Banking Law

Teary Attorney Who Cooperated with Feds and Tried to Atone for Mortgage Fraud Gets 2.5 Years

Attorney Carol Asbury hoped to avoid prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar South Florida mortgage fraud, she told the ABA Journal last month. Once she came to her senses and realized she had gotten seriously off track, she went to the feds and told them what she knew, helping…

Nov 18, 2011 9:40 PM CST

Calif. AG Subpoenas Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in Wide-Ranging Lending and Foreclosure Probe

California’s attorney general has subpoenaed mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a wide-ranging probe of their lending, foreclosure and property management practices concerning the thousands of properties for which they now serve as landlords, reports the Los Angeles Times, citing an unidentified source. Representatives of the two government-controlled…

Nov 17, 2011 7:52 PM CST

Law Firm that Apologized for Costumes Is Barred from Freddie and Fannie Foreclosure Work

A law firm in the news because of a Halloween party has been barred from new foreclosure work in New York state by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Steven J. Baum law firm is no longer in the network of firms approved for foreclosure work by the two mortgage…

Nov 16, 2011 2:54 PM CST

Ex-Employees File WARN Claims Against MF Global, Hope for Priority in Bankruptcy Court

Fired on Friday along with more than 1,000 other workers at MF Global, at least four former employees today filed three separate claims in federal bankruptcy court lawsuit seeking two months of severance pay and benefits from the bankrupt brokerage. They want class action status and some $25 million in…

Nov 15, 2011 1:18 AM CST

Real Estate Lawyer Closes Office Temporarily; Bank Asks Court to Decide Who Gets $473K Trust Account

A well-known Georgia real estate lawyer has temporarily closed his Columbus office amidst an audit, and a local bank has asked a Muscogee County court to determine who should get the nearly $473,000 in his attorney trust account, the Ledger-Enquirer reports. “Our title insurance underwriters have suspended our access and…

Nov 2, 2011 9:48 PM CDT

Halloween Party Costumes Come Back to Haunt Foreclosure Law Firm

A New York Times columnist is expressing outrage over Halloween costumes worn by some employees of a law firm previously in the news because of a probe into its foreclosure practices. The costumes appear to mock homeowners targeted in the law firm’s cases, showing an “appalling lack of compassion,” according…

Oct 31, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Del. AG Alleges Deceptive Practices in Latest MERS Suit, Seeks Temporary Court-Ordered Shutdown

In an apparent new wrinkle among a growing wave of government litigation over a national electronic registry that circumvented the traditional system of recording mortgage assignments in county offices, the Delaware attorney general has filed suit against Merscorp Inc. alleging deceptive practices by its Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, according to…

Oct 27, 2011 8:29 PM CDT

Set to Move Ahead on Possible MERS Suit, Texas County Instead Looks to State AG to Take Lead Role

Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role. “If this is…

Oct 26, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

Report: Swiss Banks Likely to Pay Billions, Name Secret Account-Holders to Settle US Probe

To settle a U.S. probe of offshore tax evasion, 11 financial institutions in Switzerland are likely not only to pay billions of dollars but to identify to the feds the 5,000 to 10,000 Americans who hold secret accounts there, Bloomberg reports in an article that relies on five unidentified sources.…

Oct 24, 2011 10:32 PM CDT

2 NY Lawyers Sued, 1 Disbarred re Their Claimed Roles in Convicted Developer’s $92M Mortgage Fraud

A New York title attorney who is awaiting sentencing for his role in a Long Island real estate developer’s $92 million mortgage origination fraud in Nassau County was disbarred last week. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is suing Ted Doumazios along with a closing attorney allegedly involved with him in arranging…

Oct 24, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

More Underwater Borrowers Will Get Refinancing Help Through Changes in FHFA Program

More homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages will be eligible for a refinancing program as a result of changes announced today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Borrowers with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before June 2009 will be eligible for the refinancing program, no matter…

Oct 24, 2011 3:19 PM CDT

Citigroup to Pay $285M to Settle SEC Allegations It Bet Against Its Own Clients on Mortgage CDO

Citigroup has agreed to pay $285 million to settle allegations that it sold mortgage-backed securities to clients while betting against the investments through short sales. The payment settles a suit filed Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, report the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and a press…

Oct 20, 2011 12:21 PM CDT

Another Attorney Is Charged in Mortgage Fraud Case re High-End Versailles Development in South Fla.

A Miami-area attorney charged in a federal mortgage fraud prosecution is at least the third Florida lawyer to face a criminal case concerning the high-end Versailles development near Wellington. Kimberly S. Daise, 48, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud on a financial institution and wire fraud, reports the South…

Oct 19, 2011 8:43 PM CDT

After Robo-Signing Scandal, Fannie and Freddie Will No Longer Use Attorney Networks

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow mortgage servicers to choose their own foreclosure law firms after some firms in the mortgage giants’ discounted attorney networks were caught up in the robo-signing scandal. The Federal Housing Finance Authority, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, announced it has ordered a revamp of…

Oct 19, 2011 11:52 AM CDT

Some Banks Are Giving Away Foreclosed Properties; Cleveland Serves as Model

In Cleveland some banks are losing so much money holding onto run-down foreclosures that they are bulldozing the properties and giving them away. The properties are turned over to the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. under a 2009 Ohio law creating land banks, the Washington Post reports. The Cuyahoga land…

Oct 13, 2011 12:06 PM CDT