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Tag Archives: Fraud

Nevada AG Files Criminal Charges for Robo-Signing

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has filed criminal charges against two title officers for alleged robo-signing. The defendants are employed by Lender Processing Services (LPS) and are allegedly responsible for tens of thousands of fraudulent documents that made their way through the Clark County Recorder's Office from 2005 to 2008. LPS says it cooperated with Masto's investigation and was assured earlier in the month that the company was not a target of the attorney general's inquiry.

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SIGTARP and Google Fight Mortgage Scammers

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) is vigilantly targeting mortgage and foreclosure rescue scammers that advertise online. SIGTARP announced Wednesday that it recently halted 85 online scams that promised to help homeowners pursue mortgage loan modifications. Google has cooperated with SIGTARP in its investigation and since the discovery of the 85 mortgage fraud schemes, has suspended 500 advertisers.

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Judge Allows Allied to Resume Issuing FHA-Insured Loans

A federal judge has reversed HUD's decision to temporarily suspend Allied Home Mortgage Corporation after the agency accused the bank of committing fraud and violating several Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements. The judge said the damage to Allied's business as a result of the suspension outweighs any harm that would be suffered by the government before the issues can be litigated. Allied and its CEO deny the allegations against them.

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Judge Criticizes SEC for Being Soft on Citigroup

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) $285 million proposal to Citigroup to settle allegations related to its mortgage trading, and said he will need time to consider the deal. Rakoff questioned several of the settlement's terms, including the agreed-upon monetary penalty. Rakoff is particularly leery of this condition because the SEC has reportedly reached settlements with Citigroup in the past after which the bank allegedly broke the agreements through security law violations.

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Woodward Asset Capital’s OfferSubmission Nabs Realtor for Fraud

A few weeks ago, a Midwestern bank was alerted that a Realtor under contract to sell its foreclosed assets was double-dipping and costing the bank potentially $60,000 on one sale alone. The bank learned of the scheme through OfferSubmission.com, an online software system that tracks offers made on foreclosed properties. Thanks to the system's early red flag, the bank thwarted the agent's elaborate fraud scam which would have put more dollars in the agent's pockets but cost the bank a significant sum.

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Major Banks Accused of Defrauding Veterans, Taxpayers

While five major banks continue to deliberate with the state attorneys general for a settlement involving violations in mortgage documentation, the same five banks, plus several others, also face charges for committing fraud against veterans and taxpayers. Defendants accuse 13 banks of ""a brazen scheme to defraud both our nation's veterans and the United States Treasury of millions of dollars"" by overcharging borrowers in connection with home loans refinanced through a U.S. Veterans Affairs program.

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Las Vegas Issues Alert on Foreclosure Rental Scam

Local media in Las Vegas are reporting that unsuspecting renters are falling victim to an elaborate fraud scheme involving vacant foreclosures. Con artists are combing the Las Vegas Valley for homes that have been sitting empty for an extended period of time - such properties aren't hard to come by in the foreclosure-ridden area. They then advertise the home as ""for rent"" and bilk victims out of thousands of dollars before they realize the fraud has taken place.

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Former Lend America President Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud

After admitting to an extensive mortgage fraud scheme, the former president of Lend America was suspended from doing any future business with HUD. Michael Primeau pled guilty to charges that he ordered employees to pay company operating expenses with funds intended to cover borrowers' first mortgages at refinance closings. Previously an FHA-approved lender, Lend America also allegedly violated FHA's origination and underwriting standards on several occasions, according to HUD.

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Two California Investors Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging

Two real estate investors are pleading guilty to mail fraud and bid rigging at public foreclosure auctions in Northern California, according to the Department of Justice. The investors conspired with others to quash competition for properties at foreclosure auctions in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in 2009 and 2010. The duo also admitted to committing mail fraud by using mail to organize their own private auctions open only to co-conspirators.

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Former Countrywide Employee Behind Bars

A former Countrywide employee is now behind bars and being forced to pay $1.2 million in restitution for stealing and dispersing confidential customer information, including social security numbers. A U.S. district judge sentenced 39-year-old Pasadena resident Rene Rebollo to eight months in prison and 10 months in a community corrections facility. Rebollo, who served as a senior financial analyst in Countrywide's subprime mortgage division, pled guilty to the charges.

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