According
to the FBI, real estate fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar
crimes in the United States. From 2003 to 2004, reports of mortgage
fraud increased 146 percent and then increased an additional 28
percent from 2004 to 2005.
With
seven out of ten Americans owning their
own
homes,
a scam artiest are focusing their crime spree stealing real
estate.
Real
Estate Crimes are easier than most people are willing to accept.
Criminals forge grant deeds and file at a county recorder and
you've lost your home that easily.
But
it doesn't stop there. Real Estate frauds include mortgage fraud,
foreclosure bailout loans, property flipping, bogus appraisals.
Often the perpetrators see the victims as bringing the problem
on themselves.
Fraud
is an emotional mugging and the trauma is compounded when the
victim is denied justice.
"Unfortunately,
D.A.s are not good at white-collar criminal prosecution. They're
great at prosecuting burglary. They may have one person in the
department that understands real estate crimes. DAs don't have
the resources to take on all the people who run these type real
estate scams."
Contra
Costa County-based real estate attorney Josh Gense
How
did Al Seastrand pull off so many felony crimes against
the same woman, without going to prison?
Because
something is very wrong with the Sacramento County District
Attorney's Office. For 13 years, as the crimes piled up,
D.A. Jan Scully kept telling the victim it wasn't the DA's
jurisdiction.
After
a senator urged D.A. Scully to provide justice, Scully
responded by sending the victim a letter stating, "Insufficient
Evidence to Prosecute Al Seastrand," even though they
had the proverbial smoking gun.
The
flip side of being denied justice when your home is stolen,
is when prosecutors and or the courts cut deals that the
victim says is an insult and travesty of justice.
Read
this particular story about Carl Dexter of Sacramento,
California, who was prosecuted for the theft of 91-year-old
man's home.
She
is charged with frauding millions from homeowners by allegedly
stealing their identities for home loans. Yet, she is allowed
to continue to use her real estate license and operating
in Minnesota until the trial.
Foreclosures
are at an all time high. This sections has many pages on options
you have to save your home, and how to protect yourself from
scam artists.
It
is the scourge of America. Predatory lending practices that strip
equity from your home, meant to squeeze every last dime out of
the homeowner, and get as much as possible before you financially
collapse.
Strategy
for putting everyone on notice that the ownership of your home
is in question, is a good way to protect your interests while
you deal with the crime. WJFA shows you how.
It
was too easy to steal your home and you've been denied justice
and can't afford an attorney. WJFA's volunteers have a bevy of
tips to help you navigate the legal system. If you don't
find it here, the support
group may be able to help.
The
Latino population is heavily preyed upon by real estate predators,
but its their how kind doing it to them. Unscrupulous real
estate people and investors see this segment as easy pickings
to get their homes from them.
The
police chief was shocked at the magnitude of the real estate
crime in the millions. Shocked how well orchestrated it was,
how so many victims were duped. The biggest shock was to learn
that one of his police officers was the master mind behind
the crimes.
For
John Thompson and his family, the dream of living in Monterey,
and owning their dream home, seemed to good to be true.
It
was and Thompson soon found himself in the middle of a real estate
nightmare that would lead him to blowing the whistle on his bosses
for graft and corruption. Thompson is a prison guard at Soledad
Prison.
Now
Thompson and the other victims are having to spend their money
in civil court to undo the fraud.
They
are out there like the Eye of Silron, ever watchful looking for
easy prey . Some call themselves, "Real Estate Pirates." Foreclosures
are their typical hunting ground.
A
list and description of the most common types of real estate
scams that predators use to steal your home and or your money.
Property
flipping has often been at the heart of many real estate crimes.
Yet. most people do not know the term or what is involved or
how it harms every one.
It's
that house on your block that seems to be for sale often, or,
changing occupants often, or, is empty for a prolonged period.
For
almost 10 years, Todd Kolbe was the mastermind of an effort to
defraud banks of millions of dollars by inflating the value of
Southwest Florida real estate.
Kolbe, a mortgage broker by trade, drew family and friends into
the effort. He created a series of home building companies that
collapsed, one after another, destroying the reputations of those
closest to him, distorting the local real estate market and frustrating
dozens of home buyers who had trusted Kolbe and his associates.
While
no definitive figures exist of how many foreclosure actions are
initiated by home owner associations, an unofficial survey of
state association lawyers reveal nearly 20,000 filings since
2000.
Most
homeowners quickly paid the claim. But many have lost their homes.
Excerpt
from the Inspector General's audit and investigation of the HUD
program showing the rampant out of control fraud going on with
real estate and the lack of investigations and prosecution of
offenders.
According
to the FBI, real estate fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar
crimes in the United States. From 2003 to 2004, reports of mortgage
fraud increased 146 percent and then increased an additional 28
percent from 2004 to 2005.
She
is charged with frauding millions from homeowners by allegedly
stealing their identities for home loans. Yet, she is allowed
to continue to use her real estate license and operating
in Minnesota until the trial.
Foreclosures
are at an all time high. This sections has many pages on options
you have to save your home, and how to protect yourself from
scam artists.
It
is the scourge of America. Predatory lending practices that strip
equity from your home, meant to squeeze every last dime out of
the homeowner, and get as much as possible before you financially
collapse. 
Strategy
for putting everyone on notice that the ownership of your home
is in question, is a good way to protect your interests while
you deal with the crime. WJFA shows you how.
It
was too easy to steal your home and you've been denied justice
and can't afford an attorney. WJFA's volunteers have a bevy of
tips to help you navigate the legal system. If you don't
find it here, the 
The
wreckage to our lives from fraud often includes severely damaged
credit ratings. WJFA provides 11 steps on how to rebuild your
life.
The
system is failing citizens in staggering numbers and it's created
a Society of Cast Aways. 
Bill
in California Legislature that help law enforcement pursue
notaries involved in real estate crimes.
The
Latino population is heavily preyed upon by real estate predators,
but its their how kind doing it to them. Unscrupulous real
estate people and investors see this segment as easy pickings
to get their homes from them. 
The
police chief was shocked at the magnitude of the real estate
crime in the millions. Shocked how well orchestrated it was,
how so many victims were duped. The biggest shock was to learn
that one of his police officers was the master mind behind
the crimes.
They
are out there like the Eye of Silron, ever watchful looking for
easy prey . Some call themselves, "Real Estate Pirates." Foreclosures
are their typical hunting ground.
For
almost 10 years, Todd Kolbe was the mastermind of an effort to
defraud banks of millions of dollars by inflating the value of
Southwest Florida real estate.
While
no definitive figures exist of how many foreclosure actions are
initiated by home owner associations, an unofficial survey of
state association lawyers reveal nearly 20,000 filings since
2000.