Public Demands State AG's Prosecute the Criminal Side of Foreclosure

Crime Shouldn't Pay is a campaign to ensure that as our nation's 50 state Attorneys General, who are currently investigating this foreclosure scandal, stand up for everyday people and hold banks fully accountable for the crisis they have created in America.  Any settlement with the banks must include the following principles:

    * Mandatory principal reductions as a first line loan modification tool
    * Criminal penalties for bankers who broke the law
    * Mandatory modification efforts before any foreclosure
    * Restitution for families who've lost their homes due to fraud and abuse

TODAY, Feb. 3: National Call-in Day!
You can join the campaign by signing the petition.
Find more info at CrimesShouldntPay.com.

For more on how the public feels about holding criminals accountable for their actions, read the below blog contributed by MSFraud.org

"Most foreclosures contain evidence of criminal acts"
By MSFraud.org

When law offices, consumer advocates and the media flooded government offices with irrefutable evidence of civil and criminal violations found in thousands upon thousands of foreclosure cases, the willful blindness of many state attorneys general could no longer ignore what many have been screaming about since the 1980's S&L crisis:  Most foreclosures are a theft by deception scheme that contain evidence of criminal acts that include tax fraud, insurance fraud, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and other acts considered state jail felonies.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller

Heading up the 50-state AG investigation is Iowa AG Tom Miller (send him a pre-printed letter here), who pledged during a December 14 meeting: "We Will Put People in Jail" for foreclosure fraud.  Less than three weeks later, Mr. Miller's growl now whimpers: "Our focus is to reform the servicing process and that's inherently civil, not criminal".   Stealing homes and equity (money) is criminal -- just ask a banker or a little kid.  Besides, the FTC tried the "reform" process with Fairbanks Capital and EMC Mortgage, and both were nothing short of insulting, as both continue to breach the FTC settlement daily without penalty.  Miller's latest comment is raising public concern that the attorneys general have decided the criminal elements are not strong enough. 

Try telling that to the Texas woman currently serving 99 years in prison for making false statements to obtain property; one of the many criminal charges that should haunt anyone who has engaged in wrongful foreclosures - or is attempting to foreclose.  Especially when you consider foreclosure-mills and foreclosure factories make more false statements in the time it takes this woman to sprint to the other side of her jail cell.  One Texas man is serving 25 years for committing mortgage fraud on a single street.  Sanctions, disbarments or indictments against corrupted lawyers and judges would quickly restore a substantial amount of faith in our judicial process.

Making false statements or filing fraudulent, forged, fabricated or counterfeit evidence in our courts and land records to obtain void judgments to take people's homes and money under false pretenses is criminal.

Banks, lawyers and judges have turned Courts and Land Record offices into Crime Scenes

The evidence is everywhere.  Investigators will discover finding evidence to support criminal indictments will be as easy as shooting a worm in a test-tube.  MSFraud and other advocates can locate certifiable evidence in virtually any county courthouse and land record office nationwide, along with shocking cases laden with criminal evidence ripe for prosecution, if law enforcement would simply ask.

A Great Opportunity for Good Men and Women to do Something

This foreclosure crisis simply could not have happened without the dereliction of duty by many of our judges.  Many of our gatekeepers blatantly disregarded the law and refused the evidence brought before them.  Most state AG's and the DOJ remain reluctant to get involved in individual foreclosure cases, regardless of its evidence of crimes, so it was impressive when Ohio AG Richard Cordray filed an amicus brief in U.S. Bank v Renfro . Cordray understands that when notified of a crime against the public, Attorneys General have a duty "to prevent or halt the commission of an offense".  Speaking of good men, Ohio's former attorney general, Marc Dann, has put his boots on the ground to fight the foreclosure crimes in his state, and recently filed a class action against the foreclosure-mill Lerner, Sampson & Rothfuss.  In addition, task forces have been directed by President Obama's Executive Order 13519: ...

"to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes and other violations relating to the current financial crisis and economic recovery efforts, recover the proceeds of such crimes and violations, and ensure just and effective punishment of those who perpetrate financial crimes and violations."

and the public is increasingly demanding these perpetrators be prosecuted and put in prison, but we need the help of only good men and women.

The Foreclosure Crisis was Remedied more than a Century ago

Imagine the time and tax dollars being wasted searching for after-the-fact solutions to our current foreclosure crisis, when the  original remedy has remained in law books for more than a century, and upheld in last month's landmark ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which cited one case from 1871.  Many wonder if the high court opinion will morph its way into courtrooms across the country, or will local courts and law enforcement continue using the same type of strong-arm justice Americans would demand from the likes of Pee-Wee Herman.

Laws specifically enacted to protect one's property from unlawful seizure have remained constant, and some judges have even stated: If you plan to take  someone's property, you will not cross the threshold unless you possess the legal right to do so.  But unfortunately, finding a respectable or honorable judge to enforce basic property law remains elusive in most foreclosure courtrooms.  For instance, in Collin County, Texas, local court rule 4.1 is suitable for carving into every foreclosure-court wall, for with authority it commands: 

"In any case involving a suit on a promissory note, the original of the note sued on must be offered and admitted into evidence before any judgment thereon will be rendered. The original of the promissory note shall thereafter remain in the custody of the Court." 

Would fraudulent foreclosures dare take place in a county brandishing its "Don't Mess With Texas" laws?  Yes, by the thousands.  Judges refuse to enforce their own local rule and local law enforcement is evicting homeowners without a court order.  And just how many of those foreclosures may be unlawful?  According to the Texas Foreclosure Task Force  -  90%.  That's 9 out of 10!  Would we even have a foreclosure crisis if judges had always forced these pretender lenders to prove they had the legal capacity to foreclose?  Probably not.

The (pre-crisis) 2007 certified transcript from the Texas Supreme Court "MEETING OF THE TASK FORCE ON JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE RULES" attended by judges, lawyers, title companies, Mortgage Bankers Assoc. and others, captured testimony from foreclosure-mill Barrett-Burke, who stated that finding [a document] that grants the right to foreclose "is an impossibility in 90 percent of the cases".  Their remedy for a missing document?  "They create one", and "we all kinda' turn a blind-eye to it".  Perhaps a misprision of felony charge would clean that up. 

86 the phrase "Loan-Modification"

Mr. Miller's focus on servicing reform couldn't possibly include loan modifications now that people are acutely aware that pretender-modifiers cannot modify a loan they do not own.  Those are the facts and it is that simple.  Loan modification programs proved to be the spam in the scam.  Many who thought they won a loan mod, found their payments actually increased, or learned modification was nothing more than a "Swindler's Dream"; a nefarious opportunity to profit by duping borrowers into signing documents that ultimately convert their unsecured and sometimes noncollectable debt - into a secured and collectable debt.  In other words, the entity who tried to swindle you out of your home but couldn't, because they didn't own your home, just got your signature and can now foreclose on a home it paid nothing for. The government's modification fiasco also funneled additional taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the exact same racketeers who caused the foreclosure crisis, and whose familiar mug shots have graced the Swindler's List for years. 

Law enforcement must read Professor Wray's article "Nightmare on Wall Street", as it is difficult to quote less than the entire article. The malfeasance, misfeasance, non-feasance and criminal acts are everywhere. 

It is unsettling to realize that for more than a decade, the majority of judges and law enforcement turned a blind-eye to the biggest financial crime in history until it had already incinerated the livelihood of millions.   If we continue to ignore law and truth, and not embrace this best opportunity to restore faith, trust, honor and integrity in our laws, then we are doomed to be forever remembered and ridiculed as the generation who paid trillions to the criminals after they caused the crisis, emptied retirement funds, and stole millions of homes the banks didn't even own.