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Here comes the start of small towns, major cities to go BK … Wall Street’s Tax on Main Street

Here comes the start of small towns, major cities to go BK … Wall Street’s Tax on Main Street


NY TIMES – Gretchen Morgenson

AMID all the talk of debt and default in Washington last week, tiny Central Falls, R.I., went bankrupt.

Like many states and cities in these hard economic times, Central Falls — population: 19,000 — was caught short by hefty pension obligations and weak tax revenue. It may not be the last municipality to file for bankruptcy. Jefferson County, Ala., is now on the brink of it, thanks to a sewer bond issue gone wildly bad.

But while pensions and the economy are behind many of municipalities’ troubles, Wall Street has played a role, too. Hidden expenses associated with how local governments finance themselves are compounding financial problems down at city hall.

[NY TIMES]

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DIXON v. WELLS FARGO | MASS. Dist. Court “Promissory Estoppel, A prompt trial of this case is thus absolutely crucial”

DIXON v. WELLS FARGO | MASS. Dist. Court “Promissory Estoppel, A prompt trial of this case is thus absolutely crucial”


FRANK T. DIXON; DEANA M. DIXON, Plaintiffs,

v.

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. formerly known as WACHOVIA MORTGAGE, FSB formerly known as WORLD SAVINGS BANK, FSB, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 11-10368-WGY.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

July 22, 2011.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WILLIAM G. YOUNG, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Frank and Deana Dixon (collectively “the Dixons”) bring this cause of action against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo“), seeking (1) an injunction prohibiting Wells Fargo from foreclosing on their home; (2) specific performance of an oral agreement to enter into a loan modification; and (3) damages. Wells Fargo, having removed the action from state court, now moves for dismissal of the Dixons’ complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), arguing that the allegations are insufficient to invoke the doctrine of promissory estoppel and that, to the extent the Dixons have stated a state-law claim, it is preempted by the Home Owners’ Loan Act (“HOLA”), 12 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1700, and its implementing regulations, 12 C.F.R. §§ 500-99.

[…]

Undoubtedly, the claim that Wells Fargo failed to uphold a promise to consider the Dixons for a loan modification relates to Wells Fargo’s “servicing” of the mortgage. See 12 C.F.R. § 560.2(b)(10). But the standard for express preemption is more than “relates to.” See Coffman, 2010 WL 3069905, at *6 (citing In re Ocwen Loan Servicing, 491 F.3d at 643-44). The claim must “purport[] to impose requirements” regarding loan servicing for express preemption to apply. 12 C.F.R. § 560.2(b). Here, the Dixons do not aim to impose any substantive requirement on the loan modification process used by Wells Fargo, in particular, or federal savings banks, in general. Coffman, 2010 WL 3069905, at *9. The promissory estoppel claim seeks not to attack Wells Fargo’s underlying loan servicing policies and practices, but rather to hold the lender to its word, on which the Dixons relied to their detriment. Enforcement of Wells Fargo’s promise merely requires the lender to deal fairly and honestly, which no more burdens those lending operations listed in paragraph (b) than it does everyday business transactions. Bishop, 2010 WL 4115463, at *5 (“[R]equiring a bank to perform the obligations of its contract in good faith implicates none of the concerns embodied in HOLA.”); see Morse v. Mutual Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n of Whitman, 536 F. Supp. 1271, 1281 (D. Mass. 1982) (Aldrich, J.) (“An award of Chapter 93A exemplary damages against defendant would no more threaten the ability of federal savings and loan associations to perform their functions in the Commonwealth than it would state-chartered savings and loan associations, or other corporations subject to the statute.”). “Only claims that are specific to a defendant’s lending activities, as distinguished from legal duties applicable to all businesses, are preempted by HOLA.” Cuevas v. Atlas Realty/Fin. Servs., Inc., No. C 07-02814 JF, 2008 WL 268981, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 30, 2008).

Turning to paragraph (c) of section 560.2, the Dixons’ promissory estoppel claim “affect[s] lending businesses, just as [it would] affect any other business that enters into contracts or makes representations during the course of its operations.” Gibson, 128 Cal. Rptr. 2d at 28. Because it has some effect on lending, a presumption of preemption arises. 61 Fed. Reg. at 50966. This presumption is rebutted here, however, because promissory estoppel, as a state common-law doctrine of general applicability, is “not designed to regulate lending and do[es] not have a disproportionate or otherwise substantial effect on lending.” Gibson, 128 Cal. Rptr. 2d at 28-29. All businesses, not just federal savings associations, are subject to the predicate duty that the Dixons seek to enforce — a duty to honor promises made. Compliance with that duty would not require Wells Fargo to alter its loan modification program, or any substantive aspect of its approach to servicing loans, but it would ensure that consumers like the Dixons reasonably could rely on their lenders’ statements without suffering harm as a result.

With the national housing market once again rattled by an overwhelming number of foreclosures, other federal courts have been grappling recently with the preemption issue in cases factually indistinguishable from the present one. Yet, no consensus has emerged with respect to HOLA’s reach. In DeLeon v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 10-CV-01390-LHK, 2011 WL 311376 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2011), for example, the plaintiffs had complied with the steps required by Wells Fargo for a loan modification, which they had been assured would be successful, when abruptly and without warning they lost their home to foreclosure. Id. at *1-2. The court held that the plaintiffs’ intentional misrepresentation claim against Wells Fargo was not preempted by HOLA because it “d[id] not attempt to impose substantive requirements regarding loan terms, disclosures, or servicing or processing procedures.” Id. at *7. Similarly, in Becker v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 2:10-cv-02799 LKK KJN PS, 2011 WL 1103439 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 22, 2011), where the plaintiff “allege[d] that he was promised a modification even though [the lender] never intended to modify his loan or seriously consider his application,” the court concluded that the “plaintiff’s fraud claim appears to arise from a more `general duty not to misrepresent material facts,’ and therefore it does not necessarily regulate lending activity.” Id. at *8-9.[9] In contrast, however, the court in Zarif v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 10cv2688-WQH-WVG, 2011 WL 1085660 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 23, 2011), held that the plaintiffs’ state-law claims, including intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and promissory estoppel, were preempted by HOLA because they “specifically challenge the processing of Plaintiffs’ loan modification application and servicing of Plaintiffs’ mortgage.” Id. at *3.[10] There, like here, the plaintiffs faced foreclosure after following Wells Fargo’s instruction to stop making their payments while waiting for their loan modification application to be processed.

[…]

It is said that talk is cheap. The Dixons’ allegations are easy to make, yet until their veracity is put to the test, foreclosure is inappropriate. But just as the homeowner ought not suffer a wrongful foreclosure, so too the bank has an equal and proper interest in realizing on its mortgage security by putting the home on the market at a foreclosure sale, selling it to a viable buyer, and lending the funds derived to other potential home buyers. This case is but a microcosm of much larger economic issues; to a significant extent, our national economy may depend upon promptly sorting out the issues raised here. Clogging the operation of the mortgage foreclosure system with court delay simply will not work. Either individual rights will be submerged, and people will lose their homes unlawfully, or home mortgage liquidity will atrophy, the larger economy will suffer, and potential home buyers will be denied homeownership, although financially able to support mortgage payments.

A prompt trial of this case is thus absolutely crucial. Here in Massachusetts, this federal district court — one of the most productive in the country, United States v. Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 09-11623-WGY, slip op. at chart, ECF. No. 134-1 (D. Mass. May 4, 2011) (Massachusetts is one of “America’s Most Productive federal district courts”) — can provide such a trial.[11]

Accordingly, this case is ordered placed on the September running trial list,[12] and the parties shall be ready for trial on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

SO ORDERED.

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When banks voluntarily do principal reductions

When banks voluntarily do principal reductions


2 Things come to mind immediately:

  1. Seek the advice of a knowledgeable attorney before executing any *new* terms on a contract
  2. Make sure they really own it

FELIX SALMON

The holy grail of mortgage modification is principal reduction — the only thing which gets homeowners out of negative equity hell. And one of the big questions is why it’s not more common: it seems to make sense for all concerned, given that a sensibly modified mortgage is likely to be much more profitable for a bank than forcing a homeowner into a short sale or foreclosure and trying to sell off the home in the current market.

Last week the NYT, in a front-page story, found that Chase is actually doing principal reductions — quietly, on some of the most toxic mortgages written during the subprime bubble. But the mechanism was very mysterious — for one thing, the principal reductions were being done on many mortgages which were actually current and in good standing, rather than on mortgages which were careening towards foreclosure.

Continue reading [REUTERS]

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WACHOVIA BANK OF DELAWARE v. JACKSON | Ohio Appeals Court SJ Reversed “Noriko Colston Affidavit, Uncertified Recorded Copies of Public Records”

WACHOVIA BANK OF DELAWARE v. JACKSON | Ohio Appeals Court SJ Reversed “Noriko Colston Affidavit, Uncertified Recorded Copies of Public Records”


COURT OF APPEALS
STARK COUNTY, OHIO
FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT


WACHOVIA BANK OF DELAWARE, NA

-vs-

IRENE P. JACKSON

EXCERPT:

{¶14} In her first assignment of error, appellant asserts her affidavit in opposition to the motion for summary judgment challenged Wachovia’s allegation it was the holder of the note and mortgage. Appellant’s affidavit states she had been unable to verify that Wachovia Bank of Delaware was authorized to do business in the State of Ohio. She also alleged the affidavit Wachovia submitted in support of its motion for summary judgment was signed by an assistant secretary for a fourth entity claiming power of attorney for the plaintiff and was not sufficient to prove Wachovia is the proper party.

[…]

{¶24} Wachovia’s affidavit to which appellant refers was signed by Noriko Colston, who identified herself as an assistant secretary of Barclay’s Capital Real  Stark County, Case No. 2010-CA-00291 Estate, Inc., dba HomEq Servicing, as attorney in fact for Wachovia Bank of Delaware. The affidavit recites Wachovia Bank of Delaware was formerly known as First Union National Bank of Delaware, formerly known as First Union Home Equity Bank, N.A., and is the successor in interest to First Union Home Equity Corporation. Colston’s affidavit asserts she has personal knowledge of all the facts contained in the affidavit and is competent to testify. Colston’s affidavit states the copies of the note and mortgage attached to the pleadings are true and accurate copies of the original instruments, but the documents are not attached to the affidavit itself. Colston’s affidavit states Wachovia has exercised its option to accelerate and call due the entire principal balance. Colston’s affidavit states she has examined and has personal knowledge of the appellant’s loan account, which is in default. Finally the affidavit lists the amount due.

[…]

{¶28} Colston’s affidavit identifies the mortgage and the note as accurate copies of the originals, but does not identify any other documents Wachovia submitted to the trial court. Her affidavit states she has examined appellant’s loan account. It does not identify the account as a business record, kept in the regular course of business, nor does it state the records were compiled at or near the occurrence of each event by Stark County, Case No. 2010-CA-00291 persons with knowledge of said events. Colston’s affidavit asserts she has personal knowledge of all the facts contained in her affidavit, but she merely alleges she is an assistant secretary of Barclay’s, without elaborating on how her position with the company relates to or makes her familiar with the appellant’s account records.

[…]

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NJ Appellate Div. Denies U.S. BANK “Vacate Default Judgment, Foreclosing Interest of MERS in Residential Realty” | WACHOVIA BANK v WRIGHT

NJ Appellate Div. Denies U.S. BANK “Vacate Default Judgment, Foreclosing Interest of MERS in Residential Realty” | WACHOVIA BANK v WRIGHT


SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-1422-09T2

WACHOVIA BANK, N.A.,
Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

GREGORY WRIGHT a/k/a
GREG WRIGHT, MRS. GREGORY
WRIGHT
, his wife, and
LAKES AT LARCHMONT
CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION
,
Defendants,
and
MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION
SYSTEMS, INC
.,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________________

EXCERPT:

PER CURIAM

U.S. Bank National Association (US Bank), as successor in interest to defendant Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), appeals from a Chancery Division order denying its request to vacate the default judgment against it and foreclosing the interest of MERS in residential realty.1 We affirm.

These facts are taken from the motion record. Defendant Gregory Wright purchased real property on Albridge Way in Mt. Laurel Township (the subject realty) on September 2, 2003. On December 2, 2005, Wright contracted with JP Morgan Chase, N.A. (Chase) for a mortgage and a line of credit secured by a second mortgage on the subject realty. On August 9, 2006, Wright refinanced the Chase debts and withdrew additional equitable value from the realty. He borrowed $210,000 from MERS through its agent, Accredited Home Lenders, Inc. (AHL). Inexplicably, the MERS mortgage was not recorded for over a year, until September 17, 2007.

Continue below…

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In Citigroup Case, A Crack in Wall Street’s Defenses

In Citigroup Case, A Crack in Wall Street’s Defenses


Gretchen Morgenson-NYTimes

TWO individual investors just scored a remarkable win against Citigroup.

A few weeks ago, the pair was awarded a total of $54.1 million in a securities arbitration case against the Smith Barney unit of the company — the largest amount ever awarded to individuals in such a case, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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SEC Announces Securities Laws Violations by Wachovia Involving Mortgage-Backed Securities

SEC Announces Securities Laws Violations by Wachovia Involving Mortgage-Backed Securities


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2011-83

Washington, D.C., April 5, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Wells Fargo Securities LLC agreed to settle charges that Wachovia Capital Markets LLC engaged in misconduct in the sale of two collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) tied to the performance of residential mortgage-backed securities as the U.S. housing market was beginning to show signs of distress in late 2006 and early 2007.

The SEC’s order found that Wachovia Capital Markets violated the securities laws in two respects. First, Wachovia Capital Markets charged undisclosed excessive markups in the sale of certain preferred shares or equity of a CDO called Grand Avenue II to the Zuni Indian Tribe and an individual investor. As detailed in the order, Wachovia Capital Markets marked down $5.5 million of equity to 52.7 cents on the dollar after the deal closed and it was unable to find a buyer. Months later, the Zuni Indian Tribe and the individual investor paid 90 and 95 cents on the dollar. Unbeknownst to them, these prices were over 70 percent higher than the price at which the equity had been marked for accounting purposes.

Additional Materials

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GRETCHEN MORGENSON | The Bank Run We Knew So Little About

GRETCHEN MORGENSON | The Bank Run We Knew So Little About


From New York Times

That Aug. 20, Commerzbank of Germany borrowed $350 million at the Fed’s discount window. Two days later, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and the Wachovia Corporation each received $500 million. As collateral for all these loans, the banks put up a total of $213 billion in asset-backed securities, commercial loans and residential mortgages, including second liens.

Thus began the bank run that set off the financial crisis of 2008. But unlike other bank runs, this one was invisible to most Americans.

[…]


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Full Deposition Of ERICA JOHNSON SECK Former Fannie Mae, WSB Employee

Full Deposition Of ERICA JOHNSON SECK Former Fannie Mae, WSB Employee


Courtesy of Legal Services of New Jersey

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FL APPEALS 5th DCA REVERSAL “Race-Notice, Unrecorded Instrument” ARGENT v. WACHOVIA

FL APPEALS 5th DCA REVERSAL “Race-Notice, Unrecorded Instrument” ARGENT v. WACHOVIA


ARGENT MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC, Appellant,
v.
WACHOVIA BANK N.A., ETC., Appellee.

Case No. 5D09-4014.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

Opinion filed December 30, 2010.

Jeffrey R. Dollinger, of Scruggs & Carmichael, P.A., Gainesville, for Appellant.
W. David Vaughn, of W. David Vaughn, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellee.

GRIFFIN, J.
Argent Mortgage Company, LLC [“Argent”] appeals the trial court’s entry of judgment in favor of Wachovia Bank National Association, as Trustee Under Pooling and Servicing Agreement Dated as of November 1, 2004, Asset Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2004-WWF1 [“Wachovia”]. Argent argues that the trial court erred by finding that the mortgage now owned by Wachovia has priority over Argent’s mortgage. We reverse.
Continue reading below…

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MO E. DIS. COURT: “Not Clear Who U.S. Bank Was A Successor To” SCHWEND-McCUMMISKEY v. US BANK, N.A. et al

MO E. DIS. COURT: “Not Clear Who U.S. Bank Was A Successor To” SCHWEND-McCUMMISKEY v. US BANK, N.A. et al


SCHWEND
v.
US BANK, N.A.

(E.D.Mo. 12-3-2010).
Case No. 4: 10 CV 1590 CDP

Excerpt:

As plaintiff points out, it is not at all clear who US Bank was a successor to, since “Wachovia Bank, N.A. Pooling and Servicing Agreement dated as of November 1,
2004. Asset-Backed Pass-Though Certificates Series 2004-WWF1” does not appear to refer to an entity who could be a trustee or security holder, but rather appears to refer to an agreement of some sort. More importantly, there is nothing in the record to show how US Bank, Wachovia Bank, or “Pooling and Servicing Agreement dated as of November 1, 2004” came to be the holder of this note. As noted above, the original lender shown in the Deed of Trust is Argent Mortgage Company LLC and the original trustee is Lenders Management Corp. The forbearance agreement that Schwend later signed is with America’s Servicing Company. From the record here it is not at all clear that US Bank was the lawful holder of the note with the power to foreclose, and if it was not, the claim for wrongful foreclosure is more than plausible. See, e.g., Cobe v. Lovan, 92 S.W. 93, 97 (Mo. 1906) (foreclosure sale void when foreclosing defendant did not hold title
to the note).

[ipaper docId=44983478 access_key=key-2j89la3vj6h5vs3m4u1f height=600 width=600 /]

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NO MENTION OF DEBT OR NOTE ON ASSIGNMENT, DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE: WACHOVIA v. VARGAS NYSC

NO MENTION OF DEBT OR NOTE ON ASSIGNMENT, DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE: WACHOVIA v. VARGAS NYSC


SUPREME COURT – STATE OF NEW YORK
TRIAL TERM. PART 17 NASSAU COUNTY
Index No. 23255/09

PRESENT:
Honorable Karen V Murphy
Justice of the Supreme Court

WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
3476 Stateview Boulevard
Ft. Mil, SC 29715

-against-

ANGEL VARGAS, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC
REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC. AS NOMINEE
FOR CONTINENTAL MORTGAGE BANKERS,
INC. D/B/A FINANCIAL EQUITIES, ET AL.,

EXCERPT:
Plaintiff has not provided a copy of an alleged servicing agreement between Plaintiff and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. A vice president of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. has provided what purports to be an affidavit of facts, however it is not clear that they are authorized to do so.

Additionally the subject mortgage was allegedly modified by Defendant Vargas and yet another entity known as Americas Servicing Company (“Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. doing business as America’s Servicing Company).

The Plaintiff herein lacks standing to bring this action. The purported assignment assigned the mortgage but makes no mention of the debt or note. (Kluge v. Fugazy, 145 2d 537, 536 N. 2d 92 (2d Dept., 1988); U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Collymore 68 A.D.3d 752, 890 N. 2d 578 [2d Dept., 2009]).

Under the circumstances Plaintiff has failed to establish that it is entitled to the relief sought and the complaint is dismissed with prejudice.

[ipaper docId=39560979 access_key=key-o8t973eukhmnfy8gt66 height=600 width=600 /]

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FULL DEPOSITION OF WELLS FARGO HERMAN JOHN KENNERTY

FULL DEPOSITION OF WELLS FARGO HERMAN JOHN KENNERTY


Hat tip to Brian Davis for this deposition below.

JOHN KENNERTY a/k/a Herman John Kennerty has been employed for many years in the Ft. Mill, SC offices of America’s Servicing Company, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. He signed many different job titles on mortgage-related documents, often using different titles on the same day. He often signs as an officer of MERS (“Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.”) On many Mortgage Assignments signed by Kennerty, Wells Fargo, or the trust serviced by ASC, is shown as acquiring the mortgage weeks or even months AFTER the foreclosure action is filed.

[ipaper docId=38977273 access_key=key-rgquasqbys0hxg420t8 height=600 width=600 /]

RELATED:

MAESTRO PLEASE…AND THE WINNER OF THE “MOST JOB TITLES” CONTEST IS…


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Posted in assignment of mortgage, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, herman john kennerty, MERS, MERSCORP, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., wells fargoComments (1)

Wells Fargo to Forgive $772 Million in Risky Home Loans

Wells Fargo to Forgive $772 Million in Risky Home Loans


By DANNY KING Posted 6:00 PM 10/06/10

Homeowners struggling to repay adjustable-rate mortgages from Wachovia and World Savings Bank, subsidiaries of Wells Fargo (WFC), got some good news Wednesday. The company has agreed to pay $24 million to settle allegations of deceptive marketing about the risky loans from eight states and also to forgive more than $772 million in outstanding loan balances owed by more than 8,700 borrowers.The states’ probe was spurred by Wachovia’s so-called “Pick-A-Payment” adjustable-rate mortgages. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who led the investigation, said in a statement that Wachovia — which Wells Fargo acquired after the loans were granted — failed to sufficiently inform borrowers of the risks involved in such loan programs. Wells Fargo said it had already forgiven $3.4 billion in loans as of August.
.
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/cD47FQ
.
.

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Posted in mortgage, Real Estate, rmbs, securitization, servicers, settlement, wachovia, wells fargoComments (1)

MAESTRO PLEASE…AND THE WINNER OF THE “MOST JOB TITLES” CONTEST IS…

MAESTRO PLEASE…AND THE WINNER OF THE “MOST JOB TITLES” CONTEST IS…


JOHN KENNERTY, a/k/a HERMAN JOHN KENNERTY

JOHN KENNERTY a/k/a Herman John Kennerty has been employed for many years in the Ft. Mill, SC offices of America’s Servicing Company, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. He signed many different job titles on mortgage-related documents, often using different titles on the same day. He often signs as an officer of MERS (“Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.”) On many Mortgage Assignments signed by Kennerty, Wells Fargo, or the trust serviced by ASC, is shown as acquiring the mortgage weeks or even months AFTER the foreclosure action is filed.

Titles attributed to John Kennerty include the following:

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for 1st Continental Mortgage Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for American Brokers Conduit;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for American Enterprise Bank of Florida;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for American Home Mortgage;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Amnet Mortgage, Inc. d/b/a American Mortgage Network of Florida;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Bayside Mortgage Services, Inc.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for CT Mortgage, Inc.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for First Magnus Financial Corporation, an Arizona Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for First National Bank of AZ;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Fremont Investment & Loan;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Group One Mortgage, Inc.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Guaranty Bank;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Homebuyers Financial, LLC;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for IndyMac Bank, FSB, a Federally Chartered Savings Bank (in June 2010);

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Irwin Mortgage Corporation;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Ivanhoe Financial, Inc., a Delaware Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Mortgage Network, Inc.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Ohio Savings Bank;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Paramount Financial, Inc.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Pinnacle Direct Funding Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for RBC Mortgage Company;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Seacoast National Bank;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Shelter Mortgage Company, LLC;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Stuart Mortgage Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Suntrust Mortgage;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Transaland Financial Corp.;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Universal American Mortgage Co., LLC;

Asst. Secretary, MERS, as Nominee for Wachovia Mortgage Corp.;

Vice President of Loan Documentation, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.;

Vice President of Loan Documentation, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., successor by merger to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. f/k/a Norwest Mortgage, Inc.

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Posted in chain in title, conflict of interest, conspiracy, CONTROL FRAUD, deed of trust, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, fraud digest, herman john kennerty, investigation, Lynn Szymoniak ESQ, MERS, MERSCORP, mortgage, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Notary, note, robo signer, servicers, trustee, Trusts, Wall StreetComments (3)

NY SUPREME COURT: MERS “DEVOID OF PROOF” AS NOMINEE

NY SUPREME COURT: MERS “DEVOID OF PROOF” AS NOMINEE


Judge Thomas A. Adams knows exactly what he is doing! Watch for more of his slam dunks…

WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE CERTIFICATE HOLDERS FOR MERRILL LYNCH MORTGAGE INVESTORS TRUST, MORTGAGE LOAN ASSET-BACKED
CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005

– against –

STUART BRENNER, et aI.

INDEX NO. : 014812/09

AUGUST 20, 2010

Defendant’ s answer contains a defense of “lack of standing.” Plaintiff has failed to establish it was the holder of the note and the mortgage securing it when the action was commenced. In that regard, plaintiff relies on an undated assignment of the mortgage by MERS as nominee acknowledged by a Texas notary on July 18, 2009. The note sued on does not contain an indication it has been negotiated. The undated assignment by MERS contains a provision at the assignment of the mortgage is “TOGETHER with the notes described in said mortgage.” The record before me is devoid of proof that MERS as nominee for purposes of recording had authority to assign the mortgage. However, assuming it had such authority since it is a party to the mortgage and such authority might be implied , there has been a complete failure to establish MERS, as a non-party to the note, to negotiate its transfer. A transfer of the note effects a transfer of the mortgage MERS vs. Coakley, 41 AD3 674), the assignment of a mortgage without a valid transfer of the mortgage note is a nullity (Kluge vs. Fugazv, 145 AD2 537).

[ipaper docId=37303502 access_key=key-1d4n1yvrrs8g3slznku3 height=600 width=600 /]

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



Posted in chain in title, conspiracy, CONTROL FRAUD, corruption, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, MERS, MERSCORP, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, stopforeclosurefraud.com, trustee, TrustsComments (0)

BANKS TAKE THIS AS A WARNING…coming to a home near you!

BANKS TAKE THIS AS A WARNING…coming to a home near you!


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSFVx1c6ca8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jX_T0nHv8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6hy4PBo4tE]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shiAP8_WxxY]

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

ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

The more they destroy our lives, the more we lose our identity!

Posted in corruption, foreclosure fraudComments (0)

Too BIG to Fail, Too BIG for Jail? Bid-Rigging Conspiracy

Too BIG to Fail, Too BIG for Jail? Bid-Rigging Conspiracy


March 26 (Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and UBS AG were among more than a dozen Wall Street firms involved in a conspiracy to pay below-market interest rates to U.S. state and local governments on investments, according to documents filed in a U.S. Justice Department criminal antitrust case.

A government list of previously unidentified “co- conspirators” contains more than two dozen bankers at firms also including Bank of America Corp., Bear Stearns Cos., Societe Generale, two of General Electric Co.’s financial businesses and Salomon Smith Barney, the former unit of Citigroup Inc., according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on March 24.

The papers were filed by attorneys for a former employee of CDR Financial Products Inc., an advisory firm indicted in October. The attorneys, as part of their legal filing, identified the roster as being provided by the government. The document is labeled “list of co-conspirators.”

None of the firms or individuals named on the list has been charged with wrongdoing. The court records mark the first time these companies have been identified as co-conspirators. They provide the broadest look yet at alleged collusion in the $2.8 trillion municipal securities market that the government says delivered profits to Wall Street at taxpayers’ expense.

‘Sufficient Evidence’

“If the government is saying they are co-conspirators, the government believes they have sufficient evidence that they can show they were part of the conspiracy,” said Richard Donovan, a partner at New York-based law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and co-chair of its antitrust practice. Donovan isn’t involved in the case.

The government’s case centers on investments known as guaranteed investment contracts that cities, states and school districts buy with the money they receive through municipal bond sales. Some $400 billion of municipal bonds are issued each year, and localities use the contracts to earn a return on some of the money until they need it for construction or other projects.

The Internal Revenue Service sometimes collects earnings on those investments and requires that they be awarded by competitive bidding to ensure that governments receive a fair return. The government charges that CDR ran sham auctions that allowed the banks to pay below-market interest rates to local governments.

CDR Fights Case

CDR, a Los Angeles-based local-government adviser, was indicted in October along with David Rubin, Zevi Wolmark and Evan Zarefsky, three current or former executives. The company and the three men have denied wrongdoing. Since last month, three former CDR employees who weren’t charged in the initial indictment have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department.

More than a dozen financial firms are also facing civil suits filed by municipalities over the alleged conspiracy. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan refused to toss out a lawsuit brought by Mississippi and other bond issuers.

Brian Marchiony, a spokesman for JPMorgan in New York; Doug Morris, a spokesman for UBS in New York; and Danielle Romero- Apsilos, a spokeswoman for Citigroup in New York, all declined to comment. A Societe Generale spokesman, Jim Galvin; Lehman spokeswoman Kimberly MacLeod, and GE Capital spokesman Ned Reynolds in Stamford, Connecticut, also declined to comment. Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton in San Francisco declined to comment. Bear Stearns was bought by JPMorgan in 2008, the same year Lehman Brothers collapsed.

‘Absolute Disaster’

Laura Sweeney, a Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington, declined to comment.

Banks may choose to cooperate with prosecutors because in light of the government bailout funds they’ve received “a guilty plea would just be an absolute disaster for some of these companies,” said Nathan Muyskens, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Washington and former trial attorney with the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition.

“There have been antitrust investigations where there have been companies involved that were just never indicted,” he said in a phone interview.

At the same time, the government will probably focus on seeking to convict individual bankers, he said.

“When someone goes to jail for five years, that resonates,” he said. “When a company pays $200 million, it’s simply a balance sheet issue. Jail time is what captures corporate America’s attention.”

Lawyers’ Filing

In a court filing yesterday, defense lawyers said they “inadvertently” included the names of individual and company co-conspirators in a motion asking the court to compel the government to provide more specific evidence of the alleged misconduct. They asked the court to strike the entire exhibit in which the list appears. Judge Marrero granted the request.

The government’s probe became public in 2006 when federal investigators raided CDR and two competitors and issued subpoenas to more than a dozen firms. The “co-conspirators” on the list released in court this week also included Wachovia Corp., which was purchased by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. in 2008. Elise Wilkinson, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman in Charlotte, North Carolina, didn’t return a call today seeking comment.

October Indictments

The indictments released in October didn’t identify any of the sellers of the investment contracts involved in the alleged conspiracy. They were identified only as Provider A and Provider B. They paid kickbacks to CDR after winning investment deals brokered by the firm, according to the indictments.

The firms did this by paying sham fees tied to financial transactions entered into with other companies, prosecutors said. Kickbacks were paid from 2001 to 2005, ranging from $4,500 to $475,000 each, according to the Justice Department.

According to the list contained in the court filing this week, the investment contracts involved were created by units of GE and divisions of Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd., a bond insurer formerly part of Brussels-based lender Dexia SA.

The kickbacks were paid out of fees generated by transactions entered into with two financial institutions that weren’t identified in the October court filing. The March 24 list filed by the defense named the two firms as UBS and Royal Bank of Canada.

Dexia Sale

Dexia completed the sale of FSA’s bond-insurance business in July to Assured Guaranty Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda, while retaining its outstanding investment contracts.

Thierry Martiny, a spokesman for Dexia in Brussels, declined to comment. FSA, based in New York, was the biggest insurer of U.S. municipal bonds in 2007 and 2008.

“We have no comment,” said Betsy Castenir, a spokeswoman for Assured Guaranty in New York, in an e-mail response. “Dexia has responsibility for the liabilities of the Financial Products business.”

Royal Bank of Canada “has been fully cooperating with the government,” Kevin Foster, a spokesman for the bank in New York, said in an e-mailed statement. “We have no knowledge or evidence of wrongdoing by any of our employees.”

The case is U.S. v. Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services Inc., 09-CR-01058, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: William Selway in San Francisco at wselway@bloomberg.net; Martin Z. Braun in New York at mbraun6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 26, 2010 13:09 EDT

Posted in bank of america, bloomberg, chase, citi, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, jpmorgan chase, wachoviaComments (0)

HARVARD LAW AND ECONOMIC ISSUES IN SUBPRIME LITIGATION 2008

HARVARD LAW AND ECONOMIC ISSUES IN SUBPRIME LITIGATION 2008


This in combination with A.K. Barnett-Hart’s Thesis make’s one hell of a Discovery.

 
LEGAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES IN
SUBPRIME LITIGATION
Jennifer E. Bethel*
Allen Ferrell**
Gang Hu***
 

Discussion Paper No. 612

03/2008

Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA 02138

 

 ABSTRACT

This paper explores the economic and legal causes and consequences of recent difficulties in the subprime mortgage market. We provide basic descriptive statistics and institutional details on the mortgage origination process, mortgage-backed securities (MBS), and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). We examine a number of aspects of these markets, including the identity of MBS and CDO sponsors, CDO trustees, CDO liquidations, MBS insured and registered amounts, the evolution of MBS tranche structure over time, mortgage originations, underwriting quality of mortgage originations, and write-downs of investment banks. In light of this discussion, the paper then addresses questions as to how these difficulties might have not been foreseen, and some of the main legal issues that will play an important role in the extensive subprime litigation (summarized in the paper) that is underway, including the Rule 10b-5 class actions that have already been filed against the investment banks, pending ERISA litigation, the causes-of-action available to MBS and CDO purchasers, and litigation against the rating agencies. In the course of this discussion, the paper highlights three distinctions that will likely prove central in the resolution of this litigation: The distinction between reasonable ex ante expectations and the occurrence of ex post losses; the distinction between the transparency of the quality of the underlying assets being securitized and the transparency as to which market participants are exposed to subprime losses; and, finally, the distinction between what investors and market participants knew versus what individual entities in the structured finance process knew, particularly as to macroeconomic issues such as the state of the national housing market. ex ante expectations and the occurrence of ex post losses; the distinction between the transparency of the quality of the underlying assets being securitized and the transparency as to which market participants are exposed to subprime losses; and, finally, the distinction between what investors and market participants knew versus what individual entities in the structured finance process knew, particularly as to macroeconomic issues such as the state of the national housing market. 

 continue reading the paper harvard-paper-diagrams

 
 

 

Posted in bank of america, bear stearns, bernanke, chase, citi, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, credit score, Dick Fuld, FED FRAUD, G. Edward Griffin, geithner, indymac, jpmorgan chase, lehman brothers, mozillo, naked short selling, nina, note, scam, siva, tila, wachovia, washington mutual, wells fargoComments (1)

Michael Lewis’s ‘The Big Short’? Read the Harvard Thesis Instead! “The Story of the CDO Market Meltdown: An Empirical Analysis.”

Michael Lewis’s ‘The Big Short’? Read the Harvard Thesis Instead! “The Story of the CDO Market Meltdown: An Empirical Analysis.”


March 15, 2010, 4:59 PM ET

Michael Lewis’s ‘The Big Short’? Read the Harvard Thesis Instead!

By Peter Lattman

Deal Journal has yet to read “The Big Short,” Michael Lewis’s yarn on the financial crisis that hit stores today. We did, however, read his acknowledgments, where Lewis praises “A.K. Barnett-Hart, a Harvard undergraduate who had just  written a thesis about the market for subprime mortgage-backed CDOs that remains more interesting than any single piece of Wall Street research on the subject.”

A.K. Barnett-Hart

While unsure if we can stomach yet another book on the crisis, a killer thesis on the topic? Now that piqued our curiosity. We tracked down Barnett-Hart, a 24-year-old financial analyst at a large New York investment bank. She met us for coffee last week to discuss her thesis, “The Story of the CDO Market Meltdown: An Empirical Analysis.” Handed in a year ago this week at the depths of the market collapse, the paper was awarded summa cum laude and won virtually every thesis honor, including the Harvard Hoopes Prize for outstanding scholarly work.

Last October, Barnett-Hart, already pulling all-nighters at the bank (we agreed to not name her employer), received a call from Lewis, who had heard about her thesis from a Harvard doctoral student. Lewis was blown away.

“It was a classic example of the innocent going to Wall Street and asking the right questions,” said Mr. Lewis, who in his 20s wrote “Liar’s Poker,” considered a defining book on Wall Street culture. “Her thesis shows there were ways to discover things that everyone should have wanted to know. That it took a 22-year-old Harvard student to find them out is just outrageous.”

Barnett-Hart says she wasn’t the most obvious candidate to produce such scholarship. She grew up in Boulder, Colo., the daughter of a physics professor and full-time homemaker. A gifted violinist, Barnett-Hart deferred admission at Harvard to attend Juilliard, where she was accepted into a program studying the violin under Itzhak Perlman. After a year, she headed to Cambridge, Mass., for a broader education. There, with vague designs on being pre-Med, she randomly took “Ec 10,” the legendary introductory economics course taught by Martin Feldstein.

“I thought maybe this would help me, like, learn to manage my money or something,” said Barnett-Hart, digging into a granola parfait at Le Pain Quotidien. She enjoyed how the subject mixed current events with history, got an A (natch) and declared economics her concentration.

Barnett-Hart’s interest in CDOs stemmed from a summer job at an investment bank in the summer of 2008 between junior and senior years. During a rotation on the mortgage securitization desk, she noticed everyone was in a complete panic. “These CDOs had contaminated everything,” she said. “The stock market was collapsing and these securities were affecting the broader economy. At that moment I became obsessed and decided I wanted to write about the financial crisis.”

Back at Harvard, against the backdrop of the financial system’s near-total collapse, Barnett-Hart approached professors with an idea of writing a thesis about CDOs and their role in the crisis. “Everyone discouraged me because they said I’d never be able to find the data,” she said. “I was urged to do something more narrow, more focused, more knowable. That made me more determined.”

She emailed scores of Harvard alumni. One pointed her toward LehmanLive, a comprehensive database on CDOs. She received scores of other data leads. She began putting together charts and visuals, holding off on analysis until she began to see patterns–how Merrill Lynch and Citigroup were the top originators, how collateral became heavily concentrated in subprime mortgages and other CDOs, how the credit ratings procedures were flawed, etc.

“If you just randomly start regressing everything, you can end up doing an unlimited amount of regressions,” she said, rolling her eyes. She says nearly all the work was in the research; once completed,  she jammed out the paper in a couple of weeks.

“It’s an incredibly impressive piece of work,” said Jeremy Stein, a Harvard economics professor who included the thesis on a reading list for a course he’s teaching this semester on the financial crisis. “She pulled together an enormous amount of information in a way that’s both intelligent and accessible.”

Barnett-Hart’s thesis is highly critical of Wall Street and “their irresponsible underwriting practices.” So how is it that she can work for the very institutions that helped create the notorious CDOs she wrote about?

“After writing my thesis, it became clear to me that the culture at these investment banks needed to change and that incentives needed to be realigned to reward more than just short-term profit seeking,” she wrote in an email. “And how would Wall Street ever change, I thought, if the people that work there do not change? What these banks needed is for outsiders to come in with a fresh perspective, question the way business was done, and bring a new appreciation for the true purpose of an investment bank – providing necessary financial services, not creating unnecessary products to bolster their own profits.”

Ah, the innocence of youth.

Here is a copy of the thesis: 2009-CDOmeltdown

Posted in foreclosure fraudComments (1)

Move Your Money…

Move Your Money…


Move your money to a community bank or a credit union…watch the videos.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icqrx0OimSs]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AmfNft0Eow]

Here is Arianna Huffington: Move Your Money: A New Year’s Resolution

Go HERE to see where to go to move your money in your area

Posted in bank of america, bear stearns, chase, citi, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, FED FRAUD, geithner, indymac, jpmorgan chase, Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, onewest, wachovia, washington mutual, wells fargoComments (0)


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