Foreclosure Crime Wave PART 2: Foreclosure Does NOT mean Bank's Owed Money!

[2 Much Tribulation]

Several weeks ago, I posted a documented article showing that the rate of foreclosures includes a substantial number of crimes -- such as foreclosures where no money is owed at all because the house is paid off. See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7719035

The message: While there is certainly financial distress with many, the foreclosure rate also measures a very substantial number of wrongful foreclosures as well as what can only be called foreclosure crimes - thefts of personal homes.

ABC News -- and yahoo's home page this morning - lead with yet another example of a wrongful foreclosure. Bank of America "apologizes" for its crime, including but not limited to taking or stealing the woman's pet parrot, which she eventually got back. See http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10049728 The yahoo home page right now features a couple minute video on this.

More later, as the foreclosure crimes are only beginning to appear...

[izquierdista]

1. This should mean jail time

Convict BofA under RICO statutes and send the principals in their local criminal enterprise to jail, just like mafiosos.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Before that, you have to find someone willing to prosecute

them.
Hello?????? DOJ?????

You think a Repub. governor will allow the state AG to do it? Nah.

Seems most of our government is culpable.

[AllentownJake]

3. The banking system is insolvent

and so is the federal government. It is only a matter of time before Wile e. coyote stops running and looks down.

[CoffeeCat]

4. These stories are CRAZY...

Ok, I can understand that this would happen once. Someone gets the wrong house...there
is a paperwork error or glitch and someone locks up the wrong house. However, common
sense dictates that when the homeowner returns--he provides documentation that clears
this all up within 24 hours. Homeowner shows that he owns the house and/or has documents to
show that he's current on payments.

Why in the world would it take so long to clear up such a huge mistake? I'm not getting
this.

Why can't an easily refutable, colossal mistake be cleared up in a day?

Why are these situations taking weeks and months--and only after homeowner lawsuits--
to clear up.

This just does not make sense.

[smoogatz]

5. Because the banks are more powerful than the government.

Simple as that. Welcome to the new corporatist America.

[Wizard777]

7. Right now Obama is fighting Corporate America and getting his clock cleaned.

That's the only reason I'm still in his corner. He's undertaken a monumental task. I'm not gonna let a little short term discord distract me from his long term goals. That is putting Corporate America in it's proper place.

[CoffeeCat]

8. True...

...the banks purchased legislation via campaign contributions. The banks
began to get everything they wanted (relaxed regulations, repeal of Glass Steagal, the
bailouts with no accountability attached, etc.).

Now, it seems the banks truly own and control our government.

I'm sure there have been plenty of meetings and cocktail-party conversations between
bankers, Wall Streeters, big pharma and big insurance--with our bribed politicians. By
now, it's likely that 95 percent of them are being blackmailed by videotape or
recordings of this rampant bribery and corruption.

I used to think that Republicans controlled and bullied Democrats. Really, it's
the corporations that control and bully our entire government. It may have started
with the Republicans, but it has metastasized into the Democratic party.

All you need to do is look at the legislation and follow the trail--and you clearly
see who is the master and who is the servant. "We The People" aren't even in the
equation anymore.

[Zoeisright]

6. Banksters are evil and fucking greedy.

Also stupid. And they don't want to lift a finger to do anything other than take houses, torture people, and make themselves more money.

[Land Shark]

9. One key to many tricky schemes is "service by publication" (that few "debtors" read)

but that nevertheless also give a bad name to the person listed in the legal notices as a defaulting debtor. Merchants, especially, and bankers are the ones who DO read the legal notices including service by publication notices, which are properly only used for absconding debtors fleeing service and for "unknown claimants" in land foreclosures who may have an interest in the property not appearing of record (such as an unrecorded easement or an equitable lien, perhaps from a divorce, etc.)

It's illegal to publish "shame lists" of debtors or purported debtors but creditor attorneys appear to be attempting to rely on an exception for "court orders" since court orders are typically signed authorizing service by publication. Needless to say, the "due diligence" to serve the normal way is not at all met in many cases before resorting to publication, which makes default foreclosures much easier and prevents "debtors" from putting up any fight because they only occasionally find out about such notices.

[glitch]

10. Yikes. We have an Augean Stables situation going on here.

We need to band together to become Hercules.

[Political Heretic]

11. Define "very substantial number"