rss
Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis
Monday, October 11, 2010 at 6:00 am
- 57 Comments
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (ohioattorneygeneral.gov)
James Jones has spent the past five years trying to prevent foreclosures in Cleveland. Recently, his work as director of foreclosure prevention at the East Side Organizing Project, a community organizing group dedicated to improving neighborhood life in the city, has focused on targeting predatory lenders and trying to prevent banks from foreclosing on cash-strapped low-income borrowers.
[Economy1] “I’ve seen the foreclosure issue go from predatory loans, to subprime loans, to predatory loans, to an economic situation where folks have been laid off,” Jones explains. “And now we’re back to problems with paperwork.”
Ohio — and especially Cleveland — was hit earlier and worse by the foreclosure crisis than other states, due to widespread problems with predatory lending, an early economic downturn stemming from the loss of manufacturing jobs, and weak consumer-protection laws. Now, it is at the forefront of the foreclosure fraud crisis, with housing advocates and politicians calling for banks to halt evictions immediately and stop seizing homes.
The fraud scandal is complex. In September, a court case brought to light the existence of one Jeffrey Stephan, who worked for GMAC Mortgage, part of Ally Financial. Stephan attested that he signed as many as 10,000 foreclosure documents a month — one every minute or so. Soon, other revelations about banks using such “robosigners” to OK foreclosure documentation came to light.
The problem is, in 23 states, those robosigned documents went to a judge, who approved a final foreclosure, wherein the bank evicts a family and reclaims a house. Stephan and other signatories were meant to be carefully checking the information within and were giving the documents to the court as an affidavit, the equivalent of sworn testimony. The documents were not checked — meaning that the signers, and the banks they worked for, were defrauding the court. A judge ruled any such foreclosures to be illegitimate, sending a shudder through the housing markets. Banks started halting foreclosures in the 23 states that require judicial review. And the scandal has spiralled from there.
Officials in Ohio were among the first and the most aggressive in going after the banks making fraudulent foreclosures. On Sept. 30, Ohio’s secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, told the state’s boards of elections not to use foreclosures to disqualify voters, under the premise that hundreds or even thousands of foreclosures in the state might be illegitimate. Then, last week, Richard Cordray, Ohio’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit against GMAC, seeking $25,000 for every violation of the state’s consumer-protection laws. It was the biggest and boldest legal action taken against mortgage companies since the crisis started unfolding.
“Some ugly revelations have recently come to light about how foreclosures are bring processed in this country,” Cordray said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It appears that, on a mass scale, many homeowners are being deprived of their property based on phony affidavits and without the due and proper processes of law. It is now becoming clear that fraud, deception and an utter disregard for accuracy are in part to blame for our national foreclosure disaster.”
In an interview with TWI, Cordray stressed that the problems were systemic and the violations serious. “What we’re talking about here is not just sloppy paperwork,” he said. “We’re talking about fraud in a court of law. The [foreclosure document signers] were lying under oath, to a judge. And there is evidence that this company has illegally ousted people from their private property, violating their property rights.”
Cordray did not just sue GMAC, but also wrote letters to other major banks, calling on them to investigate their foreclosure processes and to stop evicting families immediately. In intervening days, banks have stopped selling their previously repossessed properties, and have mostly halted the foreclosure and eviction process in Ohio.
The scandal came as no surprise to housing advocates in the state. “We had 90,000 foreclosure filings last year, and another 100,000 this year,” explains David Rothstein of the non-partisan think tank Policy Matters Ohio. “When we look at those statistics, and put our thinking caps on, you have to say, how were they processing all of these claims without bigger legal staffs and bank staffs? This wasn’t a surprise.”
He continues: “And there’s a tragic irony here. For five or ten years, the banks have said that the foreclosure crisis in this state is the borrowers’ fault. They bit off more than they could chew. It’s all their fault for buying expensive houses and then losing their jobs.
“But look at this! They’re taking people into foreclosure, without the right to do it! It is tragic. They were committing fraud, and were completely giving up their fiduciary responsibilities.”
Jones agrees. He explains that ESOP, which negotiates on behalf of borrowers undergoing eviction, demands to work with a qualified individual at a bank, and often manages to work out a solution other than foreclosure. But most Ohioans do not have an organization like ESOP on their side. “Foreclosure is not a quick process,” he says. “Most of the servicers — your Chases, your Wells Fargos — have these black holes. You send paperwork in, and it is months before you even find out where it went.
“They’re not set up to modify loans, or find other solutions. They’re not set up to do what needs to be done to help homeowners. A lot of things fall through the cracks. And that’s what the big problem is. They don’t have enough eyes, enough checks and double-checks. Not when they’re getting the volume they’re getting. So when you don’t have an advocate, look what happens.”
The question is now what the foreclosure fraud scandal might mean for homeowning Ohioans — and residents of every state across the country. Already, the foreclosure situation has rocked the housing market and hurt families in the state. In the first half of the year alone, there were 45,930 properties undergoing foreclosure, enough to impact one in every 100 households. Bank-repossessed homes are flooding the market in many areas. And, according to RealtyTrac, they sell for 43 percent less than the average house — the biggest discount of any state.
Housing advocates say that the stall in foreclosures will likely only prolong the pain for Ohio families, even if they are given temporary reprieve from foreclosure and now have assurance they will not be evicted without due process.
The best outcome, Rothstein says, would be for the government to finally step in to help homeowners with more effective programs than the Home Affordable Modification Program, the Treasury’s signature effort to keep families in their homes. (It has helped about one-tenth of the homeowners it said it would and is widely considered a failure.)
“The federal government made good attempts, but were really bank-focused,” Rothstein says. “They never had borrower-centered programs. But if banks are forced to reduce principals on mortgages and to make better loan terms, we might be in a better place.”
Follow Annie Lowrey on Twitter
57 Comments
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 6:26 am
[...] View full post on The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 6:40 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dan , Aubrey Kipp, Eddie Williamson, Linda Thompson, Debora Cornerstone and others. Debora Cornerstone said: "What do you know" Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis: By Annie Lowrey 10/11/10 6:00 … http://bit.ly/bol2Kh [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 6:42 am
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 8:11 am
[...] on Legal WorryBloombergGold: Insurance Against Total Collapse of the Banking SystemSeeking AlphaOhio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington IndependentThe Associated Press -International Business Times -Newsdayall [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 9:12 am
[...] in foreclosure documents. …Attorneys General May Launch Foreclosure InvestigationDailyFinanceOhio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington IndependentForeclosure fraud: Double whammy for US homeownersInternational Business [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 9:13 am
[...] the Banking SystemSeeking AlphaForeclosure freeze could undermine housing marketThe Associated PressThe Washington Independent -International Business Times -Newsdayall 2,319 news [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 9:56 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 10:37 am
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 11:11 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis « The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 12:01 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis “Ohio — and especially Cleveland — was hit earlier and worse by the foreclosure crisis than other states, due to widespread problems with predatory lending, an early economic downturn stemming from the loss of manufacturing jobs, and weak consumer-protection laws. Now, it is at the forefront of the foreclosure fraud crisis, with housing advocates and politicians calling for banks to halt evictions immediately and stop seizing homes.” [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Trackback posted October 11, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis ……
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
[...] have either imposed state-wide moratoriums or investigations into foreclosure fraud, and Ohio is already suing GMAC. Why does the president want to kneecap members of his own party?What’s more, Axelrod’s [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
[...] on about 1.2 …Gold: Insurance Against Total Collapse of the Banking SystemSeeking AlphaOhio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington IndependentForeclosure freeze could undermine housing marketThe Associated [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis « The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
[...] have either imposed state-wide moratoriums or investigations into foreclosure fraud, and Ohio is already suing GMAC. Why does the president want to kneecap members of his own [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 2:43 pm
[...] have either imposed state-wide moratoriums or investigations into foreclosure fraud, and Ohio is already suing GMAC. Why does the president want to kneecap members of his own [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 2:54 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard bу Foreclosure, Now аt Epicenter οf Fraud Crisis … [...]
Comment posted October 11, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
It's about time the truth was told about this financial crisis we're in. The banks bumped up the value on homes and charged interest rates equivalent to the mortgage as it should have been. The banks get their cut first and then you pay principal. The house was never yours and never will be if you have to put children through college or have an illness. The American dream is a sham. You were better off renting and on housing assistance.
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 5:46 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 7:40 pm
[...] have either imposed state-wide moratoriums or investigations into foreclosure fraud, and Ohio is already suing GMAC. Why does the president want to kneecap members of his own [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 9:13 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis « The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 10:52 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 11, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 6:23 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 8:01 am
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 8:18 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 9:11 am
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 9:54 am
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Comment posted October 12, 2010 @ 10:07 am
gov't has paid off the loans thur tarp now the banks without investment in these loans are cleaning up thur fraudulent foreclosuer from loans they don't own the homeowner and the investor are being defauded and the gov't allowing this to keep fannie mae afloat
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 11:58 am
[...] Annie Lowrey investigates the battle on the ground in Ohio in Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis: In an interview with TWI, Cordray stressed that the problems were systemic and the violations [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 12:59 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 12, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
[...] Washington Independent – Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis [...]
Trackback posted October 13, 2010 @ 1:04 am
HouseLogic.Com and The National Association of REALTORS…
I found your entry interesting thus I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Pingback posted October 13, 2010 @ 2:25 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard bу Foreclosure, Now аt Epicenter οf Fraud Crisis … [...]
Trackback posted October 13, 2010 @ 5:06 am
Foreclosure Crisis ‘A Legal Impossibility’, Ritholtz Says (WATCH)…
I found your entry interesting thus I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Comment posted October 13, 2010 @ 4:47 am
My parents have been foreclosed on by GMAC… My father's been out of a job for over a year now, as it seems no one is hiring in manufacturing (what a surprise). GMAC refused to even speak with my parents to negotiate. They attended the government led housing event, spoke to someone who told them he would help get something worked out, sent in the paperwork and did what he said, and then he did not return calls and eventually said there was nothing he could do. My dad is a hard working man and helps everyone with everything… my parents don't deserve this. I am so disgusted with the inhumanity of these corporations.. and our government.
Pingback posted October 13, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
[...] lawyers launching a probe into foreclosure practices in the wake of allegations that some …Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington Independentall 24 news [...]
Comment posted October 13, 2010 @ 6:20 pm
Correct me if I am wrong, but foreclosure occurs from a lack of payment, for months or even years! These homeowners, as bad as I feel for many of them, have not paid in ages and are now squatting in these homes. Regardless of “robosigning,” banks must ultimately repossess a property if the owner is not paying. I can guarantee that this will be quickly sweeped under the rug by the large banking institutions.
Pingback posted October 13, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
[...] of 49 states into home-foreclosure …Foreclosure fraud should generate indictmentsDaily KosOhio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington Independentall 27 news [...]
Pingback posted October 13, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
[...] to Work With States in Probe: VideoBloombergForeclosure fraud should generate indictmentsDaily KosOhio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud CrisisThe Washington Independentall 30 news [...]
Pingback posted October 14, 2010 @ 2:30 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 14, 2010 @ 6:18 am
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis … [...]
Pingback posted October 16, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
[...] Source [...]
Pingback posted October 17, 2010 @ 2:52 pm
[...] Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis « The Washington Independent [...]
Comment posted October 20, 2010 @ 12:54 am
this is really unreal and honestly just want some kind of normalcy to return alot of this frustrating to hear how so much abuse by the banks have been going on and on
Trackback posted October 21, 2010 @ 8:00 am
FBI stepping into foreclosure-document mess…
WASHINGTON — The foreclosure-document crisis just keeps on growing, and now the FBI is getting into the fray. A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the bureau is in the in……
Comment posted October 27, 2010 @ 7:53 am
Whether or not foreclosures become halted, little is accomplished without addressing the elephant in the room –hiding in plain sight! Lawyers for mortgage lenders should be held accountable for foreclosure improprieties and concealing malpractice against their lender-clients, as well as for committing Unfair Debt Collection Practices, extortion, and fraud against borrowers.
Discovery of such conduct can begin by comparing blighted neighborhoods and foreclosure conveyances to non-existent lender companies; bankruptcy “Lift Stay” motions that “lack standing,” “proof of claims” different from 'lift stays' “movers”; and illegal property deeds. And, lawyer are wrong for injurious frauds, failing to “effect service” or failing at any substantive Civil Procedure requirement –not homeowners for refusing to cooperate with erroneous and fraudulent home confiscation.
Often foreclosure delays are because of the lawyers, but they keep that fact from clients. Lenders, (are not required to know laws) sometimes are unaware that lawyers’ mistakes, errors, and frauds provide reasons, defenses, and basis to attempt negotiating mortgage contracts.
Also, property owners seeking debt reorganization through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy are not to be blamed for contesting a false “proof of claim” or false “Lift Stay” motion. As such, countless foreclosure lawyers owe $$$$$$ to their clients for fatally botching foreclosure cases.
LSU finance professor, Joseph Mason travels the country, inter alia, masking foreclosure corruption and racketeering activities connected to judicial frauds, Wells Fargo, and Freddie Mac here in Louisiana. (*Thank you Senator David Vitter!!!*) But his statements make light of harm from lawyers' fraudulent foreclosure activities, and misinforms about the filing of fraudulent court documents as being “overblown.” If the focus is on “quelling” fraudulent foreclosure filings and deliberate frauds instead of looking at critical facts and issues, concealment is a preferred route.
But, glossing over things is not appropriate for people who have been tortiously harmed by extortion and fraud –here in Louisiana or any place else! Refusal to even consider what those actions are, and who are the actors, exacerbates rather than extinguishes casualty. Even worse, the culprits who are most responsible for damages continue wreaking havoc.
Also, injurious acts by foreclosure lawyers, render them as well as their clients liable for damages. The half has not been told of outrageous, unfair collections, and privacy invasion associated with foreclosure! Lawyers know what they’ve done; they seek to have victims go away to avert exposure. Mortgage default causes foreclosure, but default doesn't justify fraud and victimizing defaulted borrowers!
*Important FACTS about FORECLOSURE and MORTGAGE FRAUD
http://www.lawgrace.org/2010/09/30/important-facts-about-foreclosure-and-mortgage-fraud/
*OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA on Foreclosure Crisis (concerning Wells Fargo)
http://www.pr-inside.com/open-letter-to-president-obama-on-foreclosure-crisis-r1505916.html
Comment posted October 29, 2010 @ 2:41 pm
“Foreclosure Frauds, Wells Fargo-the Fox in Charge, and Victimization” http://newsblaze.com/story/20101028181052lawg.nb/topstory.html
Wells Fargo’s announcement about refiling 55k foreclosures is probably because covering up wrongful foreclosures is no longer effective. Wells Fargo can’‘t trusted to fix its foreclosure wrongdoings, no more than an addict can be trusted to self-reform. . . http://newsblaze.com/story/20101028181052lawg.nb/topstory.html
Trackback posted December 23, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
Temple at the center of time. Updated, Jerusalem the Epicenter of History, End Time Prophecy…
I found your entry interesting thus I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Trackback posted March 30, 2011 @ 11:10 am
Interesting Read…
[...]some other related resources on the web that are worth viewing on this subject include[...]…
Trackback posted April 19, 2011 @ 1:57 pm
Recent Favourite Sites…
[...]below you can check out my recommended links page http://www.hemorrhoidtreatmentcurerelief.com/my-favourite-sites/ with some fantastic websites that I think you should definitely go visit[...]…
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
