at when this was NOTARIZED DECEMBER 30, 2009 (?08) months before the February 17, 2010 tally of the amounts due! It also looks like an 08 instead of a 09. Last the date of service was August 26, 2010. C’mon get real! Why does it take all these months?

If this was done in 2008 New York Notary Commissions are good for 4 years.


© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bac home loans, bank of new york, chain in title, conflict of interest, conspiracy, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, MERS, mortgage, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Notary, notary fraud, note, securitization, servicers, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD, trade secrets, trustee, Trusts, Wall Street6 Comments

EXCLUSIVE | ‘MERS’ DEPOSITION of SECRETARY and TREASURER of MERSCORP 4/2010

EXCLUSIVE | ‘MERS’ DEPOSITION of SECRETARY and TREASURER of MERSCORP 4/2010

Could this deposition hold the key to take all of MERS V3 &  MERSCORP down!

There is not 1, 2 but 3 MERS, Inc. in the past.

Just like MERS et al signing documents dated years later from existence the Corporate employees do the same to their own corporate resolutions! Exists in 1998 and certifies it in 2002.

If this is not proof of a Ponzi Scheme then I don’t know what is… They hide the truth in many layers but as we keep pulling and peeling each layer back eventually we will come to the truth!

“A Subtle Stranger” Orchestrates a Paradigm Shift

MERS et al has absolutely no supervision of what is being done by it’s non-members certifying authority PERIOD!

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
CHANCERY DIVISION – ATLANTIC COUNTY
DOCKET NO. F-10209-08
BANK OF NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR
THE CERTIFICATE HOLDERS CWABS,
INC. ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES,
SERIES 2005-AB3
Plaintiff(s),
vs.
VICTOR and ENOABASI UKPE
Defendant(s).

___________________________________________
VICTOR and ENOABASI UKPE
Counter claimants and
Third Party Plaintiffs,
vs.
BANK OF NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR
THE CERTIFICATE HOLDERS CWABS,
INC. ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES,
SERIES 2005-AB3
Defendants on the Counterclaim,
and
AMERICA’S WHOLESALE LENDER;
COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS, INC.;
MORGAN FUNDING CORPORATION,
ROBERT CHILDERS; COUNTRYWIDE
HOME LOANS SERVICING LP,
PHELAN, HALLINAN & SCHMIEG,
P.C.,
Third Party Defendants
——————–

Deposition of William C. Hultman, Secretary and Treasurer of MERSCORP

[ipaper docId=36513502 access_key=key-1ltln0ondmrqe0v9156u height=600 width=600 /]

Does MERS have any salaried employees?
A No.
Q Does MERS have any employees?
A Did they ever have any? I couldn’t hear you.
Q Does MERS have any employees currently?
A No.
Q In the last five years has MERS had any
employees
?
A No.
Q To whom do the officers of MERS report?
A The Board of Directors.
Q To your knowledge has Mr. Hallinan ever
reported to the Board?
A He would have reported through me if there was
something to report.
Q So if I understand your answer, at least the
MERS officers reflected on Hultman Exhibit 4, if they
had something to report would report to you even though
you’re not an employee of MERS, is that correct?
MR. BROCHIN: Object to the form of the
question.
A That’s correct.
Q And in what capacity would they report to you?
A As a corporate officer. I’m the secretary.
Q As a corporate officer of what?
Of MERS.
Q So you are the secretary of MERS, but are not
an employee of MERS?
A That’s correct.

etc…
How many assistant secretaries have you
appointed pursuant to the April 9, 1998 resolution; how
many assistant secretaries of MERS have you appointed?
A I don’t know that number.
Q Approximately?
A I wouldn’t even begin to be able to tell you
right now.
Q Is it in the thousands?
A Yes.
Q Have you been doing this all around the
country in every state in the country?
A Yes.
Q And all these officers I understand are unpaid
officers of MERS
?
A Yes.
Q And there’s no live person who is an employee
of MERS that they report to, is that correct, who is an
employee?
MR. BROCHIN: Object to the form of the
question.
A There are no employees of MERS.

RELATED ARTICLE:

_____________________________

MERS 101

_____________________________

FULL DEPOSITION of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) PRESIDENT & CEO R.K. ARNOLD “MERSCORP”

_____________________________

DEPOSITION of A “REAL” VICE PRESIDENT of MERS WILLIAM “BILL” HULTMAN

_____________________________

HOMEOWNERS’ REBELLION: COULD 62 MILLION HOMES BE FORECLOSURE-PROOF?

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bac home loans, bank of america, bank of new york, chain in title, concealment, conflict of interest, conspiracy, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, insider, investigation, lawsuit, MERS, MERSCORP, mortgage, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., note, originator, R.K. Arnold, racketeering, Real Estate, sanctioned, scam, securitization, servicers, stopforeclosurefraud.com, sub-prime, TAXES, trustee, trustee sale, Trusts, truth in lending act, unemployed, Violations, Wall Street4 Comments

CLASS ACTION AMENDED against MERSCORP to include Shareholders, DJSP

CLASS ACTION AMENDED against MERSCORP to include Shareholders, DJSP

Kenneth Eric Trent, P.A. of Broward County has amended the Class Action complaint Figueroa v. MERSCORP, Inc. et al filed on July 26, 2010 in the Southern District of Florida.

Included in the amended complaint is MERS shareholders HSBC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, WAMU, Countrywide, GMAC, Guaranty Bank, Merrill Lynch, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Norwest, Bank of America, Everhome, American Land Title, First American Title, Corinthian Mtg, MGIC Investor Svc, Nationwide Advantage, Stewart Title,  CRE Finance Council f/k/a Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, Suntrust Mortgage,  CCO Mortgage Corporation, PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, Wells Fargo and also DJS Processing which is owned by David J. Stern.

MERSCORP shareholders…HERE

[ipaper docId=36456183 access_key=key-26csq0mmgo6l8zsnw0is height=600 width=600 /]

Related article:

______________________

CLASS ACTION FILED| Figueroa v. Law Offices Of David J. Stern, P.A. and MERSCORP, Inc.

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bank of america, chain in title, citimortgage, class action, concealment, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, countrywide, djsp enterprises, fannie mae, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, forgery, Freddie Mac, HSBC, investigation, jpmorgan chase, Law Offices Of David J. Stern P.A., lawsuit, mail fraud, mbs, Merrill Lynch, MERS, MERSCORP, mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, non disclosure, notary fraud, note, racketeering, Real Estate, RICO, rmbs, securitization, stock, title company, trade secrets, trustee, Trusts, truth in lending act, wamu, washington mutual, wells fargo13 Comments

MERS ‘AGENT’ PREVIOUS MTG FRAUD SCHEME| Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. v. Folkes, 2010 NY Slip Op 32007 – NY: Supreme Court

MERS ‘AGENT’ PREVIOUS MTG FRAUD SCHEME| Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. v. Folkes, 2010 NY Slip Op 32007 – NY: Supreme Court

2010 NY Slip Op 32007(U)

MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., “MERS” as Nominee for AMERICA’S WHOLESALE LENDER, its Successors and Assigns, Plaintiff,

v.

CAROLE FOLKES, NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, BARON ASSOCIATES, LLC, and JOHN DOE (said name being fictitious, it being the intention of plaintiff to designate any and all Occupants of premises being foreclosed herein and any parties, corporations or entities, if any, having or claiming an interest or lien upon the mortgaged premises), Defendants.

No. 109824/05, Motion Seq. No. 005.

Supreme Court, New York County.

July 29, 2010.
July 21, 2010.

ALICE SCHLESINGER, Judge.

This action commenced in 2005 sounds in foreclosure. Thus, it should be a relatively straightforward matter. However, It Is anything but that. By the time it reached this Court, the action had acquired an intervenor, Baron Associates, LLC (“Baron”), who filed cross-claims against a defendant, Carole Folkes and a counterclaim against the plaintiff, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as Nominee for America’s Wholesale Lender, its Successors and Assignors (“MERS”).

Although the index number is 2005, a note of issue was not filed until December 2009. Before the Court now is a motion by defendant Folkes for summary judgment dismissing the cross-claims of defendant Baron and for an order recognizing that Folkes has superior title to the premises located at 468 West 146th Street in New York.

This motion is followed by a cross-motion by plaintiff MERS for summary judgment on its foreclosure claims regarding the subject property. Plaintiff previously requested and was denied this relief in a decision dated February 5, 2000 by Judge Kibble Payne. Plaintiff is asking for amounts due on their mortgage and note, as well as a declaration that no defendant has any lien, equitable or otherwise, on the property. Plaintiff MERS is also moving, pursuant to CPLR §3212 for summary judgment dismissing defendant Baron’s counterclaim, and pursuant to CPLR §603 severing Baron’s cross-claims against Folkes. Finally, pursuant to CPLR §3025, MERS seeks to amend its pleadings to substitute Zhou Ye, Lillian Herring and Marvin Herring in place of “John Doe”.

Baron opposes virtually all of this relief, although it does not speak to the amendment. Folkes the defendant here, does not oppose plaintiffs cross-motion.

The saga of the sale of this property, to the extent relevant to these motions, began on August 19, 2004 when this property, a three family dwelling in Harlem, was sold by Its owner Shelby Sullivan to 468 West 146th Street Corporation, whose principal was Paul Jaikaran. The purchaser took out a mortgage on the premises for $550,000 from intervenor Baron. Also at the closing, Baron paid off an existing mortgage lien of $46,369.74 to Champion Mortgage Co.

However, three months later, on November 23, 2004, presumably this same Shelby Sullivan sold the same premises to Carole Folkes for something in the neighborhood of $700,000, with a mortgage of $650,250.00.

Ms. Folkes who has disclaimed any knowledge of the prior sale, stated she purchased the property as a favor for her sister Cheron Ramphal and Ramphal’s boyfriend, the same Paul Jaikaran who is principal of 468 West 146th Street Corp. Folkes explains that she did this because her credit was better than Ramphal’s and Jaikaran’s, and because her sister was being nice to her, she agreed to do her this favor. Her understanding of the transaction, as testified to at a deposition, was that she would take title to the property, but otherwise would have nothing to do with it. (Although she testified she was a home owner herself and knew how mortgages work.) In other words, Ramphal and Jaikaran would actually pay the note. She believed their plan was to renovate the property and quickly resell it.

What is important here Is that these closing papers were filed on May 27, 2005. But the earlier transaction was not filed until August 31, 2005, or three months later and over a year after the earlier closing.

Both mortgages have been defaulted upon. The action here, as previously mentioned, was commenced five years ago. The mortgagee for the MERS transaction, or at least the entity noted on the recorded deed, is Country-Wide Home Loans, Inc., although elsewhere in these papers “America’s Wholesale Lender” is named as the “Mortgagee/Lender”. The mortgage document itself also states that MERS “is a separate corporation acting solely as a nominee for lender” and its successors. The lender again named as “America’s Wholesale Lender.” The nominee MERS Is given the right, among others, to foreclose on the mortgage. However, it should be noted that all the demands for payment included in the cross-motion are from Countrywide to Folkes.

Other items of interest regarding the MERS transaction include the following: the settlement statement identifying Carol Folkes as the borrower gave her address as 142 116th Road in South Ozone Park, New York, an address never referred to elsewhere and never explained. At her deposition, Ms. Folkes stated that she has lived at 2000 Serpentine Terrace in Silver Springs, MD for 10½ years. Yet on the mortgage itself, her address is listed as the property being sold, 468 West 146th Street, New York. (She is also identified as an unmarried woman, though again at her deposition, she stated she had been married for 12½ years to the same man).

After a default in payments, as mentioned above, demand letters were sent by Countrywide to Ms. Folkes at the subject premises 468 West 146th Street, a place she said she had never even seen, much less lived in. She states, not surprisingly, that she never received these notices.

The settlement agent on all of the MERS documents was listed as Peter Port, Esq., undeniably plaintiffs agent. According to an affidavit, with documents attached from Ms. Nichole M. Orr, identified as an Assistant Vice President and Senior Operational Risk Specialist for Bank of America Home Loans, the successor-in-interest to plaintiff America’s Wholesale Lender (April 1, 2010)[1] certain wire transfers were made on November 23, 2004 to Mr. Port. The money appears to have come from an account with JP Morgan, but one of the documents also shows, inexplicably, that Mr. Port then sent $435,067.73 of this money to Cheron A. Ramphal at 14917 Motley Road, Silver Springs, MD. It should also be noted, as it was in the decision of February 5, 2008 by Judge Payne, that Mr. Port pled guilty in March 2006 in Federal District Court in New Jersey to providing false documents in a scheme to commit mortgage fraud.

I am not prepared to grant plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment. Beyond that and despite the fact, as counsel points out, that Folkes does not oppose their motion, I am dismissing the action. I am doing this for essentially three reasons. Some of which has to do with deficiencies in documentation.

Even without opposition, a plaintiff in a foreclosure action must satisfy a court that it has proper standing or title to bring the action, that the mortgage and note was actually funded by the plaintiff, and that the transaction itself, the one sued upon, has the indicia of reliability and is free of fraud. Kluge v Fugazy, 145 AD2d 537 (2nd Dep’t 1988); Katz v East-Ville Realty Co, 249 AD2d 243 (1st Dep’t 1998).

None of those criteria have been satisfied here. Countrywide was the mortgagee and upon default made demands to Ms. Folkes, which it appears never reached her. Nowhere in the papers is there a satisfactory showing that the transfer of ownership or title was ever made to MERS. Ms. Orr never mentions any connection to Countrywide. But even if she were to submit still another affidavit, she certainly has no personal knowledge of the transfer of ownership, and no documents have been submitted. I do not find the language or the closing documents, identifying MERS as nominee for America’s Wholesale Lender, to sufficiently tie in the real party in Interest.

As to the second point, which was one basis for Judge Payne’s denial of summary judgment in February 2008, that there was “a complete failure to prove funding of the mortgage,” there continues to be such a failure in the motion before this Court today. The uncertified documents[2] do anything but convince. For example, there is no explanation given as to why one of the wire transactions shows that Mr. Port sent $435,067.23 to Cheron A. Ramphal. There is also nothing to show that Ms. Folkes received anything at all, although some check in the amount of $125,000 is made out to Shelby, the Seller. Therefore, I simply cannot rely on these uncertified documents created five years ago, that contain more questions than answers.

Which brings me to my last point. I am unable to say with any confidence that this was an honest transaction. Ms. Folkes’ credibility certainly is questionable. Therefore, the fact that she fails to oppose the motion Is meaningless. We also know that people close to her were involved in an earlier transaction with the same alleged seller, suggesting some kind of fraud. Also, Port, the agent acting on behalf of the plaintiff was later convicted of fraud involving similar transactions. Further, as mentioned above, the papers surrounding the transaction are filled with errors. Therefore, at the least, they were drawn up by Port and others without care or worse. Therefore, the action is dismissed without prejudice for plaintiff to bring again, if they can, with proper support and reliability. The counterclaim is also dismissed without prejudice.

With regard to the four cross-claims brought by Baron against Folkes, the subject of the first motion, I am in fact granting them, but only to the extent of dismissing with prejudice the second cross-claim, at paragraph 12, which speaks of unjust enrichment and the fourth cross-claim, at paragraph 32 which speaks of fraud. With regard to paragraphs, there Is simply no showing by Baron that Folkes herself was enriched, unjustly or not, in the amount of $46,369.74, the payment Baron made to Champion Mortgage. Regarding the allegation of friaud, there is nothing to show that Baron, by giving the earlier mortgage to 468 West 146th Street Corp., in any way relied upon the representations and actions of Folkes in purchasing the property months after the August 19, 2004 sale.

Accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED, that the motion for summary judgment by defendant Baron Associates, LLC is granted to the extent of dismissing with prejudice the second cross-claim sounding in unjust enrichment and the fourth cross-claim sounding In fraud; and it is further

ORDERED that plaintiffs cross motion for summary judgment is denied; and it is further

ORDERED that this foreclosure action and the counterclaim by defendant Carol Folkes are dismissed without prejudice and without costs or disbursements to any party.

This constitutes the decision and order of this Court. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

[1] We also learn in papers dated April 28, 2010, that Ms. Orr is also an officer of plaintiff MERS.

[2] I am referring to these documents as “uncertified” because that is what they are. As part of plaintiffs cross motion, Ms. Nicole Orr presented an April 1, 2010 affidavit with certain exhibits which she described as copies of wire transfer, settlement agent’s receipt of wire transfers, checks and additional wire transfers paid. There was no certification as to their origin or authenticity. When this was challenged by counsel for Baron, Ms. Orr submitted a later affidavit of April 28, 2010 with another exhibit, an affidavit from Linda S. Lewis who states she is a Vice President of JP Morgan Chase Bank who was served with a subpoena for certain documents. She then says that to the best of her knowledge, those “records or copies thereof produced were accurate versions of the documents described.” All of this is not sufficient to serve as certified business records.

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in chain in title, conspiracy, CONTROL FRAUD, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, jp morgan chase, MERS, mortgage, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., note1 Comment

Cheryl Samons | No Signature, No Notary, 1 Witness…No Problem!

Cheryl Samons | No Signature, No Notary, 1 Witness…No Problem!

Ahhh…must we see another painful document? This assignment was used in order to foreclose.

“trompe l’oeil”

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in countrywide, djsp enterprises, foreclosure mills, Law Offices Of David J. Stern P.A., MERS, mortgage, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Notary, note, Trusts, wells fargo2 Comments

Countrywide probe snares Fannie, Freddie execs

Countrywide probe snares Fannie, Freddie execs

By JAKE SHERMAN | 7/20/10 2:34 PM EDT

Employees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — including top executives — received 173 cut-rate loans from Countrywide Financial, according to a congressional probe, the latest accusation that the lender tried to curry influence with people in power.


A Republican-led investigation revealed that Fannie Mae employees — including an assistant to the CEO, a government relations lobbyist and a vice president for sales — received 153 favorable loans, while 20 VIP loans were issued to employees at Freddie Mac. Countrywide Financial collapsed in the 2008 housing meltdown and was swallowed by Bank of America, but its connections to powerful political figures continue to reverberate in Washington.


These are the same type of special loans that created an ethics controversy for Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Chris Dodd of Connecticut. The senators were accused of getting VIP mortgages because of their political positions but were later cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Republican investigators believe the preferential treatment on the loans ranges from slashing interest rates and waiving third-party fees to giving enhanced customer service.

The investigation has also uncovered potential evidence that Countrywide was offering bad loans, which would lose money, to influential people at Fannie Mae. An e-mail, obtained by POLITICO, shows Countrywide employees discussing the refinancing of the loan of former Fannie Mae Chief Operating Officer Daniel Mudd, acknowledging the sensitivity and potential for financial loss.

“Make sure the branch … understand[s] the sensitivity of this deal,” the e-mail to former Countrywide Vice President Daniel Rector reads. “We are already taking a loss, it would be horrible to add a service complaint on top and lose any benefit we generate.”

Special-rate loans might violate Fannie Mae’s code of conduct, which prohibits discounted loans, according to a letter summarizing the investigation’s results.

The report redacted most of the names of employees who received VIP loans.

The investigation, headed by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), also identifies Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson, the company’s former CEO, Franklin Raines, former Vice Chairwoman Jamie Gorelick and Mudd as having received loans as part of the “Friends of Angelo” program — named for former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. The executives were previously identified as being part of the embattled lender’s loan program but have denied knowing that they had been singled out by the lender. Johnson alone received $10 million in loans, according to the letter.

The information was uncovered as part of a wider  investigation into Countrywide Financial by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Issa, the panel’s top Republican, and Towns, its chairman, subpoenaed Countrywide for records dealing with the VIP loan program in October 2009.

Continue reading …POLITICO

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in concealment, conflict of interest, conspiracy, corruption, countrywide, fannie mae, Freddie Mac, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD1 Comment

A Call to Action| CALIFORNIA CLASS ACTION AGAINST MERS PREPARING

A Call to Action| CALIFORNIA CLASS ACTION AGAINST MERS PREPARING

A class action lawsuit is currently being prepared and we are in need of parties in California who are interested in pursuing these devils who have done so much to destroy everything this country stands for and is.

We are looking for the following:

  • The property is located in California
  • Have a Pay Option ARM which names MERS as nominee (highly likely in the event of an Option Arm);
  • Lender was Countrywide/BofA or broker associated with CW;
  • Issued Jumbo/100% financing
  • They are facing an increase via reset or recasting which will consume over 70% of the income which the same as when lender sold them the loan some time in 2010, 2011 or 2012;
  • They are committed to fighting the Bad guys;
  • They have their Note, HELOC Agreement, MERS disclosure

If you fit this description,  please contact this website at info@chinkinthearmor.net

Source: chinkinthearmor

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in bank of america, class action, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, MERS, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC.22 Comments

The $108 million in the Countrywide case is the tip of the iceberg

The $108 million in the Countrywide case is the tip of the iceberg

Finally, Borrowers Score Points

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON NYTimes
Published: June 11, 2010

WHILE the wheels of justice have turned very slowly in the years since our nation’s financiers and regulators nearly cratered our economy, the Federal Trade Commission’s settlement last Monday with Countrywide Home Loans suggests that they haven’t entirely ground to a halt.

Countrywide, now a unit of Bank of America, was once led by Angelo Mozilo and was the nation’s largest mortgage lender in the glorious, pre-crisis days of the housing boom. But it was also a predatory institution, and the F.T.C., citing Countrywide’s serial abuse of troubled borrowers, extracted a $108 million fine from Bank of America last week.

That money will go back to some 200,000 customers whom Countrywide forced to pay outsized fees for foreclosure services. These included billing a borrower $300 to have a property’s lawn mowed and levying $2,500 in trustees’ fees on another borrower, when the going rate for that service was about $600.

Though Countrywide’s mortgage contracts specifically barred such practices, they served the company well by generating income during downturns when it was harder to keep making money off new mortgages. This “counter-cyclical diversification strategy,” as Countrywide called it, was designed to “extract the last dollar out of the pockets of the most desperate consumers,” said Jon Leibowitz, the F.T.C. chairman.

[NYTIMES]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, settlement0 Comments

VICTORY IN MONTANA: PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED AGAINST MERS, RECONTRUST, AND COUNTRYWIDE

VICTORY IN MONTANA: PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED AGAINST MERS, RECONTRUST, AND COUNTRYWIDE

May 25, 2010

A Montana Circuit Judge entered a preliminary injunction yesterday enjoining MERS, Recontrust, and Countrywide from undertaking any action to sell, encumber, or transfer the borrower’s property during the pendency of the borrower’s lawsuit challenging a non-judicial foreclosure. The Notice of Trustee’s Sale fraudulently represented that there was an “obligation owed to MERS” when there was never any such obligation, and there is no evidence of any lawful assignment of either the Note or the Deed of Trust from the original lender to anyone. None of the Defendants appeared for the hearing.

The borrower had previously obtained a Temporary Restraining Order which stopped the Trustee’s Sale. Yesterday’s ruling converted the TRO into a preliminary injunction for the duration of the litigation.

This is FDN’s second victory in Montana. The borrowers in both cases are represented by Jeff Barnes, Esq. (who personally appeared at the hearing yesterday and prepared the lawsuit, Motions, and legal memoranda), assisted by local Montana counsel Eric Hummel, Esq.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www/ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

Posted in concealment, conspiracy, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, MERS, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud0 Comments

SEC KNEW ABOUT SUBPRIME ACCOUNTING FRAUD A DECADE AGO

SEC KNEW ABOUT SUBPRIME ACCOUNTING FRAUD A DECADE AGO

by Elizabeth MacDonald FoxBusiness

The Securities and Exchange  Commission is missing a bigger fraud while it chases the banks. Even though it knew about this massive, plain old fashioned accounting fraud back in 1998.
Instead, the market cops are probing simpler disclosure cases that could charge bank and Wall Street with not telling investors about their conflicts of interest in selling securities they knew were damaged while making bets against those same securities behind the scenes, via credit default swaps.
Those probes have gotten headlines, but there aren’t too many signs that this will lead to anything close to massive settlements or fines.

For instance, the SEC doesn’t appear to be investigating how banks frontloaded their profits via channel stuffing — securitizing loans and shoving paper securitizations onto investors, while booking those revenues immediately, even though the mortgage payments underlying those paper daisy chains were coming in the door years, even decades, later. Those moves helped lead to $2.4 trillion in writedowns worldwide.
The agency said it  believed banks were committing subprime securitization accounting frauds back in 1998 and claimed to be ‘probing’ them.
I had written about these SEC probes into potential frauds while covering corporate accounting abuses at The Wall Street Journal. The rules essentially let banks frontload into their revenue the sale of subprime mortgages or other loans that they then packaged and sold off as securities, even though the payments on those underlying loans were coming in the door over the next seven, 10, 20, or 30 years.
Estimating those revenues based on the value of future mortgage payments involved plenty of guesswork.

Securitization: Free Market Became a Free For All
The total amount of overall mortgage-backed securities generated by Wall Street virtually tripled between 1996 and 2007, to $7.3 trillion. Subprime mortgage securitizations increased from 54% in 2001, to 75% in 2006. Back in 1998, the SEC had warned a dozen top accounting firms that they must do a  better job policing how subprime lenders book profits from loans that are repackaged as securities and sold on the secondary market. The SEC “is becoming increasingly concerned” over the way lenders use what are called “gain on sale” accounting rules when they securitize these loans, Jane B. Adams, the SEC’s deputy chief accountant, said in a letter sent to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the nation’s chief accounting rule makers.
At that time, subprime lenders had come under fire from consumer groups and Congress, who said banks were using aggressive accounting to frontload profits from securitizing subprime loans. Subprime auto lender Mercury Finance collapsed after a spectacular accounting fraud and shareholder suits, New Century Financial was tanking as well for the same reason.

SEC Knew About Subprime Fraud More than a Decade Ago
The SEC more than a decade ago believed that subprime lenders were abusing the accounting rules.
When lenders repackage consumer loans as asset-backed securities, they must book the fair value of profits or losses from the deals. But regulators said lenders were overvaluing the loan assets they kept on their books in order to inflate current profits. Others delayed booking assets in order to increase future earnings. Lenders were also using poor default and prepayment rate assumptions to overestimate the fair value of their securitizations.
Counting future revenue was perfectly legal under too lax rules.
But without it many lenders that are in an objective sense doing quite well would look as if they were headed for bankruptcy.
At that time, the SEC’s eyebrows were raised when Dan Phillips, chief executive officer of FirstPlus Financial Group, a Dallas subprime home equity lenders, had said the poor accounting actually levitated profits at lenders.
“The reality is that companies like us wouldn’t be here without gain on sale,” he said, adding, “a lot of people abuse it.”
But this much larger accounting trick, one that has exacerbated the ties that blind between company and auditor, is more difficult to nail down because it involves wading through a lot of math, a calculus that Wall Street stretched it until it snapped.

Impenetrably Absurd Accounting
These were the most idiotic accounting rules known to man, rules manufactured by a quiescent Financial Accounting Standards Board [FASB] that let bank executives make up profits out of thin air.
It resulted in a folie à deux between Wall Street and complicit accounting firms that swallowed whole guesstimates pulled out of the atmosphere.
Their accounting gamesmanship set alight the most massive off-balance sheet bubble of all, a rule that helped tear the stock market off its moorings.
The rules helped five Wall Street firms – Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch – earn an estimated $312 billion based on fictitious profits during the bubble years.

Who Used the Rule?
Banks and investment firms including Citigroup, Bank of America and Merrill all used this “legit” rule.
Countrywide Financial made widespread use of this accounting chicanery (see below). So did Washington Mutual. So did IndyMac Bancorp. So did FirstPlus Financial Group, and as noted Mercury Finance Co. and New Century Financial Corp.
Brought to the cliff’s edge, these banks were either bailed out, taken over or went through bankruptcies.
Many banks sold those securitized loans to Enron-style off-balance sheet trusts, otherwise called “structured investment vehicles” (SIVs), again booking profits immediately (Citigroup invented the SIV in 1988).
So, presto-change-o, banks got to dump loans off their books, making their leverage ratios look a whole lot nicer, so in turn they could borrow more.
At the same time, the banks got to record immediate profits, even though those no-income, no-doc loans supporting those paper securities and paper gains were bellyflopping right and left.
The writedowns were then buried in obscure line items called “impairment charges,” and were then masked by new profits from issuing new loans or by refinancings.

Rulemakers Fight Back
The FASB has been fighting to restrict this and other types of accounting games, but the banks have been battling back with an army of lobbyists.
The FASB, which sets the rules for publicly traded companies, is still trying to hang tough and is trying to force all sorts of off-balance sheet borrowings back onto bank balance sheets.
But these “gain on sale” rules, along with the “fair value” or what are called “marked to market” rules, have either been watered down or have enough loopholes in them, escape hatches that were written into the rules by the accountants themselves, so that auditors can make a clean get away.
As the market turned down, banks got the FASB to back down on mark-to-market accounting, which had forced them to more immediately value these assets and take quarterly profit hits if those assets soured – even though they were booking immediate profits from this “gain on sale” rule on the way up.
Also, the FASB has clung fast to the Puritanism of their rulemaking by arguing a sale is a sale is a sale, so companies can immediately book the entire value of a sale of a loan turned into a bond, even though the cash from the underlying mortgage has yet to come in the door.

Old-Fashioned ‘Channel Stuffing’
This sanctioned “gain on sale” accounting is really old-fashioned “channel stuffing.”
The move lets companies pad their revenue and profit numbers by stuffing lots of goods and inventory (mortgages and subprime securities) into the system without actually getting the money in the door, and booking those channel-stuffed goods as actual sales in order to cook ever higher their earnings.
Sort of like what Sunbeam did with its barbecue grills in the ’90s.

Intergalactic Bank Justice League
Cleaning up the accounting rules is an easier fix instead of a new, belabored, top-heavy “Systemic Risk Council” of the heads of federal financial regulatory agencies, as Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn) envisions in financial regulatory reform.
An intergalactic Marvel Justice League of bank regulators can do nothing in the face of chicanery allowed in the rules.

Planes on a Tarmac
What happened was, banks and investment firms like Citigroup and Merrill Lynch who couldn’t sell these subprime bonds, or “collateralized debt obligations,” as well as other loan assets into these SIVs got caught out when the markets turned, stuck with this junk on their balance sheets like planes on a tarmac in a blizzard.
Bank of America saw its fourth-quarter 2007 profits plunge 95% largely due to SIV investments. SunTrust Banks’ earnings were nearly wiped out, a 98% drop in the same quarter, because of its SIVs.
Great Britain’s Northern Rock ran into huge problems in 2007 stemming from SIVs, and was later nationalized by the British government in February 2008.
Even the mortgage lending arm of tax preparer H&R Block used the move. Block sold its loans to off-balance-sheet vehicles so it could book gains about a month earlier than it otherwise would. Weee!
The company had $75 million of these items on its books at the end of its fiscal 2003 year. All totally within the rules.

Leverage Culture
The rampant fakery helped fuel a leverage culture that got a lot of homes put in hock.
Banks, for instance, started advertising home equity loans as “equity access,” or ways to “Live Richly” or as Fleet Bank once touted, “The smartest place to borrow? Your place.”
In fact, Washington Mutual and IndyMac got so excited by the gain on sale rules, they went so far as to count in profits futuristic gains even if they had only an “interest rate” commitment from a borrower, and not a final mortgage loan.
Talk about counting chickens before they hatch.

Closer Look at Wamu
Look at Wamu’s profits in just one year during the runup to the bubble. Such gains more than tripled in 2001 at Wamu, to just shy of $1 billion, or 22% of its pretax earnings before extraordinary items, up from $262 million, or 9%, in 2000.
But in 2001, Washington Mutual took $1.7 billion in charges, $1.1 billion of it in the final, fourth quarter, to reflect bleaker prospects for the revenue stream of all those servicing rights.
It papered over the hit with a nearly identical $1.8 billion gain on securitizations and portfolio sales.

Closer Look at Countrywide
The accounting fakery let Countrywide Financial Corp., the mortgage issuer now owned by Bank of America, triple its profit in 2003 to $2.4 billion on $8.5 billion in revenue.
At the height of the bubble, Countrywide booked $6.1 billion in gains from the sale of loans and securities. But this wasn’t cold, hard cash. No, this was potential future profits from servicing mortgage portfolios, meaning collecting monthly payments and late penalties.

Posted in bank of america, cdo, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, S.E.C., scam, securitization, washington mutual0 Comments

LADOUCER v. BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP, Dist. Court, SD Texas, Corpus Christi Div. 2010 "DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY"

LADOUCER v. BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP, Dist. Court, SD Texas, Corpus Christi Div. 2010 "DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY"

Always follow your “INSTINCTS”

WILLIAM C LADOUCER, et al, Plaintiffs,
v.
BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP, et al, Defendants.

Civil Action No. C-10-78.

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Corpus Christi Division.

 April 23, 2010.

 

ORDER

 

JANIS GRAHAM JACK, District Judge.

On this day came on to be considered the Court’s sua sponte review of its subject matter jurisdiction in the above-styled action. For the reasons discussed below, the Court REMANDS this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) to the 79th Judicial District of Jim Wells, Texas, where it was originally filed and assigned Cause No. 10-02-48732-CV.

 

I. Factual and Procedural Background

In their Original Petition, Plaintiffs William C. Ladoucer and Julie A. Ladoucer allege as follows:

Plaintiffs were the owners of a home located at 271 House Avenue in Sandia, Jim Wells County, Texas and that the Defendants BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP (“BAC”) and Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (“Countrywide”) were the respective servicer and holder of the mortgage on that property. (D.E. 1, Exh. 1 p. 2.) On December 29, 2008, Plaintiffs signed a resale contract to sell their property with a closing date set for February 27, 2009. (Id. at pp. 2-3.) Plaintiffs faxed the contract of sale to Defendant Countrywide. (Id. at p. 2.) Plaintiff Julie A. LaDoucer spoke to a representative at Countrywide’s Homeowner Retention Department to confirm receipt of the contract and was led to believe “that a foreclosure sale that the defendants had scheduled for January of 2009 was cancelled.” (Id. at pp. 2-3.) However, instead of cancelling the foreclosure, “Defendants foreclosed on the property on January 6, 2009.” (Id.) After the foreclosure, Plaintiffs claim that the potential buyers backed out of the sale and Plaintiffs “thereby lost almost $27,680.00 in equity which they would have realized from the sale of the property.” (Id. at p. 3.)

In February 2009, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants took possession of the property and changed the locks. (Id. at p. 3.) In March 2009, Plaintiffs allege that personal property had been taken from the home including a $4,500 shed that had been purchased by the Plaintiffs. (Id. at pp. 3-4.) Plaintiffs’ credit rating was also adversely affected by the foreclosure notation on their credit. (Id. at p. 4.)

Plaintiffs filed this action in state court on February 1, 2010. (D.E. 1, Exh. 1.) Defendants were served with process of February 16, 2010 and timely removed this case to federal court on March 12, 2010 on the grounds that this Court has diversity jurisdiction over this action. (D.E. 1.) Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on April 23, 2010.[1] (D.E. 11.)

II. Discussion

 A. General Removal Principles

 A defendant may remove an action from state court to federal court if the federal court possesses subject matter jurisdiction over the action. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a); see Manguno v. Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 276 F.3d 720, 723 (5th Cir. 2002). A court, however, “must presume that a suit lies outside its limited jurisdiction.” Howery v. Allstate Ins. Co., 243 F.3d 912, 916 (5th Cir. 2001). The removing party, as the party seeking the federal forum, bears the burden of showing that federal jurisdiction is proper. See Manguno, 276 F.3d at 723. “Any ambiguities are construed against removal because the removal statute should be strictly construed in favor of remand.” Id. When subject matter jurisdiction is improper, a court may raise the issue sua sponte. See Lane v. Halliburton, 529 F.3d 548, 565 (5th Cir. 2008) (“We are duty-bound to examine the basis of subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte.” (citations omitted)); H&D Tire and Auto. Hardware v. Pitney Bowes Inc., 227 F.3d 326, 328 (5th Cir. 2000) (“We have a duty to raise the issue of subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte.”).

 B. Removal Based on Diversity Jurisdiction

When the alleged basis for federal jurisdiction is diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the removing defendant has the burden of demonstrating that there is: (1) complete diversity of citizenship; and (2) an amount-in-controversy greater than $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).

 1. Diversity of Parties

 Section 1332(a) requires “complete diversity” of citizenship, and the district court cannot exercise diversity jurisdiction if one of the plaintiffs shares the same state citizenship as any one of the defendants. See Corfield v. Dallas Glen Hills LP, 355 F.3d 853, 857 (5th Cir. 2003). In removal cases, diversity of citizenship must exist both at the time of filing in state court and at the time of removal to federal court. See Coury v. Prot, 85 F.3d 244, 249 (5th Cir. 1996).

 In this case, complete diversity exists because Plaintiffs are residents of Texas and Defendant BAC is a resident of North Carolina while Defendant Countrywide is a New York corporation with its principal place of business in California. (D.E. 1.)

 2. Amount in Controversy

Generally, the amount in controversy for the purposes of establishing federal jurisdiction should be determined by the plaintiff’s complaint. See St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 288 (1938); De Aguilar v. Boeing Co., 47 F.3d 1404, 1411-12 (5th Cir. 1995). Where the plaintiff has not made a specific monetary demand, the defendant has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional amount. See Manguno, 276 F.3d at 723 (“where . . . the petition does not include a specific monetary demand, [the defendant] must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000”); St. Paul Reinsurance Co. v. Greenberg, 134 F.3d 1250, 1253 (5th Cir. 1998); Allen v. R&H Oil & Gas Co., 63 F.3d 1326, 1335 (5th Cir. 1995).

1. This Court Lacks Diversity Jurisdiction Over This Case

 Plaintiffs do not demand over $75,000, the minimum amount of damages necessary for federal diversity jurisdiction. (D.E. 1, Exh. 1.) Rather, Plaintiffs’ Original Petition states that the foreclosure of the home itself caused only $27,680 of damages in lost equity. (Id. at 3.) Further, Plaintiffs claim that the total damages for the wrongful foreclosure, fraud, and breach of contract claims, including the above-stated $27,680 damages in lost equity, are “at least $35,000.” (D.E. 1, Exh. 1, pp. 4-5.) Plaintiffs also claim “at least $20,000” for the exemplary damages claim, and “at least $5000” for reasonable attorneys’ fees. (D.E. 1, Exh. 1, pp. 4-5.) In total, Plaintiffs claim only $70,000 in damages. This is less than the $75,000 required for diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

 Defendants, in a conclusory manner, nonetheless assert that “[t]he face of the petition . . . reveals that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.” (D.E. 1, p. 3.) Defendants state that under Texas law, exemplary damages “could alone result in the recovery of more than $75,000.” (Id. (emphasis added).) However, Defendants ignore that Plaintiffs’ Petition specifies only $20,000 in exemplary damages, drastically less than Defendants’ assertions. (D.E. 1, Exh. 1, p. 4.) Based on Defendants’ claims alone, this Court cannot assume that exemplary damages will be so high that they would give this Court jurisdiction. This is especially true given that “[a]ny ambiguities are construed against removal because the removal statute should be strictly construed in favor of remand.” Manguno v. Prudential Property and Cas. Ins. Co., 276 F.3d 720, 723 (5th Cir. 2002) (citing Acuna v. Brown & Root, Inc., 200 F.3d 335, 339 (5th Cir. 2000)).

 Defendants have thus failed to establish that this action involves an amount in controversy of more than $75,000, exclusive of costs and interests, as required for this Court to have diversity jurisdiction over this suit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Therefore, Defendants have failed to meet their burden of showing that federal jurisdiction exists and that removal was proper. Frank v. Bear Stearns & Co., 128 F.3d 919, 921 (5th Cir. 1997) (“The party invoking the removal jurisdiction of federal courts bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction over the state court suit.”). Accordingly, this Court must remand this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). (“If at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.”). See Lott v. Dutchmen Mfg., Inc., 422 F.Supp.2d 750, 752 (E.D. Tex. 2006) (citing Manguno, 276 F.3d at 723).

 III. Conclusion

 For the reasons stated above, this Court determines sua sponte that it does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the above-styled action. This case is hereby REMANDED pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) to the 79th Judicial District of Jim Wells, Texas, where it was originally filed and assigned Cause No. 10-02-48732-CV.

 SIGNED and ORDERED.

[1] Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on April 23, 2010, however, for purpose of removal, this Court looks only to the pleadings and allegations at the time of removal. See Adair v. Lease Partners, Inc., 587 F.3d 238, 243 (5th Cir. 2009) (“[T]he power to remove is evaluated at the time of removal.”); Cavallini v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 44 F.3d 256, 265 (5th Cir. 1995) (finding removal jurisdiction is based on complaint at the time of removal and a plaintiff cannot defeat removal by amending the complaint).

Posted in bac home loans, case, conspiracy, countrywide, foreclosure fraud, short sale0 Comments

The People of the State of California vs CountryWide Financial, Universal American Mortgage Company,

The People of the State of California vs CountryWide Financial, Universal American Mortgage Company,

Source: b.daviesmd6605

First Amended Complaint that lead to Countrywide Settlement. This is well written and shows the high pressure tactics without the ability to pay, over the top advertising.

The tactics are similar to the builder lenders who use the same tactics to create profits at the expense of the buyers. This was done with aggressive sales tactics, setting up homeowners to fail while collecting large fees at each level.

Universal American Mortgage the lender for Builder Lennar does the same, and it is mandatory to apply for their loan. There are restrictions of discounts only if their lender is used. Their loan advisors are real estate sales persons not financial lenders. It is steering at its best. Then the title company, insurance company, builder, lenders, escrow—all the same. It is really bad.

[ipaper docId=30868375 access_key=key-ntn5d3vhrh0i4gxlqel height=600 width=600 /]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



Posted in concealment, conspiracy, corruption, countrywide, foreclosure fraud, forensic mortgage investigation audit0 Comments

Move Over Fannie Mae…Revealing the "TRIPLETS" Maiden Lane, Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III

Move Over Fannie Mae…Revealing the "TRIPLETS" Maiden Lane, Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III

Fed Reveals Bear Stearns Assets It Swallowed in Firm’s Rescue (Bloomberg)

By Craig Torres, Bob Ivry and Scott Lanman

April 1 (Bloomberg) — After months of litigation and political scrutiny, the Federal Reserve yesterday ended a policy of secrecy over its Bear Stearns Cos. bailout.

In a 4:30 p.m. announcement in a week of congressional recess and religious holidays, the central bank released details of securities bought to aid Bear Stearns’s takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Bloomberg News sued the Fed for that information.

The Fed’s vehicle known as Maiden Lane LLC has securities backed by mortgages from lenders including Washington Mutual Inc. and Countrywide Financial Corp., loans that were made with limited borrower documentation. More than $1 billion of them are backed by “jumbo” mortgages written by Thornburg Mortgage Inc., which now carry the lowest investment-grade rating. Jumbo loans were larger than government-sponsored mortgage buyers such as Fannie Mae could finance — $417,000 at the time.

“The Fed absorbed that risk on its balance sheet and is now seen to be holding problematic, legacy assets,” said Vincent Reinhart, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington who was the central bank’s monetary- affairs director from 2001 to 2007. “There is both an impairment to its balance sheet and its reputation.”

The Bear Stearns deal marked a turning point in the financial crisis for the Fed. By putting taxpayers at risk in financing the rescue, the central bank was engaging in fiscal policy, normally the domain of Congress and the U.S. Treasury, said Marvin Goodfriend, a former Richmond Fed policy adviser who is now an economist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

‘Panic’ Cause

“Lack of clarity on the boundary between responsibilities of the Fed and of the Congress as much as anything else created panic in the fall of 2008,” Goodfriend said. “That created a situation in which what had been a serious recession became something near a Great Depression.”

Central bankers also created moral hazard, or a perception for investors that any financial firm bigger than Bear Stearns wouldn’t be allowed to fail, said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors Inc. in Vineland, New Jersey.

Policy makers’ resolve was tested months later by runs against the largest financial companies. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed into bankruptcy in September 2008. The ensuing panic caused the Fed to take even more emergency measures to push liquidity into markets and institutions. It rescued American International Group Inc. from collapse and allowed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to convert into bank holding companies, putting them under greater oversight by the central bank.

Early Failure

“Letting somebody fail early would have been a better choice,” Kotok said. “You would have ratcheted moral hazard lower and Lehman wouldn’t have been so severe.”

The Bear Stearns assets include bets against the credit of bond insurers such as MBIA Inc., Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. and a unit of Ambac Financial Group, putting the Fed in the position of wagering companies will stop paying their debts.

The Fed disclosed that some of Maiden Lane’s assets were portions of commercial loans for hotels, including Short Hills Hilton LLC in New Jersey, Hilton Hawaiian Village LLC in Hawaii, and Hilton of Malaysia LLC, in addition to securities backed by residential mortgages.

More than a year after Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, was purchased by JPMorgan Chase in a distressed sale arranged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the home loans that helped bring down the Seattle-based thrift live on in the Maiden Lane portfolio.

Lending Standards

For example, 94 percent of the mortgages in one security, called WAMU 06-A13 2XPPP, required limited documentation from borrowers, meaning the lender often didn’t ask customers for proof of their incomes. Almost 10 percent of the borrowers whose mortgages make up the security have been foreclosed on, and almost a quarter are more than two months late with payments, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The portfolio also includes $618.9 million of securities backed by Countrywide, mortgages now rated CCC, eight levels below investment grade. All the underlying loans are adjustable- rate mortgages, with about 88 percent requiring only limited borrower documentation, according to Bloomberg data. About 33.6 percent of the borrowers are at least 60 days late. Countrywide is now part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp.

CDO Holdings

Maiden Lane has $19.5 million of securities from a series of collateralized debt obligations called Tropic CDO that are backed by trust preferred securities of community banks and thrifts. CDOs are investment pools made up of a variety of assets that provide a flow of cash.

Trust preferred securities, or TruPS, have characteristics of debt and equity and their interest payments are tax- deductible.

The securities created by Bear Stearns are rated C, one level above default, by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.

CDO securities have tumbled in value as banks are failing at the fastest rate in 17 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average price of TruPS CDO debt of this rating is pennies on the dollar, according to Citigroup Inc.

“The trust of the taxpayer was abused,” said Janet Tavakoli, president of Chicago-based financial consulting firm Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc. CDOs rated CCC and lower “have a high likelihood of default,” she said.

Bernanke Defense

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the Bear Stearns deal as a rescue of the financial system. He said in a speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole, Wyoming conference in August 2008 that a sudden Bear Stearns failure would have caused a “vicious circle of forced selling” and increased volatility.

“The broader economy could hardly have remained immune from such severe financial disruptions,” Bernanke said in the speech. The Fed chief, who took office in 2006 and began his second term as chairman this year, also has repeatedly called for an overhaul of financial regulations that would allow authorities to take over a failing financial institution and oversee an orderly unwinding of its positions.

Bernanke said last year that nothing made him “more angry” than the AIG case, blaming the insurer for making “irresponsible bets” and a lack of regulatory oversight for the debacle. Officials “had no choice but to try and stabilize the system” by aiding the firm in September 2008, he said.

Yesterday’s release by the Fed, through its New York regional bank, also identified securities acquired in the bailout of AIG held in vehicles known as Maiden Lane II and III.

Market Value

Assets in Maiden Lane II totaled $34.8 billion, according to the Fed, which set their current market value in its weekly balance sheet at $15.3 billion. That means Maiden Lane II assets are worth 44 cents on the dollar, or 44 percent of their face value, according to the Fed.

Maiden Lane III, which has $56 billion of assets at face value, is worth $22.1 billion, or 39 cents on the dollar, according to the Fed’s weekly balance sheet. A similar calculation for the Bear Stearns portfolio couldn’t be made because of outstanding derivatives trades.

“The Federal Reserve recognizes the importance of transparency to its financial stability efforts and will continue to review disclosure practices with the goal of making additional information publicly available when possible,” the New York Fed said in yesterday’s statement.

Deal With Chase

The central bank said it reached agreement on “issues of confidentiality” for the assets with JPMorgan Chase, which bought Bear Stearns in 2008, and AIG. New York-based JPMorgan and AIG would incur the first losses on the portfolios.

Joe Evangelisti, a spokesman for JPMorgan, and Mark Herr, a spokesman for AIG, declined to comment.

In April 2008, Bloomberg News requested records under the federal Freedom of Information Act from the Fed’s Board of Governors related to JPMorgan’s acquisition of Bear Stearns. The central bank responded that records retained by the New York Fed “were proprietary records of the Reserve Bank, and not Board records subject” to the request, court records show.

Bloomberg filed suit in November 2008 in U.S. District Court in New York, challenging the Fed’s denial, as well as the denial of a separate request made in May 2008, seeking records of four other emergency lending programs.

The district court held that the Fed should release documents related to those four programs, and should search documents held by the New York regional bank to determine whether any of them should be considered records of the board of governors.

The U.S. Court of Appeals on March 19 upheld the district court’s ruling on the lending programs.

Representative Darrell Issa of California said in a statement that yesterday’s disclosure may “signal a new willingness to cooperate with Congress as we investigate how these bailout deals were structured and what the decision making process entailed.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 1, 2010 01:34 EDT

Posted in bernanke, bloomberg, countrywide, foreclosure fraud, washington mutual0 Comments

Mortgage Servicers: The TRUTH what they don't want you to know.

Mortgage Servicers: The TRUTH what they don't want you to know.

Why do mortgage companies continue to buy defaulted loans where the borrowers are either dilinquent or stopped making payments completely? For those who also want to know as to why the banks do not want to work with you. Well this is why…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxyRFSYe7ws]

Posted in concealment, conspiracy, corruption, countrywide, emc, Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, mozillo0 Comments


Advert

Archives

Please Support Me!







Write your comment within 199 characters.

All Of These Are Troll Comments