HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2011.08.18 - 18678REPORT(4isc. #11156) August 18, 2011
BY: GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE — Christine Long, Chairperson
RE: MR #11156 — BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — SUPPORT FOR OAKLAND COUNTY
CLERK/REGISTER OF DEEDS REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION OF FRAUDULENT
MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
The General Government Committee, having considered the above titled resolution on
August 8, 2011 hereby recommends that the resolution be amended as follows.
1. 7th WHEREAS:
WHEREAS Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, Jr. has requested
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and
Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Cooper to investigate and address any proven
fraudulent criminal activity; and
2. 1 st BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
urges State of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Prosecuting
Attorney Jessica Cooper and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard to use the
powers of their offices in response to the request for an investigation of suspected forgery of
mortgage documents.
3. 2nd BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk is requested to forward
copies of this adopted resolution to President Barack Obama, United States Attorney
General Eric Holder, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County
Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Cooper, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, Oakland
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County's delegation to the Michigan
legislature and the Michigan Association of Counties and the Michigan Association of
Register of Deeds.
Chairperson, on behalf of the General Government Committee, I move the acceptance of the
foregoing report.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
41,70,
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Crawford absent.
CO
5,7
SCFN /•1 c2-5 1"-- S— —
MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION # 11156 ‘,.,!..1\ /-
BY: Commissioners Jeff Matis, District #12 I --
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — SUPPORT FOR OAKLAND COUNTY CLERK/
REGISTER OF DEEDS REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION OF FRAUDULENT MORTGAGE
DOCUMENTS 9 "s"-'1,`\:n"-e...k_a...b To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners ((` ki*-- 4)111- 0
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS implicit in American society is the state's protection of property rights in a formal
property system where ownership and transactions are clearly recorded. These property
rights and the whole formal system of property make possible clear, provable, and protectable
ownership; and
WHEREAS national media has highlighted the wide-scale practice within the mortgage and loan
servicing industry in which mortgage, mortgage assignment, promissory notes, and foreclosure
documents have been fabricated, improperly altered and/or have sworn to false facts; and
WHEREAS investigations across the nation have identified thousands of phony signatures
and "robo-signing" on documents used to foreclose on homeowner's property. These illegal
actions, often by large bank or mortgage finance institutions, are exacerbating the mortgage
crisis; and
WHEREAS robo-signing is described as the robotic process of mass producing false and
forged execution of mortgage assignments, satisfactions, affidavits and other legal documents
related to mortgage foreclosures and legal matters that are being created by persons
without knowledge of the facts or actual review of the documents in question. It also includes
accusations of notary fraud on these documents; and
WHEREAS Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, Jr. has initiated an
investigation in Oakland County to review Assignment of Mortgage and other recorded
documents; and
WHEREAS as a result of the internal review of recorded documents in Oakland County,
already, numerous Assignment of Mortgage documents have been identified which appear to
contain fraudulent signatures and/or notarization. The office has also uncovered the appearance
of a serious pattern of document fraud on the part of numerous national financial institutions;
and
WHEREAS Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, Jr. has requested Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Cooper to
investigate and address any proven fraudulent criminal activity; and
WHEREAS the recording and maintenance of accurate, authentic property records is a
fundamental principle of homeownership and the protection of property rights, which must be
held to the highest standards at all times.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners,
hereby applaud and support the efforts of Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard,
Jr. to seek a formal crimina investigation of alleged recorded document fraud and legal
recourse on behalf of the people of Oakland County.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners urges State
of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica
Cooper to use the powers of their offices in response to the request for an investigation of
suspected forgery of mortgage documents.
C. missioner
• strict
Commissioner
District
I
Chairp,s.spn,me move the adopt of the foregoing resolution. / / /
7L-ff Jai
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk is requested to forward copies
of this adopted resolution to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County
Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Cooper, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, Oakland
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County's delegation to the Michigan legislature
and the Michigan Association of Counties.
Commission
District #
-
District ,4
nn
District #
Commissii)ner
District #
Commissione
District #
(7—
Commissioner
Distrját #
CaMthissioner
District #
Cornmi .-
" DistriCt#
COMTIF:.Sioner
/District, --!t
•:
/ Commissioner
District #
-uommissioner
District #
District #
Commist ioner
D' istrct # j,,24......
7,
ommissigner
District
CommisS
Distri
,commis
Distric
Commissioner
District #
Cornmissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner Commissioner
District # District #
Commissioner Commissioner
District # District #
RE Ft
1 _ EFT. 4 3 n 200 N. TELEGRAPH RD., DEPT. 4530
3 PeN-,]ACT. MICHIGAN 483/' I -04-B0
1248) (..::'.5'..•„••1 .5
• .ov.cnivl Dr',
July 20, 2011
Dear Attorney General Schuette:
am referring an important matter to you on behalf of the people of
We have uncovered further evidence of a serious pattern of possible document fraud on the part of numerous national
financial institutions. I ask that you include this info' Liation as you detaiinc an appropriate course of action.
This evidence adds to records pertaining to reported wide-spread forgery of mortgage documents prepared at the direction
of some of the largest financial institutions in this country.
Attached you will find an article from Reuters outlining the activities of Mr, Bryan Bly of Nationwide Title Clearing who
has admitted in a deposition to both signing as an officer of other companies and using robo-signers.
An initial investigation of our records has revealed dozens of documents su
these documents were filed as recent as late last year, after he admitted to •
attached those records to assist in your ongoing investigation.
Proper records are a cornerstone to protecting our basic property rights.
protection should be pursued and corrective action taken.
v the abovementioned Mr. Bryn. Some of
.actice in his Florida deposition_ I have
u will agree that those that violate that
As I have indicated, my investigation is ongoing and I will continue to report to vou additional cases of suspected fraud.
Please let me know what further action I can take to be of assistance to L. a,s ....-ou seek to remedy the injustices which
have been perpetrated by these financial institutions.
Sincerel
Bill Bullard Jr.
Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds
En Closures
CC: Jessica Cooper, Oakland County Prosecutor
Michael Bouchard, Oakland County Sheriff
Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney
ECI1ONS DBPSON
12.00 • 17.. • . • z05 HCf5. TELEGIPI-I RD.. E./7/-III:AT. 417
,-,NITIAc, ;„;;.• • -0415 PONTIAC, I's.11CHIG ,': I 7
481 ••,.::•,..-0.560 (248) •-::.,8-0•• •
cr..:= • • , •:••••
pr. t year.
But ..:. Reuters :.
paperwork to 1
taking the same shortcuts they promised to shun, from eke
Among them: CIT.7i,+.-57..":
handles routine rr
assignments and o::.
e. an employee of ''cwen Loan Servicing of West Palm Beach, Florida, a "sub-sereicer "1:
tare -- just two "C"s -- has appeared on theasaeds of mod -e
t's showtImel Fin
In a case involving a foreclo= TZtO B*T 7 Usk, a New York state court judge this month called Carter a "known
Special report: Banks still robo-signing - Yahoo! News http: //new s .yaboo. corn/spec ial-report-hanks-continue-robo-s
YAHOO! NEWS
Special
Paltro
anks still robo-signing
ortgage lenders vowed in Marcn
s a
In its effort to SE -
OneWest Bank re
house for 40 year
foreclose, the b
essential to provi
But One West's parer.,
already legally own:
months after OneV.:es-
Reuters has found that some
documents with courts
investigations and he; 7117
lease of 87-year-old Margery Gunter in this down-on-its-luck Florida
t document that appears riddled with discrepancies. Mrs. Gunter, who has lived in the
-d with the aid of a walker, stopped paying her loan back in 2009, her lawyer concedes. To
the Collier County clerk's office on March 3 a "mortgage assignment," a document
ortgage once the original lender sells it off.
Yet the key document establishing ownership wasn't signed and officially recorded until
foreclose on Mrs. Gunter. OneWest declined to comment on the case.
/f the biggest U.S. banks and other "loan servicers" continue to file questionable foreclosure
ontv clerks. They are using tactics that late last year triggered an outcry, multiple
moratoriums on foreclosures.
is -S.'7.:'12 1..:S7elatic.. Among the snags: state law permits lenders to file to foreclose only if they
In recent months, serelcers h
or have sworn to false facts_
filed 'thousands of documents that appear to have been fabricated or improperly altered.
Reuters also identified at I,±.1.-i5t six "r
assig:
d -- in I:
documents that the
0-signers," individuals who in recent months have each signed thousands of
pinpoint ownership of a property. These same individuals have been
ain't rulings -- as previously having signed vast numbers of 'foreclosure
d or checked.
robo-signer" and said he'd. fceind multiple variations of her two-letter signature on documents, raising questions about
whether others wee :lame. That and other red flags prompted the judge to take the extraordinary step of
threatening to sanction 1 -If._:CF,C's chief executive officer.
In a phone interview, Carter acknowledged signing large numbers of mortgage assignments this year, but said they all were
legally done. To her knowledge, she added, no one else used her name.
'CUTTING CORNERS'
One of the industry 's top representatives says it is possible that the federal settlements haven 't put a stop to questionable
practices. "My judgment is that robo-signing had essentially gone away," said David Stevens, president of the Mortgage
of 7 7/20/2011 2:09 PM
http://new s.yahoo.com/spec i al -report-banks-continue-robo-s Special report: Banks still robo-signing - Yahoo! News
Bankers Association. "It doesn't mean that there aren't other ways to continue to cut corners, or mistakes occurring with
select servicers."
Nearly all bor-Tov.er .
complied with a .1
paperwork is fr
Jank T.
. mortgage
ised.
•
ese eornp
OneV.-.
So ha Hlf s
Credit. nesse
Spokesmen for the
autumn of robo-
In general, they
defense lawyers
The persistence aft
ent, Stevens added, but "the real question is whether the senyicer
of a home is the most critical time in a family's life," and if fore closure
'Families should he using every opportunity they can to protect their
vith 14 loan servicers -- banks and other companies that perform
ints from homeowners and when necessary, filing to foreclose. The 1.
mediation for some who were harmed and a bait to the filing of false
00, they said.
:•e that in recent months have filed foreclosure documents of Questionable
USA, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage.
weren'tparty to the agreements, including Oci.ven Financial Corp and:
s named in this article said that they halted any wrongdoing after disclosures last
actices, and they denied filing false documents since then.
were legitimate, but for a small number of exceptions, and that criti cis
....rae types of documentation is based on misinterpretation of the law.
7k mess poses a dilemma for American policymakers and society at large.
The vast majority of homeowners in foreclosure are in fact delinquent on their mortgage payments. Many bankers and
judges view the issue as a technicality. Regardless of legal niceties, they say, people should pay up or lose the collateral on
the loans -- their houses and condos.
Increasingly, though. courts that the trusts suing to foreclose don't actually own the mortgages. Judges have
ruled that foreclosing based on the, ed or missing evidence violates longstanding laws meant to protect all Americans'
property rights.
In a landmark decision in January, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned a foreclosure because of a lack of
proper docume.-ntatlor...
"The holder of an
Robert Cordry in a
is not the point. For
that it proceed striettl
Ibanez, 458 Mass. 63-,
A THOUSAND QUESTION'S
Reuters reviewed rec
and South Carolina —
files, some obtained o
needs to take care to ensure that his legal paperwork is in order," wrote Justice
n_ "Although there was no apparent actual unfairness here to the (nomeowners), that
powerfiil act with significant consequences, and Massachusetts law has always required
ern it." (-U.S. Bank National_Associdion, t---itstee, vs, itonio
showtimet Find moviegmei and. ticket,s In your area;
clerk offices in five states -- Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and North
databases. Reuters also examined hundreds of documents from court case
hers provided by attorneys.
rch
The searches found more than 1,000 mortgage assignments that for-multiple reasons appear Questionable; promissory
notes missing required endorsements or bearing faulty ones; and "complaints" (the legal doer- -ents that launch
foreclosure suits) that appear to contain multiple incorrect facts.
These are practices that the 14 banks and other loan servicers said had occurred only on a small scale and were halted more
than six months ago.
of 7 7/20/2011 2:09 P.M
Search Renters has also uncoverLd problems leS ShOWtinlet Rad MOVie tiateS and
Special report: Banks still robo-signing - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-banks-continue-robo -signing-00..
The settlements included the four largest banks in the United States -- Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan
Chase & Co, and Citig:-•up_, Inc. The otker parties were lending units of Ally Financial Inc, HSBC Holdings PLC, MetLife Inc,
Pl.\IC Financial .7: . an I.. .........Trast Banks Inc, U.S. Bancorp, Aurora Bank, EverBank, One4Vest Bank and
Sovereign Bank.
Ti' .1..,acts were
l.Fede3
-e Comptroller of the Currency, the main regulator of national banks, as well as
insurance Corp. and the Office of Thrift Supervision.
ane •. . .. • .c.. . . • - • ...iements weak. Authorities are still working out financial penalties to he
on th., •. ' • deny ‘vrougdoing, and many of the practices banned were ore- ion
_ eed making false notarizations. And regulators left it to the banks to over.,e
th, •:. into.
The OCC confirm..e
.-tipments
coif, flt_Ts that questionable practices continue. But spokesman Bryan Hill)bard said
of the root causes of improper foreclosure actions," thus preo,•Lot:-.se fumre.
OF FORE.CLOSL731-1-
•,:rovi-de that New York State law applies, and under New York law, any mortgage
The collapse of the he
percent of U.S. e-
expected this yea
e::-e 2006 led to a wave of foreclosures. Federal Reserve data show that some 4.5
7e, In 2010, 2.5 million foreclosures were initiated, with a similar number
In the housing boom, ler:A:lens created millions of new mortgages, packaged them into pools, and securitized them rapidly
for sale to investors in so-called mortgage-securities trusts: ..... ,„ ......... .....
The agreements setting no the trusts, called "pooling and servicing agreements," require that key documents, properly
executed and endorsed, be turned over immediately for each mortgage when a trust is established. The two most
important ones are a promissory note and mortgage assignment.
A mortgage really has two parts. One is the actual mortgage (in some states called a "deed of trust"). Its purpose is to pledge_
the home as collateral for the loan- To transfer ownership of this collateral pledge, the seller must issue a document called a
mortgage assignment. The other is the promissory note, which is the loan agreement itself. The homeowner si7s it,
promising to pay principal and interest.
The Reuters exarr, '71u-necl up thousands of instances --more than 2,000 in Florida alone -- involving recently filed
mortgage assignments whi,_Ti ostensibly transferred mortgages to these trusts years after they were formed.
The problem, according to: Ge'orzetown University law professor Adam Levitin, an expert on securitization: About So
percent of all trust
assignments made 1st.. ag7es nests would be void.
To foreclose, a trust, bank or mortgage finance --jant such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must possess the original "blue
ink" signed promissor-,
the back of a checic
note from the origin::;
cocCi parts the note are at the bottom -- the endorsements, somewhat like those on
7 t.-usts require a proper chain of endorsements showing legal transfers of a
-';ntermediary owners, and finally to the trust itself.
Attorneys defending homeuwners contend that improper endorsements are rife. Reuters obtained from public court
records and defense attorneys more than ino examples of notes that for various reasons appear to be improper.
• MYSTERY OF MARY ARTHUR
One example: The attempt by Credit Suisse unit DLJ Mortgage Capital to foreclose on Mary Arthur of Dobbs Ferry, New
York. Mrs. Arthur, 63 and legally blind, works part time as an assistant in a doctor's office. Originally from Trinidad, Mrs.
! of 7 7/20/2011 2:09 P14
The loan servicers,
arranged with Se
made the pap!
DLJ filed in two
were supposec cc
Rot at
endor
http://news.yahoo.cornispecial-report-hanks-continue-roho-signing-00 .. Special report: Banks still roho-signing - Yahoo! News
Arthur became delinquent on her S427,5oo loan after her parents and sister died and she ran up debts traveling home for
the funerals, accopli 'o S7 --017-)0'..", I inda Tirelli.
f Salt Lake City, threatened to foreclose on DLJ's behalf. Mrs. Arthur
lication to see if she could keep up with the reduced payments. She
o filed to foreclose.
ere authentic copies of Mrs. Arthur's promissory note. Because they
endorsements filed with both courts should be identical.
Jo filed in state court and the one filed in bankruptcy curt
veer banks and signed by different people_ Tirelli said she
and is awaiting a ruling.
Capital and Select Portfolio Servicing, declined to comment, as did Case ,:
kinintcy case.
a from a New York federal bankruptcy judge.
estigation involving a foreclosure case brought by the bank. Two earlier
d any endorsement, but then one appeared on the note when bank
Credit Suisse, -
no'
efAmeri...„.
Last Tuesday,
copies of a prom S.
lawyers produced
The judge said th
had been added e :±_e note look legitimate.
n and more importantly by whom this note was endorsed," the judge said.
produce evidence that "will demonstrate to the court's satisfaction that
_ =..nce of an endorsement, and his own close look at it, raised questions about whether it
ises a suffici
A Bank of America
the endorsement is proper."
(In re: Priscilla C. Taylor, De_btc;r, United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, Case 41 10-22652.)
MISSING SIGNATEP •=7:.;
These banks aren't alone in Sling doubtful documents. Reuters found cases in which Wells Fargo didn't obtain mortgage
assignments — and hence tile
Wells Fargo, as a tr
Mortgage Corp_ In
to allow Wells Faro -13 fore
had ever been turned
o foreclose — until well after it had filed foreclosure cases.
n homeowners Who have mortgages from now-defunct Option One
appellate Panel of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decision
Option One mortgage. It said that there was no evidence that the note and mortgage
tr1T-ct,,P
In court. Files of Florid
exhibits in to cases found by iieut
on Option One mortgages, none of the pror-!.issory enter filed:
Its ellowIimel RIM movie earch
A Wells Fargo sp
promissory notes
in other cases reviewed ny Reuters, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage, a unit of Ally Financial, this year assigned mortgages
from defunct lender New Century Mortgage Corp., which went under in 2007. Securitization lawyers say it is technically
impossible for a defunct company to directly assign a mortgage over to another owner.
Ally Financial spokesman James 01.ecld said GIVLAX obtained authorization to assign mortgages that New Century had
failed to transfer while it was still in existence. "GINIAC Mortgage obtained a power of attorney for loans serviced from the
New Century Mortgage Litigating Trust, the Successor-in-Interest to New Century Mortgage Corp.," he said.
Documents and statements made to courts that are found to be false can amount to crimes under state and federal laws.
• of 7 7/20/2011 2:09 PM
C at proper endorsements exist but were omitted from the copies of the
tronic
Special report: Banks still robo-signing. - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.comispec ial-report-banks-conti nue-robo-s i aninu-OC
Daniel Richman, a Columba University law professor and former federal prosecutor, said such acts can be perjury, and
preparing fraudulent an be prosecuted under federal mail and wire fraud statutes. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
makes it a crime pY-•:- • •-y • 20 years in jailto file false documents in a bankruptcy case, including foreclosures.
R.OBO-SIGNER':
Reuters also foirm' . • ••- the corner-cutting tactic that most captured the public imagination last
year: rebo-sig:::
The investigati--.•:- • 11- . : ..• • •.c re:t•o-signers who have continued to churn out large numbers of mortgage
as.signments • • •-•••• • 7 • 7 —.".'"IthE after the industry vowed to stop the practice.
Title (.,...:•:riug of Palm Harbor, Florida.
a•. ::.)rida that he signed up to 5,000 mortgage assignments per day at the
cing -•••••,- ••• •-- of Nationwide, he signed the documents as a "vice presic:ent" nts'
e M• • - ,• is -id other institutions. (Case # 2009-CA-1920, Circuit Court cf the
Distric.
In his de positics • • multiplied his output by electronically stamping his signature on additional
mortgage assi•-,••••••.-.t,.cover saw. He testified, too, that all the documents then were falsely notarized.
Nationwide's s of the already-signed documents, he said, and attested falsely that Blv had signed
the lep.1 papers said he didn't verifythe information in the.papers he signed, and that he didn't
understand key worth: •:•.••••,:•-•:-...::::01-15 in them.
Despite these disclosure:-,,. a :7-e-2:fens search of county clerk records in Florida, New York and Massachusetts shoWS that Bh
continued to sign thousands ri nortgage assi gnments this year.
A Nationwide spokeswoman said there is nothing illegal about signing large numbers of mortgage assignments. After
Reuters inquired about Ely, howe-Yer, she later said that because of recent questions raised about him by Nationwide
customers, Bly has been heraved to a job at the fiiui that doesn't involve signing documents.
R. Christopher Rodems, a lawyer for Ely, said there is nothing improper about signing large numbers of mortgage
assignments. Rodems said Ely had received death threats after a videotaped deposition Bly gave in November 2010 was
posted briefly on YouTtibe, in which he testified about signing massive numbers of mortgage assignments.
A LAWYERS NAME
Robc-si=ing isn't limitedt- er---Iovees at loan servicers.
a - Lawrence Buckle
testified that he ha-::
do e
anages the Dallas, Texas law firm Brice, Vander Linden and Wernick. In March, he
onic oure to be affixed to sworn court documents th, he had :ever sten. The
d with the federal bankruptcy court in New York. It s,,
permission for Deutsche Bank to seize .Its ihornimet Find movie dines and Cokes in your Search
15860.699.9
Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Yo:h, Case 10-10494 MG)
Buckley said he had never
signature. The signatur..,
and that another lawyer at his firm had filed it using Buckley's
t as "/s/ Lawrence J. Bucldey."
Buckley said that other lawyers at his firm were permitted to use his signature to file documents electronically with
bankruptcy courts. He testified that it was standard practice at the firm not to review any of the original documents the
claim was supposed to be based on, such as the original promissory note and mortgage.
Luke Madole, a lawyer for Buckley, said he saw nothing wrong with Buckley letting lawyers he directly managed use his
electronic signature. Later, in an e-mailed statement, Madole added that what occurred "is nothing like 'robo-signing" and
to use "that loaded term would be unfair in the extreme."
1f7 7/2072011 2:09 PM
operations three years earli 204
A Deutsche Bank sl lit_ed to comment.
Even Febru...
forecIcsure action
foreclose, a trust or7:
fore-closer has L...?
asn't recorded until nearly so months after One-West had launched its
estate law throughout the United States requires that before moving t
,rtgage and related promissory note. Otherwise, courts have ruled, a
showtiniel."Fi OneWest also filed tWO separate copies - - • • -ID - — LersT.
Special report: Banks still robo-signing - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/spec ial.-report-hanks-continue-robo-sigsing-00...
A JUDGE INVESTIGATES
Robe-signer Christina Cartee - n a ruling earlier this month, when Arthur Schack, a New York State court judge
in Brooklyn, threw oar to foreclose on a Brooklyn house.
Schack said he had
officials. The juce
said it turned out te
t ESBC a
The judge also
adins„
ge Schack thea
sancti
poss:
the case, Frank Cassara, to confirm key facts directly with HSBC
rned 'under the penalties of perjury" that he had done so. But the judge
itala anyone at HSBC, and that the employees Cassara had said he spoke
am were filed by known robo-signers, three of v,-hern he
personally had examined multiple examples of
:ssibility that other people had been
e formally threatened HSBC's CEO, Irene Darner, as well. as Iawy
filing false documents and making false r
eprimand to financial and other penalties.
se-orations to the
"If HSBC has a dut2
wasting the Court's
Iders," Schack wrote, "why is it purchasing nonperforming loans, and
and the use of robo-signers?" RD:nN1E76612C3
HSBC spokesman
had had no role in
Paul Koches, OcIA en",
counsel to the court that was in
conduct of any kind that would j
Ocwen, was responsible for what occurred in the case, and that HSBC
el, said in an e-mail: "To our knowledge, there was nothing submitted by our legal
vay misleading as to who is the owner of this mortgage and note, nor was there any
sanotel o re-s."
Carter says she did c
DOWN IN FLORIDA
proper, and left Ocwen voluntarily in May fo-r another job.
The bank now -Laving to fol
signed this February to pr
ownership to OrteWest. Bm
aciose on Marjorie Gunter has produced a troubled paper trail. OneWest submitted a document
)\--e that the original lender for her mortgage, a company called MortgagelT, had signed over
MortgagelT, owned by Deutsche Bank, wasn't in business in February. It had ceased
had an endorsement only from Mort... .;eIT t now-defunct IndyMac Bank. Weeks later, One-West filed a second copy c he
note, with the adciitice-, "IaLsnk endorsement -- an endorsement by IndyMac, but with the name of the payee left
emplor One West the case that the note was subsequently transferred to Fannie Mae.
One-West declined to explain the multiple apparent discrepancies in the Gunter foreclosure documents. A spokesman said
in an e-mail: "One West is dedicated to ensuring that it meets the needs of its customers, acts in accordance with applicable
laws, and complies with its coot-actual mortgage servicing duties to the highest standards."
A Fannie Mae spokeswoman said Fannie does own the Gunter note, but declined to explain how the mortgage finance giant
obtained it, "due to it being in active litigation."
The judge in the Gunter case hasn't ruled yet on OneWest's documents. (20th Judicial Circuit Court in Collier County, FL,
ei
o17 7/20/2011 2:09 PM
OneWest says thw
of Collie --
http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-banks-continue-robo-signing-00... Special report: Banks still robo-signing - Yahoo! News
Case number 10-2982-CA).
Mrs. Gunter lives in Una .'
cent of the townspecp,s
surviving son lives in
nterview
closing.
a scrubby town 34 miles inland from Fort Myers on Florida's Gulf coast. About 40 per
ine, census data show. She shares her home with her three dogs; her one
am n highway, Mrs. Gunter said she doesn't understand why the bank
more than $160,000, I•1er lawyer, Joseph Klein of the Legal Aid
a circumstances.
in December 2006, an agent for Deutsche
The forms, listing her income, show that the ageut
more than her monthly income of $800 from Social Security plus abo:
In an a:/ll..Uayit
citizer to remain in •
they die. But the (loo
i'Sag her place
(This story was co frct
(Scot Paltrow repcirte.
Claudia Parsons)
Ccp-,Tight Thomson Revv _
COpyligh1 C 2011 Yahoo! i
had asked the salesman for a "reverse mortgage," which allows senior
mortgage payments, with the value of the house going to the bank when
e her to sign were for an ordinary 30-year mortgage.
Gunter said. "If they take the house," she said, "they'll take nie, t
apbs 11-12 to clarify remarks of Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens;
York and Washington, Tom Brown from Immokalee; editing by Michael Williams and
71.-ons an http://aboutreuters.com/fulllegalasp
ol News Network /
Its showtimet Fl
of 7 7/20/2011 2:09 PM
Resolution #11156 July 21, 2011
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no
objections.
Resolution #11156 August 18, 2011
Moved by Crawford supported by McGillivray the resolutions (with fiscal notes attached) on the Consent
Agenda be adopted (with accompanying reports being accepted).
AYES: Covey, Crawford, Dwyer, Gershenson, Gingell, Gosselin, Greimel, Hatchett, Hoffman,
Jackson, Long, Matis, McGillivray, Middleton, Nash, Nuccio, Potts, Quarles, Runestad, Scott,
Taub, Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Bosnic. (25)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolutions (with fiscal notes attached) on the Consent
Agenda were adopted (with accompanying reports being accepted).
0
I HEREBY APPROVE THE FOUOING RES(IITION
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Bill Bullard Jr., Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true
and accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on August 18,
2011, with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the County of Oakland at
Pontiac, Michigan this 18 th day of August, 2011.
u ck
Bill Bullard Jr., Oakland County