Unless we suddenly find ourselves at war with Syria, Iran or North Korea, our troops will not be in combat for the first time in many years. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t waging other types of war. Evil is everywhere around us.

We have the highest respect for our troops and the veterans who proudly served. As I write this, my father’s American flag sits in a display case on my night stand, a “gift from a thankful nation”. (Dad was a combat veteran and fighter pilot.)

Most people in this nation have never been in actual combat. Thankfully so. While many Americans (primarily males) dress in camo and experience “combat” by watching Sunday football, others of us become cops, prosecutors or fight the forces of evil in the courtroom. Why? Because we all have the warrior spirit. Some more than others.

Earlier today I received an email from a client; someone who is losing their house because of a wrongful foreclosure by Bank of America. I say “wrongful” because the bank misplaced her payments and then declared her in default. It should be an easy problem to fix but Bank of America is a huge bureaucracy. It’s like a giant ocean liner except there is no captain and no officers on the deck to give orders or  take responsibility for problems. This is what she wrote:

“[This] also affirms why what you do is so important Brian. It takes a lot for anyone to even believe they have a fighting chance against big corporations. But then when we finally get fed up enough and muster the strength to stand up for ourselves, nobody wants to hear us. You realize immediately that your voice means nothing if nobody’s listening, and suddenly you’re the most insignificant noise to them. Too big to care, and too big to hear anyone. So you become our voice. And that means more than I can ever express.”

Thankfully, I never had to fire a weapon in anger as a police officer and my generation was spared the horrors of war. But all of us have a bit of warrior inside us. Happily, I have found a profession that provides a meaningful outlet for that aggression and energy.

We live in a society today that feels to even speak of aggression is politically incorrect. We are quietly losing our freedoms and many people now believe that their vote is meaningless. Doom and gloom isn’t inevitable, however. Nor is corruption, dishonest politicians or greed. There is a choice and there are good lawyers still willing to take up the good fight.

When I was a cop I  always told my friends that I hoped they never needed my services. I say the same thing today as a lawyer. But if your home or business is on the line, we are here to help. We can’t take every case – or even most cases – but we handle fraud cases in many jurisdictions and are willing to take on the biggest of opponents.

The great equalizer is the American jury system. We trial lawyers aren’t the heroes. The men and women who watch football on Sunday, who hold down jobs to support their families or who are simply are our neighbors – they are the real heroes and get to be warriors when serving on a jury. As long as we have a jury system we can level the playing field and achieve real justice.

[Ed. Note: This is not our usual post about fraud or tax topics. From time to time we take a little editorial license and write about why we do what we do.]

The post The Warriors In Us appeared first on Due Diligence.

With over 5000 employees nationwide, Nationstar is not some fly-by-night mortgage lender. As we have seen with Bank of America and Allied Home Mortgage, even the biggest “too big to jail” lenders are not immune from foreclosure fraud complaints.

The company claims it voluntarily stopped foreclosures after hearing complaints from 4 state attorneys general. Nationstar says that after an internal review it restarted the foreclosure procedures. Shutting down in 23 states is no small issue. That action had to cost the company millions in lost revenues. We wonder exactly how serious the complaints from regulators were to lead to such a drastic action. We also wonder about the findings of the company’s own “internal” review.

Foreclosure fraud is out of control nationwide. Unlike mortgage fraud which is wrongful or deceitful action by borrowers, foreclosure fraud occurs when a lender or servicer (Nationstar is both) fails to properly follow state and federal foreclosure guidelines. Examples can include the wrongful denial of a HAMP modification, failure to process payments, robosigning, forging important mortgage documents and by failing to prove that the party foreclosing has the standing to do so.

With mortgages being purchased, packaged, flipped and securitized, often the servicer filing the foreclosure can’t even prove that it owns the mortgage.

No one has formally charged Nationstar with a crime or wrongdoing but in its own prospectus, the company admitted that it could not assure that future inquiries would not affect its ability to foreclose loans. We are looking for customers of Nationstar – or any lender – who feel they have been the subject of a wrongful foreclosure. Mahany & Ertl is not a traditional mortgage foreclosure defense firm. We believe the best defense is a good offense. If you made your payments but were still subjected to a foreclosure, let us know. We sue banks for foreclosure fraud.

For more information, please contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com (Wisconsin cases) or attorney Anthony Dietz at adietz@mahanyertl.com (Michigan cases). Facing a wrongful foreclosure in another state? We may be able to help in select other jurisdictions.

Please note that if you are facing the imminent loss of your home, contact a mortgage foreclosure or bankruptcy lawyer in your area immediately. We sue banks for money and compensation and can’t take foreclosure cases with impending eviction or hearing dates.

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Foreclosure Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Foreclosure fraud cases in select jurisdictions nationwide.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information, just click the “foreclosure defense” tab or type in key words such as “foreclosure fraud” or wrongful foreclosure” in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post Nationstar Mortgage Halted Foreclosure Proceedings in 23 States – Foreclosure Fraud appeared first on Due Diligence.

A tenancy in common is a real estate investment that allows multiple people to purchase fractional interests in a property. TICs are often used to acquire shopping centers, hotels and office buildings.  By pooling resources and purchasing fractional interests, investors can participate in larger projects. Promoters promise investors stable cash flow, capital appreciation and professional property management. While the concept is great, the industry has been marred by scams and slimy promoters such as Cabot.

In a normal investment, the only thing at risk is your investment. Buy $10,000 of IBM stock and the worst that can happen is the stock goes to zero. While the market always has volatility, your losses are capped by the total money invested. That may not be so with Cabot’s tenants in common investments, however.

To acquire large projects such as shopping centers, Cabot’s investors not only invested their hard earned money, they also signed promissory notes and mortgages. According to the promotional materials, these loans were “non recourse” meaning there was no personal liability. If the project went under, the banks could only look to the real estate and value of the buildings.

Or so investors thought.

Buried in the hundreds of pages of offering documents were “springing guaranties” and personal indemnification clauses. If the stockbrokers that sold these tenants in common interests even read the fine print, they certainly didn’t inform their customers. These clauses say that the lender can go beyond the TIC and seek contribution (money) from the owners of the tenants in common. The investors.

The result with Cabot was failed projects throughout the United States and a spate of foreclosures and threats of personal guaranty litigation. The investors in the Cabot Ashtabula project are right in the thick of the mess.

Although we do not represent the Cabot Ashtabula tenants in common, we certainly follow their cases. In most of the Cabot projects, the TICs banded together and are fighting hard against the lenders. That wasn’t the case in Cabot Ashtabula, however. According to records we obtained from the clerk of courts for the Northern District of Ohio, the tenants in common on that project did not even file a response to the bank’s summary judgment motion. In laymen’s terms, they rolled over and played dead.

If that was their strategy, it didn’t work. Without any opposition filed, the court granted a foreclosure judgment to the lender. Why none of the TICs fought the foreclosure remains a mystery. For any single investor the cost of fighting the lender can be expensive but even if 3 or 4 ban together the costs become manageable.

What happened after the foreclosure was granted was tragic. According to the United States Court of Appeals, the 30 tenants in common that invested in the Ashtabula project, did not file any response or object to the lender’s motion to  foreclosure. Shortly after the bank’s summary judgment motion granting foreclosure, the TICs apparently “woke up” and filed an appeal. In that appeal the TICs  raised several great defenses. Among other things, they challenged the standing of the servicer and note holder to bring the foreclosure.

Unfortunately, the arguments were too late. The 6th Circuit ruled that “the failure to raise objections to the… evidence before the district court’s [trial court] ruling constituted a waiver of those objections. In other words, if a party fails to object before the district court to the affidavits or evidentiary materials submitted by the other party in support of its position on summary judgment, any objections to the district court’s consideration of such materials are deemed to have been waived.”

In layman’s terms, the appeals court said the 30 tenants in common waited to long. By not raising objections to the bank’s foreclosure motion, the TICs waived whatever defenses they may have once enjoyed.

The appeals court issued its ruling on March 12th. That paves the way for the lender to sell the property, in this case a mall in Ashtabula, Ohio. The mall was financed with a $40,300,000 loan. If the foreclosure doesn’t bring in enough to cover the principal, late fees, interest, receiver’s fees and legal fees, there could be a deficiency. Given the commercial real estate market in recent years, most commercial foreclosures result in a deficiency.

If the Cabot Ashtabula deal is structured like the other Cabot projects, the investors may find themselves fighting for their lives. Why? Because most of the Cabot deals contain personal guaranty language. That means if the tenants in common lose the next round, they could find themselves having to cash in savings, postpone retirement and even sell their homes to pay off the deficiency.

Suddenly the investment of a lifetime becomes a lifetime sentence.

All is not lost, however. There are defenses to these foreclosure cases and we believe that many of the lenders knew or should have known that Cabot and his cronies were crooks.

If you are a Cabot tenants in common investor, don’t wait until the 11th hour to fight and don’t believe that you are not at risk because your broker or a glossy sales brochure tells you otherwise. Find competent counsel immediately.

The fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl represent tenants in common in a wide variety of settings. We can help pursue cases against third parties who sold the investments (often insurance agents, investment advisers or stockbrokers) and can defend you against foreclosure and claims for personal guaranties. Unlike some law firms, we will gladly represent groups of investors if there is an identity of interest.

For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct dial).

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Services available in many jurisdictions.

Want more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information on specific topics, just click the fraud recovery tab or type in the name of a particular topic such as “TIC” in the search bar. We have posted hundreds of informative articles on our site.

The post Sad Day For Cabot Tenants In Common Investors (TIC Post) appeared first on Due Diligence.

Some call it a national embarrassment. We call it a crime. Wrongful Foreclosure. It’s happened to millions of Americans and it still happening today.

The Comptroller of Currency and the Federal Reserve say that as many as 4 million people were wrongfully foreclosed between 2009 and 2010. Some were promised a HAMP modification but lost their homes anyway, even though they made all their trial payments. Others faced foreclosure simply because the bank misdirected or lost their payment.

The banks have agreed to compensate folks who already lost their homes. Some will get a pitiful $300 in compensation. No home, credit destroyed and no ability to purchase a new home. Wrongful foreclosures have destroyed communities and families. Some folks wound up homeless. A few committed suicide. What will a few hundred or few thousand dollars do for them?

It’s impossible to dispense legal advice by blog post. Every case is unique. As a general rule, however, we believe homeowners facing wrongful foreclosure should fight back and not take a few bucks in compensation. We have recovered significant sums for homeowners, settlements that the banks want to keep quiet.

The entire independent foreclosure review process has been a disaster. Even the General Accounting Office has said so.

While almost all banks make mistakes from time to time, we believe it is America’s biggest banks that are the primary culprits. Time and time againAmerica’s “too big to fail, too big to care” banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo have been criticized and sued by regulators. Yet the abuses continue.

With the permission of some of our clients, we will be telling their stories in future posts. Telling their stories about wrongful foreclosures before the case is resolved and a gag order imposed.

We are looking for your foreclosure fraud and wrongful foreclosure stories too. Wherever you live, if you have a story to share, send it to us. We can even keep your name anonymous if you wish.

And if you are ready to fight back, let us know too. Mahany & Ertl is not a traditional mortgage foreclosure defense firm. We believe the best defense is a good offense. If you made your payments but were still subjected to a foreclosure, let us know. We sue banks for wrongful foreclosure.

For more information, please contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com (Wisconsin cases) and attorney Anthony Dietz at adietz@mahanyertl.com (Michigan cases). Facing a wrongful foreclosure in another state? We may be able to help in select other jurisdictions.

Please note that if you are facing the imminent loss of your home, contact a mortgage foreclosure or bankruptcy lawyer in your area immediately. We sue banks for money and compensation and can’t take foreclosure cases with impending eviction or hearing dates.

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Wrongful Foreclosure Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Foreclosure fraud cases in select jurisdictions nationwide.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information, just click the “foreclosure defense” tab or type in key words in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post 4 Million And Counting – People Facing Wrongful Foreclosure appeared first on Due Diligence.

We have been saying for years that America’s foreclosure process is a mess. No one knows who owns what. Robosigning, foreclosure fraud, forged documents, false affidavits, foreclosure mills… just a few years ago some of these terms were not even invented. Now they are common place. A recent investigation by NBC Bay Area revealed just how bad America’s foreclosure fraud problem really is.

NBC tells the story of Joji Thomas, a San Francisco engineer who sold his car, cashed in retirement and borrowed from friends, all to bring his mortgage current. America’s “too big to care” bank, Bank of America, graciously accepted his payoff check. And promptly lost it. Weeks later they sold his home at auction.

In our law offices we here foreclosure fraud stories like this every day. The phone rings constantly from homeowners desperately trying to save their home. For some, bankruptcy may be the only route but for many, it is the bank that made the mistake. Everyday America’s big banks are hit with federal false claims and class actions yet the behavior and fraud continues.

With over 184,000 properties in the San Francisco bay area going into default during the last 5 years, NBC tapped a team of forensic accountants, certified fraud examiners and auditors to sample some of those alleged defaults. The results were shocking.

According to the 3 examiners, they “agreed there is evidence that Bank of America… skirted proper procedures in foreclosure filings. These practices included lying on fraudulent loan transfers and altering dates on property records, which allowed Bank of America to initiate foreclosure and collect payments and fees for home loans it did not own.”

Anyone in the foreclosure business knows that banks often struggle to find original documents and loan assignments. It is not uncommon for a loan to be sold several times, packaged in a pool and securitized into a mortgage backed security. Since Wall Street jumped in on the residential real estate market, records have been a mess. Unfortunately, instead of bringing quiet title actions and trying to properly sort out the chain of title on mortgage foreclosure cases, the banks took a short cut; they simply forged signatures and important real estate documents. (If you or I engaged in foreclosure fraud like that we would be wearing orange jumpsuits.)

Bank of America told reporters that it provides proof of its right to foreclose to people who ask although we know that to be false. They also claim that they have “procedures in place” to insure documents are falsified. They may have “procedures” but we believe they don’t often follow them.

The California Mortgage Bankers Association admits that banks may have made a few mistakes. According to the San Francisco Assessor’s Office, however, a recent audit revealed errors and mistakes in 84% of foreclosures.

Foreclosure fraud is rampant but states and homeowners are beginning to fight back. California recently passed a Homeowners Bill of Rights which provides modest protections and Nevada made it a felony to falsify real estate records. These laws are a step in the right direction although much more needs to be done. (California and Nevada have extremely high foreclosure rates.)

If you were mistreated by a lender, wrongfully denied a HAMP modification or wrongfully face foreclosure, fight back. The foreclosure fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl represent Wisconsin and Michigan homeowners. We are not a traditional mortgage foreclosure firm but are interested in suing banks for their predatory foreclosure practices.

Think you are a victim of foreclosure fraud? Contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahnyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct) in Wisconsin or attorney Anthony Dietz in Michigan at adietz@mahanyertl.com

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Fraud recovery available in many jurisdictions.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information, just click the “foreclosure defense” tab or type in the key words in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post NBC Story Questions Validity Of Foreclosures – Foreclosure Fraud Post appeared first on Due Diligence.

We are avid readers of Rolling Stone magazine. Although I read 20 to 30 magazines per month, one of my first stops each month at Barnes & Noble is the music and entertainment magazine section to see if the new Rolling Stone is out. Several months ago we were delighted to find an article by Matt Taibbi on our perennial “favorite” corporate degenerate, Bank of America.

That article has gone viral and for good reason. Taibbi pulls no punches on the nations’s worst corporate citizen. While we have known several wonderful people who have worked for BoA, the institution itself has lost its direction. It has become too big and lost its  direction. No one is at the helm anymore.

Last year I shared dinner with an outgoing VP from BoA along with former New York City Mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. The dinner company was obviously fascinating but what really piqued my curiosity was learning about the corporate culture at Bank of America and the lack of a moral compass. It’s like a ship with thousands of sailors but no captain.

We have seen many businesses hurt by Bank of America. Perhaps more importantly, we have seen many homeowners that have had their lives shattered by America’s big bank.

We can’t reprint the Rolling Stone article but urge readers to find it on line. It is one of the best we have read. Here is an excerpt, “At least Bank of America got its name right. The ultimate Too Big to Fail bank really is America, a hypergluttonous ward of the state whose limitless fraud and criminal conspiracies we’ll all be paying for until the end of time. Did you hear about the plot to rig global interest rates? The $137 million fine for bilking needy schools and cities? The ingenious plan to suck multiple fees out of the unemployment checks of jobless workers? Take your eyes off them for 10 seconds and guaranteed, they’ll be into some shit again: This bank is like the world’s worst-behaved teenager, taking your car and running over kittens and fire hydrants on the way to Vegas for the weekend, maxing out your credit cards in the three days you spend at your aunt’s funeral. They’re out of control, yet they’ll never do time or go out of business, because the government remains creepily commuted to their survival, like overindulgent parents who refuse to believe their 40-year-old live-at-home son could possibly be responsible for those dead hookers in the backyard.”

As bank fraud lawyers, we fight big banks on a daily basis — Bank of America and the quadriplegic who is losing his home after the bank wrongfully doubled his mortgage payments because they thought his insurance lapsed. The woman about to retire only to find herself in foreclosure after BoA promised her a loan modification. The 94 year old woman forced to sign paperwork pledging a CD to help her daughter only to find she had signed a personal guaranty. (That bank settled for almost $1 million, although we can’t name the bank.)

The banking industry has run  amok. There are still great banks out there. And great bankers committed to helping people and businesses. Unfortunately, there is a new vampire class of banks whose sole mission seems to seek to suck the life out of people barely holding on.

This is a rather extreme post for us but we see and hear these stories every day. As a society, we often close our eyes and ears and hope these thing are just isolated incidents or exaggerated. Unfortunately they are not.

We are interested in talking to victims of wrongful foreclosures, bait and switch tactics, predatory lending and foreclosures and outright fraud. We can’t take every case but have taken cases across the United States. While it isn’t easy litigating against big banks, the American jury system remains the great equalizer. It is still possible to win.

The bank fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl sue banks for wrongful foreclosures, fraud and other breaches of fiduciary duty. We are not a traditional foreclosure defense firm. Instead, we try to turn the tables on  banks and sue them for their own wrongful conduct. Cases with losses or potential losses in excess of $250,000 considered.

If you feel that you were the victim of a fraud by a mortgage company, bank or financial professional, give us a call. Many cases can be handled on a contingency or “success” fee basis meaning no legal fees unless we recover money for you. For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct).

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Legal malpractice services available in many jurisdictions.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information on specific fraud topics, just click the fraud recovery or foreclosure defense tabs or type in any key words such as “bank fraud” in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post Bank of America “Too Big To Care” – Bank Fraud Post appeared first on Due Diligence.

[Ed. Note: The following is a guest post published at the request of the author. We have not met Mr. Hachey but welcome the occasional guest post if on topic. Attorney Hachey practices in Florida.]

With so many programs in place to help homeowners avoid foreclosures and keep their homes, it can be difficult to figure out who is legitimate and who is harboring less than honest intentions. If you are trying to get a modification on your home loan or looking for a way to avoid or manage a looming foreclosure, make sure you take some time to evaluate a company before jumping into a business deal. Dealing with a potential foreclosure can be emotional and challenging, so find a company that is available to meet your needs and work with your lender on your behalf. If you aren’t sure whether to trust a company, call the Attorney General and find out if there are any complaints on file.

One of the first questions you should ask is whether the foreclosure modification company expects any money up front. If the company wants you to pay them before any work is done, you might want to reconsider doing business. You should also be skeptical of any company that promises you they can save your home. That decision will ultimately be the bank’s call. If the foreclosure modification company promises they can get you a lower interest rate or a lower monthly payment, you should also be suspicious. A good foreclosure modification company will evaluate your current situation and offer you options for how to modify your mortgage and save your home. They should not charge any fees up front and they cannot make promises that they will not be able to follow through on. If you have additional questions about this process, Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help. Contact our offices at 866-200-4646.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.

The post How do I Know Whether a Foreclosure Modification Company is Legitimate? appeared first on Due Diligence.

[Ed. Note: The following post comes courtesy of Dwight Haskins and is published with permission. Dwight discusses the company hired to insure that the big banks were properly reviewing their mortgage loan files. His post is one of corporate incest and ineptitude.]

Here is my nomination for what should be allowed to be a Qui Tam legal case and certainly should be candidate for biggest rip off of the year. Let’s look and see why and how the public was recently ripped off by a billion dollars or more. Where is Senator Elizabeth Warren when we need her?

I have been playing with Tableau analytics software and can see how it may have been able to save a billion dollars that should have been used to compensate homeowners harmed by actions by three large mortgage lenders. Instead, reportedly by Nakedcapital.com, a big bank consultancy in the nation’s capital, Promontory Financial Group, billed as much as a billion dollars for reviewing mortgage loan files at three large banks, following a decree-order to the banks, issued by banks regulators.

The consulting company has a cast of top government officials and chief bank regulators from each of the major government agencies. Its a “who’s who” of the big wheels who called the shots during the financial crisis. Staff and officers at Promontory include ex-chairmen of the OCC, FDIC, SEC, and top officials from the Treasury. It is surprising that there are still top officials left in these federal agencies.

The government, through the Comptroller of the Current, issues consent decree to the chief executive officer at Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PNC, requiring them to conduct an investigation of their mortgage loan files to help determine what borrowers experienced foreclosures or other significant harm due to improper actions by the banks.

Next, these banks do their own internal reviews to weed out the most egregious evidence of wrongdoing so that federal regulators and attorney generals are never any wiser as to what had occurred. Once that is done, the banks enter into contracts with a consultant to conduct the reviews in an attempt to show the reviews are independent and free from manipulation. In this situation, surprisingly, each bank selects Promontory Financial Group to conduct the reviews. Of course, Promontory does not have the expertise or manpower to conduct the reviews; so it goes out and hires contractors to perform the actual duties.

These individuals are given a few hours of training and then sent out to the banks to do the dirty work for Promontory at the request of the banks to appease bank regulators. Ironically, it was the bank examiners who were responsible for reviewing the mortgage loans files to begin with to make sure each insured bank was conducting its mortgage lending in a “safe and sound” manner. Because bankers have been able to “capture” the regulators over the past decade, each regulatory agency decided to “go easy” on the bankers by cutting way back on loan reviews to appease the bankers. Now, we have a better idea how the mortgage crisis was able to occur.

Heck, we thought it was bad how Haliburton was able to rip-off the government because of VP Cheney’s connections by having served as the head of that government contractor. Here, we have the same situation but instead of a defense contractor we have what is the world’s largest “white collar” government contractor. Any way one cares to look at it, a billion or so dollars — instead of going to the homeowners who were harmed by losing their homes because Wall Street banks carried out a type criminal enterprise — have been paid out to a bunch of bank consultants who failed to perform their assigned duties when they were bank regulators. The irony. It is the same as the government going to Bernie Madoff by paying him a billion dollars to find out which individual investors he stole millions from.

There ought to be some type of “clawback” of huge salaries and bonuses paid to ex-regulators who now are bank consultants. I write about “regulatory capture” and other major wrongdoing, including conflicts of interest by regulators in my recent book, “American Betrayal” by John Doe, whistleblower.

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The bank fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl sue banks for wrongful foreclosures, fraud and other breaches of fiduciary duty. We are not a traditional foreclosure defense firm. Instead, we try to turn the tables on  banks and sue them for their own wrongful conduct.

If you feel that you were the victim of a fraud by a mortgage company, bank or financial professional, give us a call. Many cases can be handled on a contingency or “success” fee basis meaning no legal fees unless we recover money for you. For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct).

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Legal malpractice services available in many jurisdictions.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information on specific fraud topics, just click the fraud recovery or foreclosure defense tabs or type in any key words such as “bank fraud” in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post Is this a type of white collar crime? – Bank Fraud Post appeared first on Due Diligence.

The following post is an email from a client. It is reposted with permission. For privacy reasons, we have changed her name to “Jane” and redacted identifying information.

Brian, I spent some time this AM reading your blog posts on my case and “Legal Abuse Syndrome”. Well done, and thank you. I finally have something I can show my family. I’ve been hesitant to tell anyone about this nightmare as I had to realize a long time ago; who’s going to believe any of it? That I made my payments and my bank foreclosed on me not once, but twice? That just sounds crazy. And that fear of not being believed leads right into the Legal Abuse Syndrome issues. You’re already in a mix of fear and anxiety over BAC [Bank of America] trying to take your home. Then compound that with having to keep the stress of that to yourself for fear people will think you’re losing it…you must have done something. Nobody wants to believe banks actually do these things to people who comply with their mortgage contract. 

Then try to get a job with this nightmare hanging over your head. What reputable employer is going to hire an  accountant to handle their money (which my 30+ years of work experience is in) who according to public record clearly cannot get that done in their own life? My career is ruined if this foreclosure will never come off public record. Everyone in [my tiny town] knows about it as well. And forget trying to explain it, you just sound crazy. I lost my job in December due to this stuff and even with awesome recommendations from all of my employers, it means nothing with this stuff on record and my credit report destroyed. And I’ve also lost my health insurance to get treatment for the health issues resulting from living with this stress for 4 years.

Welcome to Bank of America hell. It becomes an inner toxic stew that eats at your health and peace of mind daily. My doctor at one time expressed concern over the stress from this experience having the potential to kill me, and I believe her. And can fully understand why people give up, just file bankruptcy, or commit suicide. I consider myself a tough broad having survived some really devastating stuff/loss from a young age but this struggle is unlike any other, and it wears you down in ways you’re totally unprepared for. Need a case study? My doctor will give you one.

I personally spent 4 years looking for help with this nightmare in every direction I could find: Bank of America corporate, the Attorney General’s office, Commissioner of Banking…all of it futile. And I still feel like nobody’s listening but you; and I just want to thank you again for that. You have no idea how much it means. 

You’re my hero.

We are not heroes, although kind words from clients are always appreciated. The real heroes are the home owners, borrowers and business owners who are standing up against big banks and Wall Street. It’s isn’t easy taking on Goliath but more and more people are standing up and saying “enough”!

Although the Wall Street suits can hire $1000 an hour lawyers, the equalizing factor remains the American jury system. Most jurors are ordinary folks, just like our client Jane in the above letter. More importantly, most jurors now have experienced overreaching conduct by banks or know someone who has.

If you have been unfairly treated by a lender or stockbroker, give us a call. You aren’t alone and you can beat Goliath.

For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct). All calls are protected by the attorney – client privilege and kept in strict confidence.

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Fraud recovery available in many jurisdictions.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information on specific fraud topics, just use the “fraud recovery”  or “foreclosure defense” tab or type in key words such as “bank fraud” in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

Note: We generally do not take foreclosure defense cases unless “in our back yard.” We do take cases against lenders for foreclosure fraud and other wrongdoing, however.

The post David vs Goliath (Bank Fraud Post) appeared first on Due Diligence.

Wednesday was a sad day for the American public, good government and law enforcement. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and answered questions about the financial crisis and the response of the Justice Department. When asked why no big banks have been prosecuted, Holder admitted what we have known for many years. America’s biggest banks are not only too big to fail, they are too big to jail.

In Holder’s words, “I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.”

In layman’s terms, Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and others have been given a “Get Out Of Jail Free”  card.

These banks have received billions of dollars of TARP money – money coughed up by strapped taxpayers – yet they can’t be held criminally responsible for their actions, mismanagement, greed and waste.

Many states have “3 strikes” laws where a thief can be sent to prison for life after just 3 relatively minor thefts (in several states, just taking $500 elevates a theft to a felony). Do those laws apply to bank presidents? Apparently not. Bank of America can wrongfully mismanage billions of dollars and put innocent homeowners on the street. The consequence? A fine. HSBC helps narcoterrorists launder hundreds of millions of dollars and their penalty? A fine.

Although only the Department of Justice can charge bank officers with federal felonies, the American jury system is alive and well and can still hit big banks in their wallets. Suits for wrongful foreclosure, whistleblower complaints for fraud and other civil actions can result in both punitive damages and heavy fines.

The bank fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl pursue banks and other financial institutions. Currently, we represent in the whistleblower in the largest false claims act (whistleblower) case in the nation against a lender, HUD’s $2.4 billion case against Allied Home Mortgage. Large or small, we take every lender liability case against banks and mortgage companies seriously.

If you have been defrauded by a bank or have inside information about violations of federal banking or HUD regulations, give us a call. (Whistleblowers may be entitled to a percentage of anything collected on behalf of the government.) For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at brian@mahanyertl.com or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct). All calls are protected by the attorney – client privilege and kept in strict confidence.

Mahany & Ertl – America’s Fraud Lawyers. Offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Fraud recovery available in many jurisdictions.

Need more information? Our Due Diligence blog has a search engine located in the upper right hand corner. For more information on specific fraud topics, just use the “fraud recovery” tab or type in key words such as “bank fraud” or “whistleblower” in the search bar. We have many informative articles on our site.

The post Attorney General Confirms – Big Banks Are “Too Big To Jail” (Bank Fraud Post) appeared first on Due Diligence.