Fraudulent Foreclosures; How will they right the wrongs?

How much money is in your wallet?  And how much is tied up in your mortgage?  It's less about what's in the former and more about what's in the latter that has homeowners reviewing documents signed by officials of their mortgage servicing company.

After years of pushing the proverbial ball of suspected fraudulent loan documents up the steep, steep hill, it looks like the ball is teetering -and about to steamroll down the other side, crushing the mortgage servicing companies right along with their foreclosure mills in the path.  These organizations have been stealing the homes of beleaguered homeowners who probably have sore throats from screaming about the mishandling of their mortgage loans.  Whether or not they made timely mortgage payments, these homeowners have been finding themselves evicted from their homes and pushed out onto the streets.  

Several years ago, when this type of fraud was transpiring unchecked, those in the know claimed, "When the whole of this fraud is exposed, it will make Enron look like a parking ticket". That now-prophetic statement was on the front page of MSFraud.org, a site founded by Robert John "Jack" Wright, a victim of mortgage servicing fraud. His home was valued at over $200,000. and Jack lived a very comfortable life. He never missed a mortgage payment, yet he was illegally evicted from his home. Poof!  One day -it was gone.  Jack, founded MSFraud to raise awareness about mortgage servicing fraud and help inform other potential victims of fraud.  Losing his battle for his home and his life as he once knew it, didn't stop him from continuing his fight to help others and expose the crimes for what they are: fraud!  (see video)

When the mortgage bubble burst the spin was all about, "dead-beat borrowers and the poor rich banks that needed bailouts"--cash to help them clean up what they'd caused.  It is their slicing and dicing of loans that made it impossible for homeowners to learn who really owned their mortgage. Many consumers and activists,  along with some in-the-know consumer attorneys  and national advocates have since been clanging the bells, shouting in and out of courtrooms relentlessly trying to enlighten judges, the media and, most of all, unsuspecting homeowners to the dangers of rocket-docket court proceedings and predatory foreclosure practices. 

Troubled homeowners turned to victims' advocates, activists, and bloggers to share their  stories; their outrage turned to action as they too, rolled up their sleeves to help spread the word.  As story after story came rolling in, that giant ball of dirty paper continued to be pushed up the hill by those homeowners who were wringing their hands while clinging to the hope that one day justice would prevail. One day, they would be heard by the media, by government agencies, legislators (see below video) or by anyone with authority to help put a stop to these wrongful foreclosures.

Various eye-opening studies and reports--such as the National Consumer Law Center's report, "Why Mortgage Servicers Foreclose When They Should Modify"--raised deep concerns --but little more. 

Homeowners for a short time had a ray of hope when the well intended government programs such as HAMP and MHA were initiated to help homeowners find their way to a loan modification. These programs though well intended -didn't work. HAMP turned into HELL--and hope silently faded away as dangled promises of help -only delivered more runarounds, massive headaches, destroyed credit --and foreclosure notices. 

It's hard to turn on the news or pick up the paper without reading of ongoing civil and criminal investigations and judicial sanctions for misconduct within the financial industry.  It is equally difficult to avoid the huge mass of stories from consumers across the country that have been caught in predatory financial practices, steamrollered under foreclosure mills, or bamboozled in some way by the financial fallout of the crash. 

What is to come as that big ball of paper thunders down the hill, shedding pages and heartbreak as it tumbles?  At whose feet will that last paper land?  And what's to be done for the Jack Wright's out there who had their once normal lives torn to shreds?  It's ironic, but shredding is exactly what may in fact be happening across the country as foreclosure mills work overtime to dispose of the fraudulent and fabricated documents used to steal homes

Update: October 2 Bank of America becomes the latest mortgage servicer to put the brakes on foreclosures, joining JP Morgan Chase, and Ally Bank the subsidiary of GMAC Mortgage.

Update: October 4
Richard Zombeck: Homeowner Activists and Attorneys Vindicated after Years of Being Ignored

There's a huge buzz out there among homeowner activists who are feeling vindicated for the hard work they've done over the past couple of years and in many cases even longer. The recent news inundating the headlines of blatant fraud on the part of lenders and servicers has offered proof that their actions and fight have not been in vain.

Many of the people who've been battling foreclosure, loan servicers, banks, and legal firms bent on taking homes have done so at considerable cost to their sanity, reputation, and finances. They've been lambasted by the other side and by their neighbors, called leeches, welfare freaks, and losers. They've been accused of having bought beyond their means and blamed for being the cause of the financial crisis, when the majority of homeowners have been victimized and scammed. In extreme cases some have been labeled whack job conspiracy theorists and alarmists by the media and elected officials.

Mike Dillon of New Hampshire has been fighting an illegal foreclosure against Fairbanks Capitol Corporation/Select Portfolio Servicing for nine years.

"I didn't buy more house than I could afford. I had my evidence. I had a court order from a judge. Despite this, I still had to get used to being looked at like a guy standing out in a cornfield describing how the lights came down out of the sky and stole my cow. As devastating as this level of fraud has been, it was nice to finally get that confirmation that I really wasn't crazy," Dillon said referring to the rash of articles and testimonies proving his claims. MORE