On May 9th, 2007, we received (from the Fulton County, GA Court System) the initial complaint of a lawsuit filed by Loan Center of California ("LCC"), of Suisun, CA (Solano Co.). ...
It seems clear to us that the intent here is to injure the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter---perhaps even to "shut us down". We believe we are without blame and at no fault in this incident. Fundamentally, the complaint involves business between third parties of which we had no specific knowledge, as our interest in running the web site is general. We are accordingly responding to LCC's allegations with a motion to strike the suit under California's "Anti-SLAPP" statute.
you know, when investors seek blood for the losses, I am just waiting for investment/hedge fund managers to deflect liability and direct blame towards public officials, whether from the NAR , the Treasury or the Fed itself. They will claim they themselves were surprised at the downturn in the housing market because the public stewards were saying there is little to worry about, that the downturn is contained, turning the corner, or has bottomed etc. In fact, I'm surprised homeowners squeezed by ARM resets haven't gone after these public officials claiming they were lured or enticed by their positive portrayal and what turned out to be their propogation of a false sense of security. Even more direct is Greenspan a few years back suggested that adjustable rate mortgages was a wonderful product and encouraged people to take advantage of them. Those that took his advice were clearly harmed. That alone I would think would have somebody trying to go after the Fed (good luck btw) to seek damages. In the end all these false assertions I would think will come back to bite public officials that, whether intentional or not, lured the public and inv managers, whether naive or not, into false understandings about the potential risk in the housing market. As a result, they were harmed and many will likely claim they were just following the advice of their leaders. Afterall, they're the one's who should know, right? LOL
Confirms anectdotal evidence we have heard that mortgage fraud goes relatively unchecked:
"FBI lacks resources to fight boom in mortgage fraud
2,500 agents reassigned to terrorism weren't replaced"
Mortgage fraud cost banks and consumers at least $1 billion last year, but neither the Bush administration nor the Democratic Congress is giving the FBI the resources it needs to combat the problem, according to an industry group.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents home-loan lenders, has been asking for $6.25 million to fund 30 new Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents as well as two federal prosecutors and 15 regional task forces combating an explosion of fraud.
The association says banks can't get law enforcement agencies to investigate most cases. And the problem is not limited to a few victims.
"Almost every lending institution out there has been affected by it," said Deborah Leibel, a senior loan officer at HomeStreet Bank and president of the Puget Sound Mortgage Lenders Association, which has members in Pierce, King and Thurston counties.
The increase in mortgage fraud has developed in the post-9/11 era as Bush administration budgets have drastically reduced the number of special agents the FBI has to investigate crime. That's because the administration failed to budget for replacements for 2,500 agents reassigned to investigate terrorism.
A Seattle P-I investigation found that white-collar crime investigations have dropped more than 60 percent since 9/11 and convictions have dropped by about 30 percent.
Many of the FBI's trained financial investigators have been reassigned to investigate terrorist finances. That puts investigators at a disadvantage to knowledgeable insiders who can create sophisticated, multimillion-dollar schemes.
"They generally know how to work the system. These are tough cases to prosecute," said Corey Carlisle, a lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"You're hearing banks talk about 'marketing your cases' to law enforcement," he said.
And the cases can be huge. Industry figures put total losses to fraud at more than $4 billion last year.
The FBI pegs the figure lower -- at $1 billion. But that covers only federally insured banks -- not loans from many companies that resell loans to investors.
Such companies have been the fastest-growing segment of the industry, and are more likely to be the victims of fraud, Leibel said.
Locally, mortgage fraud has not reached the epidemic levels found in places such as California and Georgia, in part because the state has adopted strict new licensing requirements for mortgage brokers, including criminal background checks.
In addition, most mortgage fraud comes to light through foreclosures, and the foreclosure rate is low in this region's still-growing real estate market, said Merle Sharick, vice president of Mortgage Asset Research Institute.
Dollar losses in 2006 were close to quadruple what they were in 2003 and the number of cases has increased by a similar amount, according to the FBI.
As a result, while banks reported more than 59,000 mortgage-related frauds to the FBI last fiscal year, the bureau obtained only 263 indictments and 204 convictions. Meanwhile, the backlog of mortgage fraud cases under investigation has more than doubled since 2003, from 463 to more than 1,000, according to FBI figures.
An FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C., said it is forming partnerships with other agencies and with groups such as the Mortgage Bankers to make up for the lack of agents it has available.
"We realize that we sometimes have to do more with less," spokesman Steve Kodak told the P-I.
Carlisle said the lenders appreciate the efforts the FBI's does make -- which have included task forces and a few high-profile investigations -- but that making a real dent in the problem will take dollars and cents.
"They're strapped for resources," Carlisle said. "They're doing everything they can, but they need to do more."
The problem hits consumers everywhere in several ways: by driving up the fees lenders charge for mortgages, by falsely inflating property values when scammers run up the cost of housing and by throttling property values when foreclosures due to fraud leave vacant houses.
Not only is fraud becoming worse, gangs and organized crime have entered the picture.
Eager to get the benefits of robbing a bank without the risk, these groups are increasingly involved in mortgage fraud, according to the FBI and the mortgage bankers group.
Bankers sought the money to beef up the FBI's fight against mortgage fraud from the Republican Congress in 2006 and the Democrats this year. It was not included in the spending bills recently written by the House Appropriations Committee, but could be added when the Senate tackles the bills this summer.
The money also was not included in the president's proposed budget to Congress.
The Mortgage Bankers proposal joins a plan by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to add 1,000 new agents to the FBI's criminal division. So far, neither has received a congressional vote.
No, the Bullies are simply in denial of what's going on and panicking. They don't see themselves as bullies, simply as business people protecting their good names, or at least this is the rationalization that they keep repeating to themselves to allow them to sleep at night. If this rationalization was not true, why then they'd have to face the fact that what is being said on the blogs might possibly be true. No-one likes to see themselves as being a bad actor, its rough on the self-esteem and ego, even if they acknowledge that they were being greedy.
I've heard it said that even Al Capone thought of himself as a good guy and as having helped his community. I mean if it wasn't for him, the moonshine would have been of much lower quality and things much less efficiently run. Heck he even donated money to the community. Nevermind the fact that he was having folks contract killed...
I wonder if I leave my doors and windows unlocked and put up a sign that says I won't be home for three days whether or not I can ask law enforcement to add resources to ensure that I don't get robbed? Of course, I don't care a lot because I have repackaged the risk and sold it to my insurance company.
While I agree that this is a law enforcement issue, I have trouble sympathizing with banks that do extremely limited diligence on their loans and the upstream originators.
Amazing that they went to court. They could have just bought the offending website. At least one company has done that. Was it Wal-Mart? I can't find the link now.
Tanta, CR,
Nothing that you have posted on the subject of eAppraiseIT has been libelous. If anyone suggested that the posts are libelous, he or she would be exposing his or her ignorance. I'm a reasonable guy, and I don't perceive any reckless disregard for the truth in these postings. No other reasonable, literate reader would perceive reckless disregard for the truth, either. I post using my real name, and I'm easy to find, and if anyone is stupid enough to file suit, feel free to depose me.
I agree that the mortgage originators could tighten up a lot, without waiting for the FBI. They will only do that when it's required by the packagers of mortgage-backed securities, who will only do it when there are no mortgage investors left to buy loosely underwritten deals.
But the whole mortgage fraud criminal enterprise has grown, and killing it will require the combined efforts of legislators and law enforcement as well as the mortgage companies and investors. It may take a lot more losses on mortgage-backed securities, damaging pension benefits for real people or inflicting losses on some other sympathetic group, to trigger enough concerted action to kill off the fraud.
You're back!!!!!!
Time for Pam to countersue,A slapp should be responded to with a kick to the nuts.
How would the FBI do it's job if sites like http://www.mortgagefraudwatchlist.org got shut down?
I hope she can countersue those slimebags at eAppraiseIT
Tanta, your post is very timely. Aaron's team in Atlanta just sent up a flare.
"Loan Center of California Sues Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter; Motion to Strike Filed", Implode-O-Meter press release, July 5, 2007.
you know, when investors seek blood for the losses, I am just waiting for investment/hedge fund managers to deflect liability and direct blame towards public officials, whether from the NAR , the Treasury or the Fed itself. They will claim they themselves were surprised at the downturn in the housing market because the public stewards were saying there is little to worry about, that the downturn is contained, turning the corner, or has bottomed etc. In fact, I'm surprised homeowners squeezed by ARM resets haven't gone after these public officials claiming they were lured or enticed by their positive portrayal and what turned out to be their propogation of a false sense of security. Even more direct is Greenspan a few years back suggested that adjustable rate mortgages was a wonderful product and encouraged people to take advantage of them. Those that took his advice were clearly harmed. That alone I would think would have somebody trying to go after the Fed (good luck btw) to seek damages. In the end all these false assertions I would think will come back to bite public officials that, whether intentional or not, lured the public and inv managers, whether naive or not, into false understandings about the potential risk in the housing market. As a result, they were harmed and many will likely claim they were just following the advice of their leaders. Afterall, they're the one's who should know, right? LOL
Sounds like the bullies are trying to keep the public unaware so that they can squeeze in a few more buyers before the party is crashed by reality.
Ministry,
Leave the FBI alone. They're busy hiding Whitey Bulger and incinerating religious fanatics.
Was silly of them to even go for injunctive relief.
Confirms anectdotal evidence we have heard that mortgage fraud goes relatively unchecked:
"FBI lacks resources to fight boom in mortgage fraud
2,500 agents reassigned to terrorism weren't replaced"
Mortgage fraud cost banks and consumers at least $1 billion last year, but neither the Bush administration nor the Democratic Congress is giving the FBI the resources it needs to combat the problem, according to an industry group.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents home-loan lenders, has been asking for $6.25 million to fund 30 new Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents as well as two federal prosecutors and 15 regional task forces combating an explosion of fraud.
The association says banks can't get law enforcement agencies to investigate most cases. And the problem is not limited to a few victims.
"Almost every lending institution out there has been affected by it," said Deborah Leibel, a senior loan officer at HomeStreet Bank and president of the Puget Sound Mortgage Lenders Association, which has members in Pierce, King and Thurston counties.
The increase in mortgage fraud has developed in the post-9/11 era as Bush administration budgets have drastically reduced the number of special agents the FBI has to investigate crime. That's because the administration failed to budget for replacements for 2,500 agents reassigned to investigate terrorism.
A Seattle P-I investigation found that white-collar crime investigations have dropped more than 60 percent since 9/11 and convictions have dropped by about 30 percent.
Many of the FBI's trained financial investigators have been reassigned to investigate terrorist finances. That puts investigators at a disadvantage to knowledgeable insiders who can create sophisticated, multimillion-dollar schemes.
"They generally know how to work the system. These are tough cases to prosecute," said Corey Carlisle, a lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"You're hearing banks talk about 'marketing your cases' to law enforcement," he said.
And the cases can be huge. Industry figures put total losses to fraud at more than $4 billion last year.
The FBI pegs the figure lower -- at $1 billion. But that covers only federally insured banks -- not loans from many companies that resell loans to investors.
Such companies have been the fastest-growing segment of the industry, and are more likely to be the victims of fraud, Leibel said.
Locally, mortgage fraud has not reached the epidemic levels found in places such as California and Georgia, in part because the state has adopted strict new licensing requirements for mortgage brokers, including criminal background checks.
In addition, most mortgage fraud comes to light through foreclosures, and the foreclosure rate is low in this region's still-growing real estate market, said Merle Sharick, vice president of Mortgage Asset Research Institute.
But the national figures show a wor
(sorry for the bolding, here is the rest):
But the national figures show a worrisome trend.
Dollar losses in 2006 were close to quadruple what they were in 2003 and the number of cases has increased by a similar amount, according to the FBI.
As a result, while banks reported more than 59,000 mortgage-related frauds to the FBI last fiscal year, the bureau obtained only 263 indictments and 204 convictions. Meanwhile, the backlog of mortgage fraud cases under investigation has more than doubled since 2003, from 463 to more than 1,000, according to FBI figures.
An FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C., said it is forming partnerships with other agencies and with groups such as the Mortgage Bankers to make up for the lack of agents it has available.
"We realize that we sometimes have to do more with less," spokesman Steve Kodak told the P-I.
Carlisle said the lenders appreciate the efforts the FBI's does make -- which have included task forces and a few high-profile investigations -- but that making a real dent in the problem will take dollars and cents.
"They're strapped for resources," Carlisle said. "They're doing everything they can, but they need to do more."
The problem hits consumers everywhere in several ways: by driving up the fees lenders charge for mortgages, by falsely inflating property values when scammers run up the cost of housing and by throttling property values when foreclosures due to fraud leave vacant houses.
Not only is fraud becoming worse, gangs and organized crime have entered the picture.
Eager to get the benefits of robbing a bank without the risk, these groups are increasingly involved in mortgage fraud, according to the FBI and the mortgage bankers group.
Bankers sought the money to beef up the FBI's fight against mortgage fraud from the Republican Congress in 2006 and the Democrats this year. It was not included in the spending bills recently written by the House Appropriations Committee, but could be added when the Senate tackles the bills this summer.
The money also was not included in the president's proposed budget to Congress.
The Mortgage Bankers proposal joins a plan by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to add 1,000 new agents to the FBI's criminal division. So far, neither has received a congressional vote.
No, the Bullies are simply in denial of what's going on and panicking. They don't see themselves as bullies, simply as business people protecting their good names, or at least this is the rationalization that they keep repeating to themselves to allow them to sleep at night. If this rationalization was not true, why then they'd have to face the fact that what is being said on the blogs might possibly be true. No-one likes to see themselves as being a bad actor, its rough on the self-esteem and ego, even if they acknowledge that they were being greedy.
I've heard it said that even Al Capone thought of himself as a good guy and as having helped his community. I mean if it wasn't for him, the moonshine would have been of much lower quality and things much less efficiently run. Heck he even donated money to the community. Nevermind the fact that he was having folks contract killed...
The ml-implode website seems to be down...
Hmm, just too much traffic?
sunsetbeachguy (1:55pm)
Aaron's site is down and he's working to restore service.
I wonder if I leave my doors and windows unlocked and put up a sign that says I won't be home for three days whether or not I can ask law enforcement to add resources to ensure that I don't get robbed? Of course, I don't care a lot because I have repackaged the risk and sold it to my insurance company.
While I agree that this is a law enforcement issue, I have trouble sympathizing with banks that do extremely limited diligence on their loans and the upstream originators.
Amazing that they went to court. They could have just bought the offending website. At least one company has done that. Was it Wal-Mart? I can't find the link now.
Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com
The parent company of eAppraiseIT(First American) just turfed out their President, saying he wants to spend more time on philanthropy.
Tanta, CR,
Nothing that you have posted on the subject of eAppraiseIT has been libelous. If anyone suggested that the posts are libelous, he or she would be exposing his or her ignorance. I'm a reasonable guy, and I don't perceive any reckless disregard for the truth in these postings. No other reasonable, literate reader would perceive reckless disregard for the truth, either. I post using my real name, and I'm easy to find, and if anyone is stupid enough to file suit, feel free to depose me.
This has been a topic of a VERY hot discussion for a while. See for yourself at http://www.brokeroutpost.com/loans/brokers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=136940&SearchTerms=fraudfighter
Robert,
I agree that the mortgage originators could tighten up a lot, without waiting for the FBI. They will only do that when it's required by the packagers of mortgage-backed securities, who will only do it when there are no mortgage investors left to buy loosely underwritten deals.
But the whole mortgage fraud criminal enterprise has grown, and killing it will require the combined efforts of legislators and law enforcement as well as the mortgage companies and investors. It may take a lot more losses on mortgage-backed securities, damaging pension benefits for real people or inflicting losses on some other sympathetic group, to trigger enough concerted action to kill off the fraud.
Transcript of the Emergency Hearing:
http://www.mortgagefraudwatchlist.org/docs/Crowley%20-%20Hrg%206.28.07%20Transcript.pdf
Link can be found on my website:
http://www.MortgageFraudWatchList.org
Ready, willing, and very able to fight back!!!