MFI-Miami Blog

Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing To Pay $4 Million Settlement For Violating Massachusetts Foreclosure Laws Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing will provide Massachusetts homeowners with $3.5 million in principal reductions. The principal write-downs are part of a settlement with the state for allegedly violating Massachusetts foreclosure laws.  The settlement stems from allegations that Shellpoint violated the Massachusetts Act Preventing Unlawful and Unnecessary Foreclosures. The law requires mortgage servicers to make a “good faith effort” to help borrowers from foreclosure.  Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the settlement last week. The settlement calls for Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing to provide $3.5 million in principal reductions. The settlement also requires the mortgage servicer to waive deficiencies when borrowers sell their homes for less than they owe. Massachusetts is also to receive a $450,000 fine from Shellpoint. Read more at MFI-Miami

The Only Citizens Bank Foreclosure Defense Team That Has Brought Citizens Bank To Their Knees! MFI-Miami has created a specialized Citizens Bank Foreclosure Defense Team just for M&T customers. The team’s focus will solely on developing strategies for homeowners to defeat Citizens in a foreclosure battle. MFI-Miami will also give homeowners their own personalized Citizens Bank Foreclosure Defense Team. We are the only foreclosure and mortgage experts with the resources to successfully challenge Citizens. Our competitors show off one or two victories against Citizens. They can’t beat our track record. How do we know this? Because  we have the 10-year track record  to prove it!  MFI-Miami’s Citizens Bank Foreclosure Defense Team is Citizens’ worst nightmare. Why? MFI-Miami has successfully challenged some of their most arrogant foreclosure mill lawyers. For nearly 10-years,  MFI-Miami  CEO Steve Dibert has developed a reputation of bringing Citizens to their knees. As

Real Estate Agents Have No Legal Obligation To Look Out For You Or Your Interests When They Represent You So you want to sell your house? Or you want to buy your wife her Barbie dream house? You would think real estate agents are required to represent your best interests. That’s where I need to stop you. Why? Because your assumption would be wrong. The real estate agent has no legal obligation to look out for your best interests. The Consumer Federation of America recently posed that question to a national survey sample of adults. The survey showed 50% of adults believe real estate agents are obligated to look out for their interests. However, that is not entirely true. All but five states do not require real estate agents to represent the interests of their clients. Here’s a perfect example. I had a real estate agent list a house for me about fifteen years ago. He insisted I take a lowball offer for $25,000 less than I owed. This would have required me to bring $30,000 t

The M&T Bank Foreclosure Defense Team With A Track Record Of Body Slamming M&T Bank MFI-Miami  has created a specialized M&T Bank Foreclosure Defense Team just for M&T customers. The team’s focus will solely on developing strategies for homeowners to defeat M&T in a foreclosure battle. MFI-Miami will also give homeowners their own personalized M&T Bank Foreclosure Defense Team. We are the only foreclosure and mortgage experts with the resources to successfully challenge M&T. Our competitors show off one or two victories against M&T. They can’t beat our track record. How do we know this? Because  we have the 10-year track record  to prove it!  MFI-Miami’s M&T Bank Foreclosure Defense Team is M&T’s worst nightmare. Why? MFI-Miami has successfully challenged some of their most arrogant foreclosure mill lawyers. For nearly 10-years,  MFI-Miami  CEO Steve Dibert has developed a reputation of bringing M&T to their knees. As a result

The Huntington Bank Foreclosure Defense Team With A Track Record Of Body Slamming Huntington Bank MFI-Miami has created a specialized Huntington Bank Foreclosure Defense Team just for Huntington Bank customers. The team’s focus will solely on developing strategies for homeowners to defeat Huntington in a foreclosure battle. MFI-Miami will also give homeowners their own personalized Huntington Bank Foreclosure Defense Team!  We are the only foreclosure and mortgage experts with the resources to successfully challenge BofA. Our competitors show off one or two victories against Huntington Bank. They can’t beat our track record. How do we know this? Because  we have the 10-year track record  to prove it!  MFI-Miami’s Huntington Bank Foreclosure Defense Team is Huntington’s worst nightmare. Why? MFI-Miami has successfully challenged some of their most arrogant foreclosure mill lawyers. For nearly 10-years, MFI-Miami CEO Steve Dibert has developed a reputation of bringing Hun

Long Island Mortgage Lender Gets 24 Months In Prison For $8.9 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme A former Long Island Mortgage Lender going to federal prison for 24 months. He will also serve three years of supervised release. Voss is the former COO of Long Island mortgage lender Vanguard Funding, LLC. The court will determine restitution at a later date. Matthew Voss pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud in February 2018.  Voss illegally diverted of more than $8.9 million of warehouse loans that Vanguard had fraudulently obtained purportedly to fund home mortgages and mortgage refinancing.   Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York: Matthew Voss has been held accountable for using his extensive knowledge of the mortgage industry to deceive banks and divert money for his personal use. This Office will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who commit fraud. FBI Assistant-Director-in-Charge Sweeney stated: Than

Huntington Bank Calls Cops On Paul McCowns Because They Thought His Paycheck Was Too High For A Black Person Huntington Bank tellers refused to cash a black Ohio man’s paycheck from his new job. They also called 911 because they were suspicious that he earned so much money. All Paul McCowns wanted to do is cash his first paycheck from his new job with an electric company. Unfortunately, Huntington Bank in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn  had other ideas. The paycheck was for a little more than $1,000. McCowns and tellers confirmed he showed two forms of identification and a fingerprint, as required for non-Huntington Bank customers. However, McCowns said bank employees started looking at a computer screen and questioning the transaction. They ultimately refused to cash the check without speaking to his employer. McCowns left the bank. However white Huntington Bank employees  called 911 on him . A police squad car pulled in front of his truck before he could drive away.

The National Rifle Association Says It Is In Deep Financial Trouble And On The Verge Of Extinction The NRA claims it will have to pull the plug on NRA TV as the group faces financial turmoil. The National Rifle Association says that it’s in deep financial trouble and that it may be unable to exist. The group says its financial problems are because financial service providers refuse to do business with the group. NRA leadership  blames New York Governor Andrew Cuomo . The National Rifle Association claims Cuomo has convinced banks and insurance providers not to do business with the group. As a result, the NRA will end its magazine publishing and television services. The group says it will also be forced to cut back on rallies and close some of its offices. Read more at MFI-Miami

Senior FDIC Official Faces 20 Years In Prison For Theft Of Government Property A federal court in eastern New York found senior FDIC Official  guilty of theft of government property  in the possession of the FDIC. Allison Aytes was a senior employee in the FDIC’s Office of Complex Financial Institutions. Aytes abruptly resigned from the FDIC in September 2015. The FDIC’s Office of Complex Financial Institutions oversees the orderly bankruptcy of the world’s largest financial institutions if they fail. The Dodd-Frank Act required banks to file a resolution plan with the FDIC in the event they fail. These plans are called  “living wills.” The Living Wills include a series of documents with confidential information about the bank. The documents also include the bank’s assets, business operations, and critical vendors. The living Wills also include agreements with other banks and deficiencies that pose risk during a time of financial crisis. Aytes worked in the office that

Trump Officially Nominates Mark Calabria To Lead FHFA President Donald Trump has announced he was nominating Mark Calabria to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Calabria is currently serving as chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence.  Calabria had previously served as a senior aide on the Senate Banking Committee.  He was also one of the lead drafters of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created the FHFA. Calabria served as deputy assistant secretary for regulatory affairs at HUD during President George W. Bush’s administration. Calabria also held positions at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. He has also held positions at the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors. Read more at MFI-Miami

Two Nuns Allegedly Stole $500,000 For Las Vegas Gambling Trips The Catholic church is accusing two nuns of pilfering $500,000 from a California church. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang reportedly used the money to take gambling trips to Las Vegas. The two nuns worked at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Kreuper had been a principal at the school. Chang had worked as a teacher. Both nuns were best friends and had taken retirement earlier this year. The nuns had apparently embezzled school funds for over a period of years. The Catholic school made parents believe the school was operating on a shoestring budget. Both nuns have reportedly expressed remorse in regards to their actions. Neither the archdiocese and the church will be pursuing criminal charges. Read more at MFI-Miami

Florida Appellate Courts Irritated By Moronic Trial Court Foreclosure Rulings  The Florida Appellate Courts have consistently ruled that a lender must be able to adequately prove legal standing before initiating a foreclosure action. Yet, this hasn’t stopped circuit court judges from blindly following whatever bullshit a foreclosure mill lawyer feeds them. Nor has it stopped circuit court judges from ruling against homeowners without reviewing their case. Broward County and Lee County have become infamous for systematically ruling in favor of lenders. Even when the lender’s lawyers make such egregious claims that the file is an embarrassment to the law firm representing the lender. It has become obvious that the vast majority of circuit court judges don’t read foreclosures cases. Instead, they rely on lazy or incompetent clerks and systematically rule in favor of the lender. It is not about judicial corruption. Contrary to what foreclosure activists and pissed off homeowne

Short Sales Are Not Home Sales To Dwarfs I hear horror story after horror story from homeowners about real estate agents giving them bad advice on loan modifications and short sales. The main problem is that real estate agents are generally clueless about the modification and short sale process. Although, they are usually too arrogant to admit it or ask for help from a specialist. Read more at MFI-Miami

Florida Foreclosur e Defense Lawyer Bruce Jacobs Sanctioned   The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeals has issued an order imposing sanctions against Florida Foreclosure Defense attorney Bruce Jacobs. Judges became irate after Jacobs filed a motion for rehearing and rehearing en banc after ruling against his client. Jacobs represented Aquasol Condominium Association in  HSBC v. Aquasol.  The 3rd DCA also affirmed a trial court's ruling allowing HSBC to proceed with foreclosure against a property owned by Aquasol. As a result, this frustrated Jacobs. Jacobs opined in his motion that the Third DCA's opinion "misstates the underlying the legal issues. Read more at MFI-Miami

LoanDepot CEO Anthony Hsieh tells Loan Officers To Quit Whining And Complaining  LoanDepot CEO Anthony Hsieh is reportedly fed up with his unhappy loan officers. He allegedly blasted out an email to his loan originators telling them essentially to,  “Suck it up, snowflakes!” It appears  Housingwire  received a copy of the email from Hsieh. Hsieh is apparently displeased with the morale of some of his Loan Officers who aired their grievances in a company survey. Hsieh sent out a survey to the company’s 300 employees. Nearly half of the questioned staffers reported a less-than-positive experience working at the firm. This set off Hsieh who then blasted out a curt email. The email said essentially,  “Suck it up or leave!” Read more at MFI-Miami

Gregory Stanton Is Going To Prison After Admitting To Urinating On A Kellogg’s Cereal Conveyor Belt Have you ever sarcastically asked someone in a bad mood,  “Who pissed in your Corn Flakes?” It now appears someone actually did piss in your Corn Flakes. The guy who did it is now going to prison. He was also stupid enough to make a video of him doing it. Gregory Stanton pleaded guilty on November 30th to tampering with a consumer product. The former Kellogg’s employee was also stupid enough to post a video of himself urinating on a Kellogg assembly line in 2014. Stanton uploaded the  video  to Youtube in 2016. As a result, the uploaded video spurred an immediate investigation by Kellogg’s and law enforcement in Tennessee. Read more at MFI-Miami

New York Foreclosure Mill Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates Admits To Defrauding Taxpayers Out Of $6.1 Million A major New York foreclosure mill admitted to  defrauding Fannie Mae and the VA  out of millions of dollars. Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates admitted to using affiliated companies to systematically overcharge Fannie Mae and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The USAO for the Southern District of New York reached a settlement with Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates yesterday. The law firm admitted to using its wholly owned affiliates, Enterprise Process Service and Paramount Land to overcharge Fannie Mae and the VA for foreclosure and eviction-related expenses. The Department of Justice  filed a lawsuit  against the law firm in March. The  complaint states  the law firm appeared to only use its affiliated companies to serve process and perform title searches that were required to complete foreclosures on loans owned by Fannie Mae. Read more at MFI-Miami

Reverse Mortgage Servicing Companies Are Pulling A New Scam! What You Need To Know! It seems like Reverse Mortgage servicing companies are pulling a fast one on unsuspecting seniors with reverse mortgages. They are showing no shame in doing it either.  Reverse mortgages are great because they give seniors who are house rich and cash poor needed cash. Local taxes and any HOA fees are still the responsibility of the homeowner. Servicers can and will foreclosure if the taxes are not paid. Reverse mortgages are great for most seniors. Unfortunately, reverse mortgage servicing companies have figured out how to cash in by screwing equity rich seniors.  Champion Mortgage  and  Reverse Mortgage Solutions  appear to be the biggest culprits in this scam.  Read more at MFI-Miami

Land Contract Fraud Alert: Detroit’s Biggest Landowner Michael G. Kelly Accused Of Land Contract Fraud Most Detroiters have never heard of Michael G. Kelly. Yet, Kelly is one of Detroit’s biggest landowners. Kelly is now being accused of land contract fraud. Plaintiffs allege the contracts are fraudulent and predatory. However, the term predatory doesn’t always apply to land contracts as it does with mortgage lending. This lawsuit would change that.  Mantese Honigman and Michigan Legal Services filed the suit. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and alleges that Kelly and four other defendants lured vulnerable Detroiters into a “real estate bait and switch.”  The lawsuit alleges Kelly and others violated the Truth in Lending Act and the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act. However, land contracts operate outside government regulations. The lawsuit argues that Kelly’s land contracts violate the spirit of TILA and HOEPA. Additionally, Michigan courts have upheld that land

Farm Foreclosures Are Skyrocketing Thanks To Donald Trump’s Inept Policies Farm Foreclosures are at the highest point since the financial crisis of 2008. The  Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found  that 84 major farm operations in the upper Midwest filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from June 2017 to June 2018. The bankruptcies were necessary to head off lenders seizing the land in foreclosure.  The number of bankruptcies filed by these farm operations is double the total from 2014 and even surpassed the mark hit in 2010 at the peak of the Great Recession. The report indicates current price levels and trends suggest the number will increase exponentially. Several factors are causing farm foreclosures and it all points directly to the White House and Commander-In-Chief Cuckoo Bananas. The report examines filings from 5 states. They are North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Wisconsin. Most of the farm foreclosures were filed in Wisconsin at 50 total. Minnesot