New Book On Point-highlights 16 young elected officials as they tell their stories
“In a time where slogans of a few words capture a position and controversy swirls with each news cycle, On Point offers refreshing and timely insights from a new generation of young elected officials in the eternal struggle to build a more perfect union,” wrote Senator George J. Mitchell in his introduction to On Point: Voices and Values of the Young Elected Officials, by Jeff L. Thigpen.
The author had that point in mind when he decided to write the book focusing on the these young electeds and on a national organization called the Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network with over 600 elected leaders 35 and under.
“I wrote On Point because there’s an emerging group of principled leaders shaping a new era in American politics. It’s time we know them and why they were inspired to run for elected office, and how they are meeting the challenges of this time in history. Most importantly, it is time we hear their stories,” said Thigpen.
The book was published by Polar Bear & Co., PO Box 311, Solon, Maine, 04979 (207) 643-2795
The Bristol County Board of Commissioners received a letter from Attorney Garrett Bradley notifying them that a complaint against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) was filed in Suffolk County on March 29.
Previously, the commissioners voted on Feb. 14 to file a lawsuit to reclaim millions of dollars from MERS for allegedly skirting public recording laws at the expense of the county’s three property registries.
Bristol County is joining Norfolk and Plymouth counties in filing lawsuits against MERS.
Commissioners have previously said the county won’t know exactly how much money they are looking to collect until the discovery process of litigation.
Ingham County officials expect to see tens of thousands of dollars in new revenue as they begin collecting taxes from two of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders.
Ingham County Register of Deeds Cutris Hertel Jr. said he will begin requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay full transfer taxes on all property transfers in which they are the seller.
The two companies had claimed to be exempt from paying taxes upon filing new deeds, saying they were government entities.
“We’ve been telling them along the way they need to pay on these, but we haven’t had the legal backing until the Oakland County case was decided,” Hertel said.
The county could be in line for a half-million-dollar payout from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if a U.S. District Court decision Friday stands up to a likely appeal.
County Treasurer Deb Cherry said today that Friday’s decision by Judge Victoria A. Roberts could provide an unexpected revenue boost to the county and immediately urged that the payout be used to help fix problems that have been created by mortgage and tax foreclosures.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION
OAKLAND COUNTY, ET AL., Plaintiffs,
vs
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY AS CONSERVATOR FOR FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION AND FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE COMPANY; FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION; AND FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE COMPANY, Defendants. ________________________________/
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
EXCERPT:
IV. CONCLUSION
In the end, this case turns on a single question: whether a statutory exemption from “all taxation” includes excise taxes such as the Michigan Transfer Taxes. Wells Fargo dictates that it does not. Accordingly, the Enterprises are liable for the Transfer Taxes.
Plaintiffs’ and State Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. Defendants’ motion is DENIED. The issue of damages remains.
IT IS ORDERED.
S/Victoria A. Roberts Victoria A. Roberts United States District Judge Dated: March 23, 2012
Just breaking and will report when the ruling is released…
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on 6/20/2011, alleged that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to pay the real estate transfer tax.
Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner stated in twitterverse “Just got word Oakland County has won our lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, one step in fighting to make our taxpayers whole!”
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has issued a second criminal investigative subpoena against national mortgage servicing support provider DocX as his office continues to investigate questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis.
“We are moving forward with our investigative efforts to find answers on behalf of Michigan homeowners,” said Schuette.
Schuette’s office has requested documents and information regarding DocX operations in relation to foreclosure and/or bankruptcy-related document processing. The subpoena was approved by the 54B District Court in Ingham County, and the information must be provided to the Attorney General’s Office on or before April 4.
This is the second criminal subpoena filed during the course of Schuette’s investigation. Schuette previously filed a criminal subpoena against DocX on June 12, 2011.
The Bristol County Board of Commissioners moved on Tuesday to file a lawsuit to reclaim millions of dollars from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, commonly known as MERS, for allegedly skirting public recording laws at the expense of the county’s three property registries.
Commissioner John Mitchell said Bristol County is joining with Norfolk and Plymouth counties in filing lawsuits against MERS.
“MERS has hidden all the assignment of mortgages,” Mitchell said. “This (lawsuit) is to get fees back for the recording of assignments of mortgages. You don’t know how many times they did it. They did it privately. Supposedly, somewhere, this MERS has a registry of their own assignments of mortgages which show who is the true owner of a mortgage, except I guess in practice they don’t really have it. And that’s been a problem with foreclosures. When a bankruptcy court says, ‘Who owns the mortgage now?,’ they haven’t always been able to come up with it.”
Mitchell said it has been a “substantial” problem, but the county won’t be sure about how much money they are actually looking to collect until the discovery process of litigation — rough estimates put together by county registries last year indicate that the loss of revenue ranges well into the millions of dollars.
Congressman Barney Frank on Wednesday asked his colleagues to hold a hearing on alleged mortgage abuses at Ally Financial, a day after the attorney general from his home state of Massachusetts requested that lawmakers investigate.
“Given Ally’s significant role in the mortgage business and the federal government’s considerable financial investment,” Frank wrote to Spencer Bachus, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, “a prompt investigation of this matter by the Committee is warranted.”
The U.S. Treasury owns some 74 percent of Ally after a 2008 investment in the firm.
Last week Massachusetts sued Ally’s mortgage unit, GMAC Mortgage, and four other top banks for allegedly pursuing illegal foreclosures and deceiving homeowners whose loans they service.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ONE ASHBURTON PLACE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108 MARTHA COAKLEY ATTORNEY GENERAL (617) 727-2200 www.mass.gov/ago
December 6, 2011 The Honorable Tim Johnson Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 534 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Spencer Bachus Chairman U.S. House Committee on Financial Services 2129 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Re: Ally Financial; GMAC Foreclosure Behavior
I am writing regarding what we believe is serious misconduct committed by Ally Financial, through its subsidiary GMAC Mortgage, against homeowners in Massachusetts.
Last week, our office filed a lawsuit against Ally and four national banks for pursuing illegal foreclosures and deceptive loan servicing. Ally and other banks charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law, which has exacerbated the nation’s foreclosure crisis. In light of Ally’s alleged deceptive and illegal actions against homeowners in Massachusetts and across the country, I respectfully request that your committees investigate Ally’s serious misconduct and consider what actions the federal government can take to ensure that Ally adheres to the law.
“The single most important thing we can do to return to a healthy economy is to address this foreclosure crisis,” said AG Coakley. “Our suit alleges that the banks have charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law. Our action today seeks real accountability for the banks illegal behavior and real relief for homeowners.”
U.S. Bank National Association has asked U.S. District Court to hear a class-action suit, filed by Washington County on behalf of all counties in the state, over the association’s failure to use the recorder of deeds offices to record mortgages, denying counties the related fees.
Washington County first took the case to Washington County Court, but the bank is now seeking a change in jurisdiction. The county alleges that more than $100 million has been lost in recording fees by all 67 counties in the state.
The county alleges U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee for various residential mortgage-backed security trusts, violated state law by failing to record “each and every mortgage transfer.”
The bank instead used a private entity, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., for recording, “thereby depriving Washington County of the accompanying recording fees” for 15 or more years.
This is major and pay close attention to the words below
Mortgage Servicing News-
The most recent lawsuit was filed by a county clerk in Florida, and seeks class action status to represent the state’s 67 counties. The complaint alleges the use of MERS does not comply with state property laws and has cost municipalities millions in unpaid recording fees.
Jim Fuller, the clerk of Duval County, filed suit against Merscorp Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., on Oct. 31, claiming civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, as well as fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. The suit also seeks a hearing to determine the validity of tracking note transfers on the MERS System and a court injunction to prohibit the use of MERS in Florida.
“MERS has usurped the rights and privileges of the Florida Clerks of Court by establishing, maintaining and inducing lenders to use its private recording system, which unlawfully interferes and competes with the public recording system,” the suit, filed in state circuit court, reads.
[…]
“Both the note and mortgage are to be recorded. The principle issue we’re trying to get at is the punitive distinction of MERS being the mortgagee while the note is shifted from one to another up through the typical securitization process,” Volpe said in a phone interview. “The principle concern about the disconnect is that the public records are not complete insofar as the true beneficial owner of the mortgage is not reflected in the public records.”
I can tell you that this is ONLY the beginning… stay tuned for others to come forward soon.
MERS is done, repeat done.
Nancy Becker – You Go Girl!
Bloomberg-
For Nancy J. Becker, recorder of deeds in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, property records are practically sacred. So much so that her office keeps digital copies of land records dating to 1784 in four separate databases, including one 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) away.
If the county seat were leveled tomorrow, she says, “I could still record documents on my laptop on the street corner with a card table.”
Becker may sound tech-savvy, but to some of her constituents’ dismay, she can’t always call up a property with a keystroke and see who holds its note. That’s because more than 200,000 of her records list the lien holder as MERS, the private service that acts as a proxy for banks that bundle and sell off mortgage securities. That can make it all but impossible for a recorder to determine who really holds the paper, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Nov. 7 edition.
Wait until the “BIG” states file one against MERS, et al. This is going to lead all the lawsuits against the banking industry.
Follow the paper and audit MERS. Go down the MERS-HOLE & You’ll find out, what really went down.
Phillyburbs-
Montgomery County’s recorder of deeds on Tuesday said she is going after about $15.7 million she claims is owed to the county by an electronic mortgage registry company and banks doing business with that company.
“I am filing a class action lawsuit against MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registry System) and the banks using MERS for failing to record certain mortgage assignments and, therefore, not paying the required fees,” recorder Nancy J. Becker said.
Becker said the lawsuit will claim the failure to file these transfers with appropriate recorder offices is an attempt to illegally circumvent the payment.
Southern Essex District Register of Deeds John O’Brien today is calling for a temporary halt on all foreclosures on Massachusetts homeowners until there is time to sort through the complex issues, including the fraudulent documents that have been recorded in people’s chains of title. In addition, O’Brien has cautioned people that they should think twice before buying a foreclosed property in light of the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decision in Bevilacqua v. Rodriquez.
Although O’Brien commended the Supreme Court and Judge Long for its sound decision in the Bevilacqua Case, he recommends that any lender, servicer or foreclosure law firm be required to attest in an affidavit, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that all the paperwork involved in a foreclosure has been reviewed by someone in authority at the bank with knowledge of the transaction and that the paperwork is correct, truthful and valid. He believes that lenders should also have to prove, through a forensic audit, that they actually own the note and mortgage upon which they are foreclosing upon.
The Bevilacqua Decision makes it clear that a lender must own the mortgage before it may foreclose. “As I have said all along, had Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and others followed the law and played by the same rules as everyone else, maybe our economy would not be in this crisis today. There is a good reason that we have registries of deeds in this country. It is so that every document that pertains to a parcel of real property is recorded in a public registry, so that anyone, at any time, may view their chain of title.”
“Since the property involved in the Bevilacqua Case is in Haverhill, which is a part of my district, I have reached out to our mortgage fraud and forensic analyst, Marie McDonnell of McDonnell Property Analytics. Ms. McDonnell has certified to me that there are at least three missing assignments in the Bevilacqua chain of title, and that the one assignment which was recorded on the property is fraudulent. This clearly demonstrates the damage to a chain of title when assignments are not timely filed or not filed at all.” said O’Brien.
In calling for a halt on foreclosures, O’Brien said, “This will send a clear message that Massachusetts will not tolerate the practice of using fraudulent documents to put someone out on the street. This is something that we do not do in America. We all have to remember that foreclosures are not good for anyone; they hurt families, neighborhoods, property values and therefore communities as a whole. These big banks have played fast and loose with peoples property rights, and now courts in Massachusetts and other states are standing up and saying that what they have done is wrong. Fraudulent documents are and always should be unacceptable and never be recorded in a registry of deeds. If the average person recorded a fraudulent document and then attempted to present it to a court of law as evidence, they would be prosecuted. So it begs the question, why are the captains of the bank industry and Wall Street being treated differently? Let me make it clear that this fraudulent activity is being done by major lenders, not our local community banks. I think that the lesson here is if anyone is currently looking for a mortgage, they should be dealing with their local hometown banks who have always played by the rules.” O’Brien continued, “Perhaps if people stop buying these foreclosed properties, which in most cases sell for less than what the original homeowner owed the lender, than maybe the banks will rethink their position and do the right thing, namely begin working with homeowners to create a new payment plan that will keep people in their homes.”
In an attempt to provide people with more assistance, O’Brien is now offering any homeowner in his district who has a document in their chain of title signed by a known robo-signer, an affidavit signed by him as Register of Deeds attesting to the presence of that signature which has been recorded at his Registry. For those homeowners that are currently being foreclosed upon, this affidavit may be presented to their attorney, the lender or the court to show that their chain of title has been corrupted. For those who are not in foreclosure, the affidavit may be presented to their current lender to show that a robo-signed document has in fact been recorded in their chain of title and be part of a request to investigate how this happened and what the lender is going to do to correct it.
Homeowners may check to see if there is a known robo-signer in their chain of title by visiting his website www.salemdeeds.com or by calling his Customer Service Department at 978-542-1704.
A few email discussions of the FL AG’s office that show what went on behind closed doors. Go thru them and thanks to Foreclosure Hamlet for these gems.
1. Did the borrower have a choice or was he/she coerced into accepting MERS, who they really had no idea of what or who it was?
2. Was it ever disclosed that many of the lenders are shareholders of MERS, also who may own the first or second position… this includes Fannie Mae who is a shareholder?
3. Since Fannie (GSE) is owned by “taxpayers” why is she acting 100% private – 100% of the time?
4. One may have been coerced into having MERS in their documents but one would never accept forgery or robo-signing because everyone knows this would be fraud and therefore void the transaction…like a check.
With mounting evidence of robo-signing and other alleged fraud perpetrated by banks, foreclosure law firms and others, Fannie Mae and Flagstar Bank have filed a new defense of such actions in Ingham County Circuit Court — and Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr. is crying foul.
“What they are basically saying is they can forge an assignment and there is nothing the citizen or court can do about it. It is a brazen attempt to legalize robosigning,” says Hertel. “It’s just another example of Fannie Mae thumbing its nose at the American people, and unfortunately while they are under federal bailout we are paying for it.”
This is happening in the case of a Haslett man who suffered a stroke and fell behind on his mortgage payments. As a result, Flagstar Bank and Fannie Mae foreclosed on him and are now in the final stages of evicting him from his Haslett home, says Hertel.
Mr. Beckman, MERS CEO is quoted as saying “We did not have a robust process to make sure that all data on our system was accurate, timely and reliable.”
John O’Brien, Registry of Deeds for Southern Essex County in Massachusetts is asking that Tom Miller, Iowa Attorney General, step down. Miller is the lead AG in the controversial settlement with the big banks on mortgage servicing fraud.
In his most recent obscene act Miller kicked Attorney General Eric Schneiderman off of the 50-state task force probing foreclosure abuses and negotiating a possible settlement agreement with the mortgage firms.
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