Matt Weidner – Fighting For The American People

and this is why….

If we are a nation where justice is blind, should we not investigate this possibility before we give the offending financialinstitutions another free pass?

The essence of an effective capitalist system is rules and accountability. For markets, and our larger economy to work, important players cannot be permitted to make up their own rules. In all likelihood, a settlement next week means these serious questions will never be answered.

This weekend, attorney generals from across the country are being blackmailed, extorted, pressured into signing onto off of the settlements with the banksters.

Keep in mind folks, that we’re not talking about teensy weensy violations of itty bitty parts of the law that don’t matter like jaywalking.  These are crime scenes….

But while they sit on their secret phone call hammering out the details on how Americans are gonna get hosed once again, let’s just review some of the details that are part of existing lawsuits:

(Now there’s a real gem down there at the bottom. Let’s see who can pick it out.)

The lawsuit specifically charges that the defendants have engaged in the following fraudulent and deceptive practices:

• MERS has filed over 13,000 foreclosure actions against New York homeowners listing itself as the plaintiff, but in many instances, MERS lacked the legal authority to foreclose and did not own or hold the promissory note, despite saying otherwise in court submissions.
• MERS certifying officers, including employees and agents of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, have repeatedly executed and submitted in court legal documents purporting to assign the mortgage and/or note to the foreclosing party. These documents contain numerous defects, including affirmative misrepresentations of fact, which render them false, deceptive, and/or invalid. These assignments were often automatically generated and “robosigned” by individuals who did not review the underlying property ownership records, confirm the documents’ accuracy, or even read the documents. These false and defective assignments often masked gaps in the chain of title and the foreclosing party’s inability to establish its authority to foreclose, and as a result have misled homeowners and the courts.
• MERS’ indiscriminate use of non-employee “certifying officers” to execute vital legal documents has confused, misled, and deceived homeowners and the courts and made it difficult to ascertain whether a party actually has the right to foreclose. MERS certifying officers have regularly executed and submitted in court mortgage assignments and other legal documents on behalf of MERS without disclosing that they are not MERS employees, but instead are employed by other entities, such as the mortgage servicer filing the case or its counsel. The signature line just indicates that the individual is an “Assistant Secretary,” “Vice President,” or other officer of MERS. Indeed, these documents often purport to assign the mortgage to the certifying officer’s own employer. Moreover, as a result of the defendants’ failure to track the designation of certifying officers and the scope of their authority to act, individuals have executed legal documents on behalf of MERS, such as mortgage assignments and loan modifications, when they were either not designated as a MERS certifying officer at the time or were not authorized to execute documents on behalf of MERS with respect to the subject loan.
• MERS and its members have deceived and misled borrowers about the importance and ramifications of MERS’ role with respect to their loan by providing inadequate disclosures.
• The MERS System is riddled with inaccuracies which make it difficult to verify the chain of title for a loan or the current note-holder, and creates confusion among stakeholders who rely on the information. In addition, as a result of these inaccuracies, MERS has filed mortgage satisfactions against the wrong property.

NY AG Lawsuit

This piece here is the GEM…..let’s see how many people pick up on how big this is.

And here’s the whole lawsuit

THE QUESTION NOW IS, HOW CAN ATTORNEY GENERALS SIGN ONTO DEALS WITH THE DEVILS?

So here’s the thing.  A foreclosure trial should be a simple matter.  An easy case for a big shot foreclosure firm….right?  Let’s take a hypothetical example.  The Plaintiff (or some version of the Plaintiff…we’ll get to that later) filed the Original Note years ago. They’ve got an Original, wet ink note that was taken out with American Broker’s Conduit in 2007.  The note file with the court in 2009 is endorsed in blank so any old person can come in court, file the lawsuit and throw my client out into the street…..right?

Well, hold on there Nellie. Slow down a bit.  Let me take you for a little trip down the rabbit hole.  First a little date to keep in mind.  American Home Mortgage filed for bankruptcy in August 2007, just a few days after my loan was closed.  According to pleadings filed in court, shortly after the filing 6,500 people were fired all across the country.  So a first question I have is just how did my little ole loan get endorsed by some employee of AHMSI in the few short days between when it closed and when AHMSI filed bankruptcy?  (More on that later too.)  You know how things are when the ship is sinking….I’d imagine everyone knew the ship was going down so were all these folks really Johnnie on the Spot and really dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s? I mean while the building was on fire and everyone was running up and down the hallway screaming, was my particular girl sitting there calmly endorsing away millions of dollars in promissory notes?(Stamp, sign; Stamp, sign; Stamp, sign)  I just don’t picture that and, as I’ll get to later, this probably was not happening.

AHMSI and CA case details – GOOD ref-2

AHMSI-1

American Home Mortgage bankruptcy questions and court filing

AHMSI-2

Next, I started carefully examining all these bankruptcy filings and litigation cases related to the AHMSI bankruptcy and it seems there’s real questions about whether and when and what parts of loans of these bankrupt companies actually were transferred out. You see the loans were like pigs that were sent off to slaughterhouses. Pieces and parts were chopped up and sent off to different places…the loans themselves were sold off to one group of investors (who knows if they were double sold?), then the rights to service or collect the payments on the loans were either retained by related entities, or those rights were sold off to other companies.  In subsequent lawsuits filed in federal bankruptcy court all sort of allegations are made about the improper transfer of these parts of the pig.

Another key part of this case comes in the name of the Plaintiff that sued my client to foreclose, American Home Mortgage Servicing.  Well, when they first filed the suit in 2009, I didn’t like the way the name was all loose and not pled in a proper legal fashion, so I demanded they give me the details that our pleading rules require….tell me what state of incorporation, tell me you’re in good standing, tell me there are no other competing entities….and well, here we are three years later and it seems like those questions I raised right at the beginning were well founded and justified.  You see, as the litigation shows, there were in fact two versions of AHMSI, pre-bankruptcy and the fire-sale rising from the ashes, post bankruptcy.  I challenged capacity and it seems that challenge was well-taken at the time….but that was never disclosed to me or the court in my case. (More on that later)

Me being a curious type, I sent detailed, painstaking discovery pointed at AHMSI asking all kinds of questions, the who, what, when, where and hows of every aspect of this loan and the litigation…and guess what responses I got?  NOTHING.  Not a single question answered.  And how did they pull this trick off?  Well, they went behind my back and told the court in an ex-parte motion that the loan had sold and that AHMSI now had nothing to do with this loan. I objected but the court denied my objection, letting AHMSI slither away not answering a single damn question.  For two years now, I’ve kept pointing back to the fact that I was denied those questions, filing motions to compel, trying to take depositions, but the new plaintiff’s attorneys (same as the old plaintiff’s attorneys) scream that the old plaintiff isn’t their client and they cannot be made to answer any questions.  They maintained this position until right up at the eve of trial when they told the court they were going to call their former client as a witness in order to answer questions and get in information they need in order to prove their case.

Well, along comes another interesting thing about this case.  You see, the Plaintiff’s attorney files a “Notice of Non-Reliance on Assignment”.  You see, AHMSI had apparently contracted with a company LPS or DOCS, LLC to generate the documents it needs to foreclose.  Now AHMSI and LPS Docs are in a good old fashioned legal war, AHMSI is suing LPS accusing its old friend of doing shady things as part of its document creation operation.  Nothing like a little fratricide to spice my case up a little bit.  Now, I’m not sure what a “Notice of Non-Reliance” is…I checked the rule books and there’s no mention of such a motion in all of legal history, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on something new and exciting so I filed a “Notice of Reliance on Assignment”.  You see, I wanted to bring to the court’s attention the fact that the Plaintiff had produced a document , filed it with the court and were now trying to run away from it like a frat boy runs away from a girl with….well, you fill in the blank.

READ THIS DOCUMENT VERY CAREFULLY

Well, the “Notice of Non-Reliance” brings us to another interesting point in this little saga called, “The Importance of Being Earnest”.  You see, the Florida Bar issued an ethics opinion which dealt with exactly the kind of situation presented here.  How do I know this is the situation.  Well, I just received documents that were sealed as part of the Nevada Attorney General’s Lawsuit against Lender Processing Service.  In this lawsuit is a document that explains exactly how LPS employees are supposed to forge the signatures of other employees, but they don’t call it forgery, they call it “Surrogate Signing”.  The explain it in great detail…really, you just gotta read it here, complete with a picture perfect example of Linda Greene’s signature that everyone is supposed to copy.  It’s just mind blowing that they would make all this so clear and write it down as policy….apparently no one considered that this was called forgery and that if the signature was notarized it was notary fraud.  You see, I in fact have a Linda Greene signature in my case.  Now, as I read the Bar ethics opinion along with the just-released Nevada lawsuit, I believe my opposing counsel has an obligation to bring this directly to the court for consideration….after which I believe the court would have no choice but to dismiss the case and potentially sanction those parties involved. But that hasn’t happened yet.  I’ve asked my friend, the attorney on the other side just when she might make this meeting, but all my pestering emails just get ignored.

Which brings us back to another interesting subject, the promissory note at issue in this case.  I have well founded reason to believe the note at issue in this case was not in fact endorsed by the person whose name appears on the face of the document.  How?  Well, remember the whole picture of the building burning and people running around on fire because 6,500 people are about to get fired in the days just after my loan closed?  That’s certainly part of it, but there’s more.  Much, much more.  The other side knows it and I know it, but they are stuck in some kind of a dangerously delusional world where they think the judge ain’t gonna care about the pleadings I have filed.  Maybe they’re right, maybe the judge will just ignore all of this.

Now, here’s the thing. I can’t just stand up in court and blather on like I can here and make this case.  In court, I can’t just stand up and start making all these wild, accusatory statements and expect the judge to take them into consideration.  Even if the judge wanted to , our rules of procedure require me to go through a painstaking process to make sure the evidence is properly presented and before the court.  And so while it’s just taken me  bit over an hour to tell parts of this story here, preparing then presenting this story in court will take many, many, many hours.  Collecting the evidence, organizing the evidence, then getting it into a form for the court to consider over the screaming objections of my opponents.  This truly sets up as a battle royale.  Will justice prevail?  You just never know until the very last minute.

must read and hear…

I see consumers all time who have been scammed and suffered as a result of the lies and fraud and crimes by con artists who victimize consumers, time  for people to wake up…here’s what the FTC says:

Fraudulent foreclosure “rescue” professionals use half-truths and outright lies to sell services that promise relief to homeowners in distress. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, the latest foreclosure rescue scam to exploit financially strapped homeowners pitches forensic mortgage loan audits.

In exchange for an upfront fee of several hundred dollars, so-called forensic loan auditors, mortgage loan auditors, or foreclosure prevention auditors backed by forensic attorneys offer to review your mortgage loan documents to determine whether your lender complied with state and federal mortgage lending laws. The “auditors” say you can use the audit report to avoid foreclosure, accelerate the loan modification process, reduce your loan principal, or even cancel your loan.

Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the FTC and its law enforcement partners:

• there is no evidence that forensic loan audits will help you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even if they’re conducted by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer.
• some federal laws allow you to sue your lender based on errors in your loan documents. But even if you sue and win, your lender is not required to modify your loan simply to make your payments more affordable.
• if you cancel your loan, you will have to return the borrowed money, which may result in you losing your home.

If you are in default on your mortgage or facing foreclosure, you may be targeted by a foreclosure rescue scam. The FTC wants you to know how to recognize the telltale signs and report them. If you are faced with foreclosure, the FTC says legitimate options are available to help you save your home.

Spotting a Scam

If you’re looking for foreclosure prevention help, avoid any business that:

• guarantees to stop the foreclosure process – no matter what your circumstances are
• instructs you not to contact your lender, lawyer or credit or housing counselor
• collects a fee before providing any services accepts payment only by cashier’s check or wire transfer
• encourages you to lease your home so you can buy it back over time
• recommends that you make your mortgage payments directly to it, rather than your lender
• urges you to transfer your property deed or title to it
• offers to buy your house for cash at a fixed price that is inappropriate for the housing market
• pressures you to sign papers you haven’t had a chance to read thoroughly or that you don’t understand.

Finding Legitimate Help

Housing experts say that when you’re behind on your mortgage payments, maintaining communication with your lender is the most important thing you can do. Contact your lender or servicer immediately if you’re having trouble paying your mortgage or you have received a foreclosure notice. You may be able to negotiate a new repayment schedule.

Call 1-888-995-HOPE for free personalized advice from housing counseling agencies certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This national hotline – open 24/7 – is operated by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, a nonprofit member of the HOPE NOW Alliance of mortgage industry members and HUD-certified counseling agencies. For free guidance online, visit www.hopenow.com. For free information on the President’s plan to help homeowners, visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

To learn more about home mortgages and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/MoneyMatters. This site offers short, practical tips, videos, and links to reliable sources on a variety of topics from credit repair, debt collection, job hunting and job scams to vehicle repossession, managing mortgage payments and avoiding foreclosure rescue scams.

Reporting Fraud

If you think you’ve been dealing with a foreclosure fraudster, contact:

• Federal Trade Commission – www.ftc.gov
• Your state Attorney General – www.naag.org
• Your local Better Business Bureau – www.bbb.org

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

ftc

Drink it all in, folks. Things are bad and only getting worse.  No commentary necessary here, no need to read between any lines.  You can all read the black and white.

The rapid descent into a very dark place has only been hastened as it becomes more and more certain and definite that this nation and especially this state are governed not by people or by laws or by any real justice, but by corporations supported and driven as they are by collision of corruption and cash.

The only real question remains is what happens after the full breadth and depth of the tyranny is fully expressed?  What will this world look like when the corporatacracy apparatchik has ground down and spit out every last bit of law and liberty?  What will we the serfs, the peasants, the prisoners do when clamp is tightened down just a few more screws deeper?

That truly is what terrifies me most. What the masters of the machine fail to realize is the profound danger they are placing all of us in by accelerating this descent into lawlessness.

This nation, these people will only be pushed so far.  The real problem is, the masters will not recognize they’ve pushed too far until it’s too late and there is no turning back.

From The Palm Beach Post:

Florida’s once-heralded foreclosure mill investigations have fizzled as the attorney general’s office has failed to find the right strategy to continue its pursuit and three law firms call for the cases to be dismissed.

This week, an attempt to have the Florida Supreme Court weigh in on whether the state has the authority to subpoena the Law Offices of David J. Stern was denied by the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The decision effectively ends the investigations into complaints that the firms doctored court paperwork in an attempt to speed foreclosures.

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL

UPDATE: BUT NOW HERE’S A REAL CONFLICT THAT’S DEVELOPING…

 What are we dear people, citizens of a United States of America to make of the fact that one state (that would be Florida) has affirmed a very real wild, dangerous environment of lawlessness while other states, that would be New York, California, Nevada, Michigan, just to name a few have said,

WE WILL OPERATE UNDER A SYSTEM OF EQUAL LAWS THAT BIND PEOPLE AND CORPORATIONS

That’s right, just read the lawsuit that was recently filed in Nevada here and another bombshell, read the lawsuit that was just released a few minutes ago from New York here.

It’s kinda setting up a sort of civil war type situation where on the one hand we’ve got states that are enforcing laws while another state sticks out like a downward sticking thumb, thumbing the nose at the rule of law……