In the News

In Appraisal Shift (HVCC), Lenders Gain Power and Critics

The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:55:16 +0000

The following article appeared in the New York Times on August 18, 2009.

Mike Kennedy, a real estate appraiser in Monroe, N.Y., was examining a suburban house a few years ago when he discovered five feet of water in the basement. The mortgage broker arranging the owner’s refinancing asked him to pretend it was not there.

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Riley: agent at the center of $30 million in defaults

The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:24:22 +0000

The following article by By Michael Braga & Chris Davis is taken from Sarasota Herald Tribune

Just a few years ago, Mark P. Riley was a rich man. On the back of the real estate boom, he earned enough money to buy a $2 million home in Lakewood Ranch. He and his life partner shared a fleet of luxury cars, including a $300,000 Mercedes Maybach with recliner rear seats and a built-in champagne refrigerator.

Full article

The Victim Who Wasn't There Investors, mortgage fraud may complicate Baltimore's suit against Wells Fargo

The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:53:01 +0000

The Baltimore City Paper article by Edward Ericson Jr. was published on July 15, 2007. It describes an ongoing predatory lending lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo by the City of Baltimore and the papers own findings of fraud which in some ways contradict the law suit.

“The most famous example of Wells Fargo Bank’s allegedly predatory Baltimore lending practices stands at 2520 Shirley Ave., in the city’s Greenspring neighborhood.

“This house ain’t nothing but a rat hotel. You know, that’s all it is, nothing but a rat hotel,” Stephen Faison, who lives next door to the trash-strewn hulk, told a CNN camera for a June 11 broadcast. “Don’t nobody even live here.”

Full article

SF: Supervisors to introduce mortgage fraud legislation

The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:06:15 +0000

Two San Francisco supervisors will introduce legislation today to help address what they say is the growing problem of mortgage fraud, particularly among low-income residents and communities of color.

The new law, if passed, would enact stricter rules about how third-party loan modification consultants can provide services.

CBS 5 Local Wire

Father, daughter accused of real estate fraud

The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:25:04 +0000

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA (KGO) — The ABC7 I-Team has uncovered a statewide, multi-million dollar real estate scheme that ruined credit scores for dozens of Bay Area investors. Investors told us the man who masterminded the deal [Jim McConville] lived a lavish lifestyle at his East Bay ranch, with expensive sports cars and helicopter rides to Las Vegas. He even spent a million dollars to produce a Hollywood-style horror film.