I hear what she’s saying about googling her name, because I can tell you there were a ton of “Linda Almonte” searches that lead to SFF.
She’s a hero to many.
HuffPO-
When Linda Almonte alerted her boss at JPMorgan Chase about potential fraud in a major deal she was helping to close, she expected him to applaud her great catch.
Instead, he fired her.
“We went down fast,” said Almonte, 41, about her family. She had been making $100,000 a year as a division vice president at Chase, enough to support her stay-at-home husband, their four kids, ages 12 to 22, and rent a three-bedroom house in San Antonio, Texas.
Her move at Chase amounted to “essentially suicide,” Almonte told The Huffington Post. No bank in town would hire her after word spread that she had stood up to the banking giant, she said. After more than a year of fruitless job hunting, Almonte and her family left town, landing at a hotel near Disney World, paying $300 a week for a two-bedroom with a kitchenette.
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – Former MF Global official Edith O’Brien said in an October 2011 email that CEO Jon Corzine gave “direct instructions” to transfer $200 million from a customer account to cover an overdraft in a JPMorgan account in London, according to a congressional memo released on Friday.
Steven Goldberg, a spokesman for Corzine, noted that Corzine did ask that the JPMorgan overdraft be corrected, but never gave any instructions to misuse customer funds.
No sooner did Linda Almonte show up for work on November 30, 2009 than was she escorted out the door by security at JPMorgan Chase’s Credit Card Litigation Support Group in San Antonio. A midlevel Chase executive who oversaw business process execution employees, Almonte says she was fired after just six months on the job for challenging her superiors about the accuracy of the bank’s credit card records.
Colleagues first learned of her dismissal later in the day when operations manager Jason Lazinbat, Almonte’s former boss, gathered bank staff in a conference room and announced she was no longer with the bank. Under no circumstances, Lazinbat warned, were staffers to communicate with Almonte, recalls Carole McGinn, a quality control worker who spent 14 years at Chase. The account was confirmed by second employee, who requested to speak anonymously.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. took procedural shortcuts and used faulty account records in suing tens of thousands of delinquent credit card borrowers for at least two years, current and former employees say.
The bank’s errors could call into question the legitimacy of billions of dollars in outstanding claims against debtors and of legal judgments Chase has already won, current and former Chase employees say.
For the banking industry at large, the situation at Chase highlights the risk that shoddy back-office procedures and flawed legal work extends well beyond mortgage servicing.
“We did not verify a single one” of the affidavits attesting to the amounts Chase was seeking to collect, says Howard Hardin, who oversaw a team handling tens of thousands of Chase debt files in San Antonio. “We were told [by superiors] ‘We’re in a hurry. Go ahead and sign them.'”
Edward J. DeMarco Acting Director Federal Housing Finance Agency
Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs On the State of the U.S. Housing Market: Removing Barriers to Economic Recovery
Either way the banks are screwed on these as well.
CBS-
The nation’s banks are looking at a robo-signing problem with commercial real estate which may dwarf the one for home mortgages, according to a new study.
Research by Harbinger Analytics Group shows the widespread use of inaccurate, fraudulent documents for land title underwriting of commercial real estate financing. According to the report:
This fraud is accomplished through inaccurate and incomplete filings of statutorily required records (commercial land title surveys detailing physical boundaries, encumbrances, encroachments, etc.) on commercial properties in California, many other western states and possibly throughout most of the United States.
Note: This post went missing shortly after it was on the site back in June 2011 and IMO may be a clue as to why the recent massive halts nationwide, but in reality, this began last June 🙂
This is far worse than the foreclosure fraud robo-signing scandal and they do not want this to get out of control…it’ll spell doom.
For its first witness, plaintiff called Martin Lavergne, who worked for CHASE BANK USA, N.A.(“Chase”) in various roles over a period of approximately 17 years. Presently, he holds the title of “custodian of records.” While Mr. Lavergne maintained that he had personal knowledge of the practices and procedures that Chase utilized in creating and maintaining consumer credit card account records, he never described these practices and procedures and never testified as to how he acquired personal knowledge of them.
[…]
Notably, some of the records that were shown to Mr. Lavergne were apparently created by Washington Mutual Bank. Mr. Lavergne explained this by stating that at some point in time, Chase had acquired Washington Mutual Bank. No testimony was elicited from Mr. Lavergne that he had worked for Washington Mutual Bank or that he had personal knowledge of the practices and procedures that Washington Mutual Bank employed in creating and maintaining consumer credit card account records.
[…]
Here, Mr. Lavergne’s foundational testimony was essentially a verbatim recitation of the statutory elements set forth in CPLR 4518[a]. He gave absolutely no testimony as to how the electronic records concerning defendant’s account statements came into existence nor did he indicate that he even knew how such information was collected. It would appear that credit card statements contain information that is conveyed from multiple entities, from the reporting merchant through various intermediaries, until the information is ultimately incorporated into plaintiff’s business records (see Discover Bank v Williamson, 2007 NY Slip Op 50231[U] [App Term, 9th and 10th Jud Dists]). Certainly, Mr. Lavergne did not demonstrate that the person or persons who inputted the electronic data had actual knowledge of the events inputted or that such person or persons obtained knowledge of those events from someone with actual knowledge of them and who had a business duty to relay information regarding the events (see Corsi v Town of [*4]Bedford, 58 AD3d 225, 229 [2d Dept 2008]; Capasso v Kleen All of America, Inc., 43 AD3d at 1347).
[…]
Further, Mr. Lavergne’s testimony was highly suspect. As stated above, some of the records that plaintiff sought to introduce into evidence through the testimony of Mr. Lavergne were apparently prepared by Washington Mutual Bank. The foundational testimony given by Mr. Lavergne concerning these records was identical to the foundational testimony he gave concerning the Chase records. It is well settled law that in order for a witness to lay the foundation for the admission of a document as a business record pursuant to CPLR 4518[a], the witness must demonstrate personal knowledge of the business practices and procedures pursuant to which the document was made (see Reiss v Roadhouse Rest., 70 AD3d 1021, 1025 [2d Dept 2010]; Lodato v Greyhawk N. Am., LLC, 39 AD3d 494, 495 [2d Dept 2007]; Vento v City of New York, 25 AD3d 329, 330 [1st Dept 2006]; Dayanim v Unis, 171 AD2d 579 [1st Dept 1991]; Midborough Acupuncture, P.C. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 2006 NY Slip Op 51879[U] [App. Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists]). Because Mr. Lavergne never worked for Washington Mutual Bank, it defies logic that he would have personal knowledge of Washington Mutual Bank’s business practices and procedures. For these reasons, the Court gives Mr. Lavergne’s “robo-testimony” and plaintiffs’ no weight or credit (People v Barrett, 14 AD3d 369 [1st Dept 2005]; see also Washington Mut. Bank v Phillip, 2010 NY Slip Op 52034[U] [Sup Ct, Kings County]).
[…]
In sum, the offered “robo-testimony” was insufficient to establish its case by a preponderance of the credible evidence. [*5]
Based on the above, it is hereby
ORDERED that judgment be entered in favor of defendant SHADY A. GERGIS and against plaintiff CHASE BANK USA, N.A. and that plaintiff’s complaint be DISMISSED with prejudice on the merits.
The foregoing constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly ceased filing lawsuits to collect consumer debts around the nation, dismissing in-house attorneys and virtually shutting down a collections machine that as recently as nine months ago was racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly judgments.
FIRST SENIOR DEPUTY COMPTROLLER AND CHIEF COUNSEL OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
Before the SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Of the COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE
WILFREDO GARCIA, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., AS NOMINEE FOR INDYMAC BANK F.S.B., CRIMINAL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, CITY OF NEW YORK ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, CITY OF NEW YORK PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU, and John Doe, Jane Doe, Defendants.
20049/08, Motion Cal. No. 12, Motion Seq. No. 5.
Supreme Court, Queens County.
June 23, 2011.
BERNICE D. SIEGAL, Judge.
EXCERPTS:
Approximately ten months after the stipulation was entered into, Plaintiff set a new sale date of February 18, 2011. Defendant Garcia now moves for an order seeking to vacate the terms of the stipulation, vacate the default judgment and renew the original order to show cause, predominantly upon the grounds that the Affidavit of Amount Due is signed by Erica A. Johnson-Seck, (hereinafter Johnson-Seck”) Vice-President, an alleged “Robo-Signer.”
[…]
Garcia moves for an order to renew its original order to show cause which sought to vacate the default judgment based on alleged fraud on behalf of the plaintiff. (CPLR §5015(a)(3).) Garcia asserts that the recent discovery of alleged fraud in the preparation of Plaintiff’s affidavit to secure the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale is sufficient basis to renew it’s prior order to show cause to vacate the default judgment.
Garcia asserts that Johnson-Seck is a confirmed robo-signer as evidenced by recent published decisions. (See Onewest Bank, F.S.B. v Drayton, 29 Misc 3d 1021 [Sup.Ct. Kings County 2010]; see also Indymac Bank, FSB v. Bethley, 22 Misc.3d 1119(A) [Sup.Ct. Kings County 2009].) “A `robo-signer’ is a person who quickly signs hundreds or thousands of foreclosure documents in a month, despite swearing that he or she has personally reviewed the mortgage documents and has not done so.” (Onewest Bank, F.S.B. v Drayton, 29 Misc 3d 1021 [Sup.Ct. Kings County 2010].)
Plaintiff, in opposition, does not refute defendant’s assertion that Johnson-Seck is a “robo-signer,” rather, Plaintiff asserts that accusations regarding Johnson-Seck were made public prior to the execution of the aforementioned stipulation, dated March 24, 2010, and therefore any alleged fraud or mistake was known or knowable to defendant’s attorney. “The requirement that a motion for renewal be based upon newly-discovered facts is a flexible one, and a court, in its discretion, may grant renewal upon facts known to the moving party at the time of the original motion.” (Karlin v. Bridges, 172 A.D.2d 644 [2nd Dept 1991].) Even if the court assumes that Garcia’s counsel, David Fuster, Esq., should have known of Johnson-Seck’s “robo-signing,” it is still not a complete defense to Garcia’s motion. Accordingly, Garcia’s motion to renew is granted.
Vacate Default Judgment and Stipulation
Upon renewal this court vacates the prior default judgment dated February 23, 2009, and the stipulation dated March 24, 2010.
CPLR § 3215(f) states:
On any application for judgment by default, the applicant shall file … proof of the facts constituting the claim, the default and the amount due by affidavit made by the party.
Plaintiff submits a “reverified” Affidavit of Charlotte Warwick (hereinafter “Warwick”) attesting that the principal amount due on Garcia’s loan is $472,326.52. Plaintiff contends that the Warwick affidavit cures the fraudulent Affidavit of Amount Due submitted by Johnson-Seck. However, the Judgment of Foreclosure and aforementioned Stipulation, dated March 24, 2010, where all signed under the assumption that the plaintiff had originally submitted non-fraudulent documentation. So while the fraudulent Affidavit of Amount Due may be a curable defect, the court cannot ignore the fact that the papers supporting the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and aforementioned stipulation were fraudulent.
In addition, a default judgment obtained through “extrinsic fraud,” which is “a fraud practiced in obtaining a judgment such that a party may have been prevented from fully and fairly litigating the matter” does not require the defendant to prove a reasonable excuse for such default. (Bank of New York v. Lagakos, 27 A.D.3d 678 [2nd Dept 2006] citing Shaw v. Shaw, 97 A.D.2d 403 [2nd Dept 1983].)
Furthermore, the court is concerned by Plaintiff’s position that the “events he (Garcia) complains of… make no factual difference to the amount he owes on his mortgage.” The statement is alarming as it implies that the court should ignore fraud when the fraud may not be directly relevant to the outcome of the particular case. The court requires an Affidavit of Amount Due and that requirement cannot be satisfied by submitting a fraudulent affidavit. (Indymac Bank, FSB v. Bethley, 22 Misc.3d 1119 [Sup.Ct. Kings County 2009] [prior to granting an application for an order of reference, the Court required an affidavit from Ms. Johnson-Seck, describing her employment history for the past three years].) Plaintiff has failed to deny defendant’s contention that the Johnson-Seck document was fraudulent. Therefore, the Plaintiff failed to submit “proof of the facts constituting the claim, the default and the amount due by affidavit made by the party” as required by CPLR §3215(f).
However, before the judgment on default can be vacated, the settlement stipulation must be vitiated.”Only where there is cause sufficient to invalidate a contract, such as fraud, collusion, mistake or accident, will a party be relieved from the consequences of a stipulation made during litigation” (Hallock v. State, 64 N.Y.2d 224 (1984.) “It is the party seeking to set aside the stipulation … who has the burden of showing that the agreement was the result of fraud.” (Sweeney v. Sweeney, 71 A.D.3d 989 [2nd Dept 2010].) As noted earlier, the fraud perpetrated by the Plaintiff had a domino effect that lead Garcia ultimately to enter into the stipulation. Garcia entered into the agreement on March 24, 2010 to avoid an immediate foreclosure he believed was obtained legally. Accordingly, Garcia has sufficiently established his burden by showing that he would not have entered the stipulation had he known that the Affidavit in support of the default judgment (vacated herein) was fraudulent.
Based on the foregoing, Garcia’s motion is granted to the extent of granting renewal and upon renewal granting the order to show cause dated August 27, 2009 vacating the default judgment of foreclosure and sale entered by this court on or about February 23, 2009 and the stipulation dated March 24, 2010 is declared null and void.
[…]
After you read the brief below, check out more on Ms. Johnson-Seck
Mitch Granat, a lawyer who handles debt-collection cases for J.P. Morgan in Palm Beach County, Fla., on a contract basis, said he was told by other lawyers for the bank that the suits in Florida were dropped because of “irregularities” in paperwork used to verify the validity of the credit-card debt being pursued. Some judges have complained that J.P. Morgan and other credit-card issuers that go to court to collect what they are owed file lawsuits marred by sloppy or even fraudulent documentation of debts. J.P. Morgan hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing related to credit-card cases in any court filings.
It isn’t clear how common the problem is, though Philip Straniere, a state-court judge in Richmond County, N.Y., and other judges say deficiencies are worse than in foreclosure cases. “It’s a significant problem…that’s widespread and yet given virtually no attention,” Judge Straniere said. Last year, Judge Straniere dismissed 150 credit-card-collection suits filed by J.P. Morgan, concluding paperwork submitted by the bank “appeared to be signed in large numbers by only a few individuals.”
For its first witness, plaintiff called Martin Lavergne, who worked for CHASE BANK USA, N.A.(“Chase”) in various roles over a period of approximately 17 years. Presently, he holds the title of “custodian of records.” While Mr. Lavergne maintained that he had personal knowledge of the practices and procedures that Chase utilized in creating and maintaining consumer credit card account records, he never described these practices and procedures and never testified as to how he acquired personal knowledge of them.
[…]
Notably, some of the records that were shown to Mr. Lavergne were apparently created by Washington Mutual Bank. Mr. Lavergne explained this by stating that at some point in time, Chase had acquired Washington Mutual Bank. No testimony was elicited from Mr. Lavergne that he had worked for Washington Mutual Bank or that he had personal knowledge of the practices and procedures that Washington Mutual Bank employed in creating and maintaining consumer credit card account records.
[…]
Here, Mr. Lavergne’s foundational testimony was essentially a verbatim recitation of the statutory elements set forth in CPLR 4518[a]. He gave absolutely no testimony as to how the electronic records concerning defendant’s account statements came into existence nor did he indicate that he even knew how such information was collected. It would appear that credit card statements contain information that is conveyed from multiple entities, from the reporting merchant through various intermediaries, until the information is ultimately incorporated into plaintiff’s business records (see Discover Bank v Williamson, 2007 NY Slip Op 50231[U] [App Term, 9th and 10th Jud Dists]). Certainly, Mr. Lavergne did not demonstrate that the person or persons who inputted the electronic data had actual knowledge of the events inputted or that such person or persons obtained knowledge of those events from someone with actual knowledge of them and who had a business duty to relay information regarding the events (see Corsi v Town of [*4]Bedford, 58 AD3d 225, 229 [2d Dept 2008]; Capasso v Kleen All of America, Inc., 43 AD3d at 1347).
[…]
Further, Mr. Lavergne’s testimony was highly suspect. As stated above, some of the records that plaintiff sought to introduce into evidence through the testimony of Mr. Lavergne were apparently prepared by Washington Mutual Bank. The foundational testimony given by Mr. Lavergne concerning these records was identical to the foundational testimony he gave concerning the Chase records. It is well settled law that in order for a witness to lay the foundation for the admission of a document as a business record pursuant to CPLR 4518[a], the witness must demonstrate personal knowledge of the business practices and procedures pursuant to which the document was made (see Reiss v Roadhouse Rest., 70 AD3d 1021, 1025 [2d Dept 2010]; Lodato v Greyhawk N. Am., LLC, 39 AD3d 494, 495 [2d Dept 2007]; Vento v City of New York, 25 AD3d 329, 330 [1st Dept 2006]; Dayanim v Unis, 171 AD2d 579 [1st Dept 1991]; Midborough Acupuncture, P.C. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 2006 NY Slip Op 51879[U] [App. Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists]). Because Mr. Lavergne never worked for Washington Mutual Bank, it defies logic that he would have personal knowledge of Washington Mutual Bank’s business practices and procedures. For these reasons, the Court gives Mr. Lavergne’s “robo-testimony” and plaintiffs’ no weight or credit (People v Barrett, 14 AD3d 369 [1st Dept 2005]; see also Washington Mut. Bank v Phillip, 2010 NY Slip Op 52034[U] [Sup Ct, Kings County]).
[…]
In sum, the offered “robo-testimony” was insufficient to establish its case by a preponderance of the credible evidence. [*5]
Based on the above, it is hereby
ORDERED that judgment be entered in favor of defendant SHADY A. GERGIS and against plaintiff CHASE BANK USA, N.A. and that plaintiff’s complaint be DISMISSED with prejudice on the merits.
The foregoing constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.
On Tuesday, May 24th 2011, during a hearing in a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, Chairman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) ended the hearing by calling Elizabeth Warren a liar. It was a messy and confusing ending for all watching. Warren had stated that the Chairman’s staff and her, after a late-night, last-minute schedule change, had agreed to let her leave by 2:15 to meet other obligations. You can see the look of shock on her face when he outright calls her a liar.
This video, recorded live, comes from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s live feed.
Testimony of Elizabeth Warren Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Before the Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services, and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
United States House of Representatives
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The White House isn’t saying much about whether Harvard law professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren will be named to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
But the head of a key banking industry group believes it will happen soon.
Camden Fine, president and chief executive of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said Monday that he sees a “better than even chance” that President Barack Obama will nominate Ms. Warren to lead the new bureau.
The very fact that this item “LPS fires back with motion seeking sanctions against Alabama attorney,” was treated as a news story by Housing Wire is further proof that Housing Wire is above all committed to promoting client and mortgage industry interests and only incidentally engages in random acts of journalism.
LPS is desperate to create a shred of positive-looking noise in the face of pending fines under a Federal consent decree, mounting private litigation, and loss of client business under the continued barrage of bad press. Housing Wire, who has LPS as one of its top advertisers, is clearly more than willing to treat a virtual non-event as newsworthy to help an important meal ticket.
If you know anything about litigation, particularly when small fry square off against large companies, it’s standard for the well funded party to engage in a war of attrition against the underdog. One overused device is to threaten or file for sanctions. Even when they are weak or groundless, they still waste opposing counsel’s time and energy.
Testimony of Joshua Rosner before the Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Servicer
and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs.
“Has Dodd-Frank Ended Too Big to Fail?” –
2154 Rayburn House Office Building
March 30, 2011
Almost three years have passed since the United States financial system shook, began to seize up, and threatened to bring the global economy crashing down. The seismic event followed a long period of neglect in bank supervision led by lobbyist-influenced legislators, “a chicken in every pot” administrations, and neutered bank examiners.
The piñata sat alone at the witness table, facing the members of the House subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit.
The Wednesday morning hearing was titled “Oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” The only witness was the piñata, otherwise known as Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor hired last year by President Obama to get the new bureau — the only new agency created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law — up and running. She may or may not be nominated by the president to serve as its first director when it goes live in July, but in the here and now she’s clearly running the joint.
And thus the real purpose of the hearing: to allow the Republicans who now run the House to box Ms. Warren about the ears. The big banks loathe Ms. Warren, who has made a career out of pointing out all the ways they gouge financial consumers — and whose primary goal is to make such gouging more difficult. So, naturally, the Republicans loathe her too. That she might someday run this bureau terrifies the banks. So, naturally, it terrifies the Republicans.
Testimony of Elizabeth Warren Special Advisor to the
Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Committee on Financial Services
United States House of Representatives
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The current economic crisis began one bad mortgage at a time. Mortgages that promised investors huge profits for low risks were the raw material of the securities that contributed to the near collapse of the worldwide economy. Irresponsible lending that encouraged people to buy homes with no realistic hope of ever paying off their loans has now led millions of families into foreclosure and bankruptcy. If there had been just a few basic rules and a cop on the beat to enforce them, we could have avoided or minimized the greatest economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. In the future, the new consumer bureau will be that cop.
FULL TESTIMONY
OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE DEWINE
“An Analysis of the Post-Conservatorship Legal Expenses of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac”
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON
OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
WASHINGTON, DC
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
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