Archives

SACRAMENTO, CA - May 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. sentenced Ralondria Stafford, 37, of San Francisco, and Necole Ward, 32, of Las Vegas, (both formerly of Vallejo, Calif.) for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme carried out in Vallejo between 2005 and 2006. Judge England sentenced Stafford to 21 months in prison and Ward to 12 months and a day in prison. The prison sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release and both defendants were ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. Stafford and Ward pleaded guilty on June 10, 2010.

Washington, DC - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and a leading champion for homeowners, delivered the following remarks today during a Subcommittee on Housing, Insurance, and Community Opportunity Hearing on “Legislative Proposals to Determine the Future Role of FHA, RHS and GNMA in the Single-and Multi-Family Mortgage Markets.”

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the creation of the California Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, staffed by Department of Justice attorneys and investigators charged with protecting innocent homeowners and bringing to justice those who defraud them.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Buellton man was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding banks by nearly simultaneously seeking home equity lines of credit from four different federally insured financial institutions. Larry P. Corbi Jr., 36, who resided in Marina del Rey during the course of the scheme and has since relocated to the Central Coast, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Corbi to pay $356,644 in restitution.

FRESNO, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill sentenced Wrenl Burge, 40, of Fresno, to 41 months in prison and Albert Lewis Ellis, 46, also of Fresno, to 33 months in prison for a scheme to falsify mortgage loan documents. Burge was ordered to pay $1,011,524 in restitution, and Ellis was ordered to pay $548,178 in restitution to the mortgage lenders.

RIVERSIDE, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc. (REMN), a national mortgage lender based in River Edge, N.J., continues to grow its retail presence in California with the addition of a new branch in Riverside. Coming on the heels of the company’s recent addition in San Diego, this new office will better help REMN service the Inland Empire’s future and existing home owners, real estate professionals, as well as residential builders.

SAN JOSE, CA - May 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Norma Valdovinos, Claudia Valdovinos, Linda Dung Tran, Elaine “Queenie” Ly, and Pablo Curiel, of San Jose, California, and Jesus Chavez, of Gilroy, California on May 11, 2011, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and making a false statement to a bank, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced yesterday.

Atlanta, GA - May 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As a result of TPG Capital’s purchase of MDA DataQuick, MDA Lending Solutions and MDA MindBox in January, the three companies will integrate their operations effective May 2, 2011. The combined company, which will operate under the name DataQuick®, will deliver advanced real estate information solutions powered by higher quality data, analytics and advanced decisioning.

San Francisco, CA - April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Access to mortgage refinance loans sharply declined in communities of color – and increased substantially in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to a report released today by a multistate coalition of groups.

Washington, DC - April 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) yesterday reintroduced H.R. 1567, the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mortgage Servicing Act of 2011. Congresswoman Waters has introduced similar legislation since the 110th Congress, and has long maintained that the servicing industry is broken. By reintroducing and updating the bill, Congresswoman Waters continues to demonstrate her commitment to ending the foreclosure crisis and holding servicers accountable.

San Francisco, CA - April 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have drafted consent decrees with the nation’s largest mortgage servicers that would purportedly improve their foreclosure practices. These legal agreements represent an inadequate attempt by regulators to address illegal servicing practices that have caused countless people to lose their homes.

Washington, DC - March 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement today after details of the proposed settlement between state attorneys general and mortgage servicers were revealed

Washington, DC - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In response to the recent rise in home foreclosures, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) introduced legislation to give veterans access to mortgage refinancing opportunities. The Veterans Home Loan Refinance Opportunity Act (H.R. 834) will allow veterans in Alaska, Oregon, California, Wisconsin, and Texas to take advantage of low-interest home loan refinancing options available from the state. Currently, veterans in these states can use the home loans to purchase a primary residence -- but not to refinance.

Los Angeles, CA - February 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the last two years, families in Los Angeles County lost their home to foreclosure every 15 to 18 minutes. Dataquick Information Systems reports 26,707 Los Angeles County families lost their home to foreclosure in 2010. In January 2011, 2,196 families lost their home to foreclosure1, indicating that not much has or will change in 2011. Exacerbating the issue is high unemployment and the low volume of permanent loan modifications being made available to families facing foreclosure.

Washington, DC - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement today after reports of a deal between the Obama Administration and mortgage servicers to settle systemic fraud issues in the servicing and foreclosure industry

SAN MATEO, CA - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) today announced that the Small Business Administration is offering a program that will help small businesses facing maturity of commercial loans or balloon payments refinance their mortgage debt

SAN MATEO, CA - February 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) today announced that the Small Business Administration is offering a program that will help small businesses facing maturity of commercial loans or balloon payments refinance their mortgage debt.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that United States District Judge William B. Shubb sentenced Iftikhar Ahmad, 40, of Stockton, to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $382,750 for multiple counts of mail fraud relating to a scheme involving the fraudulent submission of mortgage loan applications. Ahmad pleaded guilty on April 28, 2008

Los Angeles, CA - February 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Los Angeles County NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions and The Long Beach Housing Development Company have partnered to help Long Beach residents become better informed about the foreclosure process and prevent foreclosure in 2011. In the last two years, families in Los Angeles County lost their home to foreclosure every 15 to 18 minutes. Dataquick Information Systems reports 26,703 Los Angeles County families lost their home to foreclosure in 2010. High unemployment rates have weakened homeowners’ ability to stay current on their mortgage loans. In addition, an increase in foreclosures is likely to occur in 2011 when $300 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages are expected to reset upward.

MISSION VIEJO, CA - February 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Hammerhouse LLC, an expanding national recruiting and strategic growth firm for the financial service industry with mortgage sales and leadership placement at its core, announced today the hiring of Grant Lupo as Strategic Growth Partner. Mr. Lupo, an experienced mortgage professional with years of experience in servicing, hiring and training mortgage production professionals, is being hired to help manage Hammerhouse’s client growth and expand the Company’s national mortgage recruiting market share. Mr. Lupo will report directly to Drew Waterhouse, Managing Director of Hammerhouse and be based in Mission Viejo,