Mass. official: Yank deposits from Bank of America
A Massachusetts official whose office deposits about $25 million a year with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) has asked the state treasurer to yank that money from the financial institution.
Southern Essex District Register of Deeds John O’Brien said he has written to Massachusetts State Treasurer Steven Grossman and asked him to stop using Bank of America for his county’s deposits. O’Brien wants the deposits shifted to a community bank that is not part of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System.
O’Brien, who is leading a nationwide effort against MERS, accuses the group and its members of failing to record mortgage assignments and pay associated fees. He says the actions have deprived taxpayers of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Read more: Mass. official: Yank deposits from Bank of America | Boston Business Journal
Just imagine if all counties did this…
JOHN L. O’BRIEN, JR.
Register of Deeds
Phone: 978-542-1704
Fax: 978-542-1706
website: www.salemdeeds.com
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds Shetland Park
45 Congress Street
Suite 4100
Salem, Massachusetts 01970
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Salem, MA
April 4, 2011
Contact:
Kevin Harvey, 1st Assistant Register
978-542-1724
kevin.harvey@sec.state.ma.us
Register O’Brien requests Massachusetts State Treasurer Grossman to Pull Bank of America Funds
Following last nights 60 Minutes expose on the Mortgage Paperwork Mess (view at www.salemdeeds.com ) Southern Essex District Register of Deeds, John O’Brien announced that he has written to Massachusetts State Treasurer, Steven Grossman. He has asked that the Treasurer change depository banks. Register O’Brien has specifically asked the Treasurer to place all deposits from his Registry into a local, non-MERS bank that follows the Massachusetts Land recordation rules. On an annual basis the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds deposits approximately $25 million dollars into Bank of America.
O’Brien, who is leading a nationwide effort against the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (“MERS”), of which Bank of America is a major shareholder asserts that Bank of America, along with the other MERS member banks have failed to record assignments and pay the associated fees and in doing so has deprived the taxpayers of millions of dollars in lost revenue. O’Brien estimates that in his county alone the amount is over $22 million dollars and that, he adds, is a very conservative estimate. According to O’Brien, the loss of revenue to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could be as high as $200 million dollars and to the nation, possibly in the billions.
O’Brien, who has asked MERS and their lender banks to come clean, open their books, and provide a full public accounting as to how many times and to whom they have sold consumers’ mortgages said, “Perhaps when these lenders lose millions of dollars in deposits, they may begin to understand the seriousness of their actions. It seems to me that their business model which has been referred to as “fees for thee, not for me” needs to be abolished.”
O’Brien further stated, “I find it extremely ironic, that the chief executive of Bank of America, who just last week received a $10 million dollar bonus continues to allow his bank to participate in this scheme. A scheme which has compromised the integrity of the land recordation system in Massachusetts. MERS has defended their practices by saying that they were helping the registries of deeds by reducing the amount of paperwork that needed to be recorded. This claim is outrageous. This is help that I did not need, nor did I ask for. It is very clear to me, that the only ones that they were helping were themselves, which I find shameful. For us to continue to reward these banks by depositing taxpayers’ money into them, is clearly not the responsible thing to do.”
O’Brien said he is reaching out to Registers’ of Deeds in Massachusetts and across the nation to ask them to join with him and encourage their state and county governments to follow his initiative and withdraw public funds from MERS’ member banks. O’Brien said, “By doing this we will send a resounding message that government officials are no longer going to stand by and continue to allow MERS and their joint venture banking partners to profit at the expense of the very same people that they are abusing.
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Ok, if this thread is going to delve into the invalid documents that Recorders Offices are accepting, then I want as many people as possible to start looking for the usage of a BOGUS NOTARY STAMP — USED BY LITTON.
I want enough reports of different properties where this stamp has been used to get LITTON LOAN SERVICING onto the NATIONAL NEWS.
I do not recall any case where DOCX had manufactured a notary stamp that can be proven to be fraudulent.
The notary named on the BOGUS NOTARY STAMP is “Melissa Bell”. The stamp shows an end of her Texas notary commission as March 28, 2011. Bell is frequently the ‘notary’ on documents signed by Litton’s Marti Noriega. Marti’s signature may have been electronically reproduced.
The KNOWN FACTS: Texas records show there is NO SUCH NOTARY STAMP. The Texas Secretary of State’s Notary Unit has run the search and even searched for any ‘Bell’ with a notary stamp ending on March 28, 2011. I was informed that no matching record was found for a search by name or commission end date.
The representative indicated that any such stamp that I was seeing on a document was NOT a valid stamp issued by the state of Texas.
What I want is information on other properties where this notary stamp was used. I need volunteers to search in states where any foreclosures are being ‘run’ by Litton. Litton is VERY active in CA foreclosures but I believe they are likely to have filed in many other states.
Reports back of all such properties with documents stamped by this ‘NOTARY’ could put Litton into the news.
PLEASE HELP!
I just saw your post – I have an assignment that was filed in Georgia with MERS assigning the deed and note to HSBC that has Marti Noriega’s signature as Assistant Vice Persident and the notary is Melissa Bell and her commission stamp expires March 28, 2011
sml s. 16 hours ago
“A scheme of epic proportions” took the words right out of my mouth.
However I have seen first hand that Massachusetts registries have accepted notarized documents between banks and attorneys that have been recorded with no DATE. Are homeowners just to assume “JOHN SMITH” personally appeared and through satisfactory evidence of identification signed this document voluntarily on some random day? Hopefully it was signed prior to the expiration of the notary’s commission.
Oh but wait. “Corrective Assignments” just another way to cover up the massive amounts of FRAUD committed by the big banks, lawyers, and MERS.
Homeowners don’t expect much. Our elected officials in Washington, Democrats and Republicans alike are sleeping with the enemy. Punishment has only been a slap on the wrist and a promise from these banks to do better.
FYI- check all recordings regarding your mortgages you might just be surprised
Great job Mr.O’Brien make them pay
Love when I see the banks take a hit! These blood sucking criminals charge excessive, UNPRECEDENTED, unamerican, unethical and insulting fees on checking, sving acts, and credit cards. Now they steal our home, morgage payment and retirment too? Your lender is not your lender, never lent a $ of thier own $ to you EVER. When you pay your morgage, you hand your $ over to someone who never lent to you and will never hand your $ to the lender who did, STOP PAYING CRIMINALS, they are laughing at you
Yeah nm!
I just sent him an e-mail too & thanked him for stepping up the plate and doing the right thing. MERS has unjustly and unlawfully enriched the banksters once again at the taxpayer’s expense. When will MERS be put out of our collective misery? Why is John O’Brien (and only a handful of officials like him) demanding an investigation? Why is Eric Holder not investigating MERS? Why aren’t the other politicians all over this sham entity known as MERS?
Never mind. I know the answers already. I just want public shame and ridicule to follow these crooks (Holder, Geithner, Bernanke) as much as possible. So I will repeat these questions as many times as I can in many different places. I will start my own propaganda meme against them.
We need to break thru to the mindset of the large part of the populace who do not comprehend the damages done to our country in term of land title problems and economic woes caused and propagated by the TBTF and TBTP banksters/fraudsters.
john obrien, your are the man. i personally emailed you to give you a hats off for what you are doing not too long ago, and im giving you another hats off for todays press release. i have talked to numerous state and county officials over the past 2 years regarding the mers mess and all of them seemed to think what mers was doing was ok. finally someone is stepping forward to say enough is enough. MERS is nothing but a criminal scheme to defraud the taxpayers and homeowners of the commonwealth and beyond. words cannot express the gratitude that some of us who have been battling MERS have for you. keep fighting the fight john. finally someone is standing up on principle for the state and its citizens. im standing and clapping john, and so are many others. take this fight all the way and dont be intimidated. i wouldnt be surprised if the big banks try to have a chat with you to stop what your doing, and i hope you dont cave into their interests. your doing what needed to be done, for the right reasons and the common good. kudos john. double kudos.
[…] REGISTER OF DEEDS JOHN O’BRIEN | STOP USING BANK OF AMERICA FOR COUNTY DEPOSITS OF $25 MILLON A YE… ForeclosureFraud (hat tip reader Francois T) […]
John O’Brien, Is a great example to all American citizens, now lets all follow his example and lets take the money out of these PONZI SCHEME Banks !
To: The Stand up Man!
A HUGE thank you to John O’Brien!…..He will go down in history books as the MAN who stepped up to the plate to bring America back to its CITIZENS.
Might I add, there are two more people who will be right beisde him in the history books and that is Michael Redman of 4ClosureFraud and Lisa Epstein of Foreclosure Hamlet, as they have brought all of this to the attention of the majority of the American Citizens. They have shown us the way!
Nancy
NOW TO REALLY GET TO THEM.
WHY CAN’T WE MAKE THE PURCHASE OF FORECLOSED HOMES …SIMPLY ..UN…AMERICAN??????
HOW WOULD THESE GREDDY INVESTORS LIKE IT IFSOMENE HELPED THE BANK TAKE THEIR HOME.
IF THERE WERE NO BUYERS, THE BANKS WOULD BE STUCK WITH ‘EM…AWFUL THOUGHT…SMILE
SPREAD THE IDEA…EVERYWHERE…LET IT CATCH ON,!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Than you John O’Brien for standing up to this fraud!!!
YES TY
BOYCOTT BANK OF AMERICA-BOYCOTT ALL NATIONAL BANKS
now they will hunt me down for this coment and treat me like I’m Wikileaks or some hacker.
If BOA would stop wasting millions to “prevent” bad press, which only makes them appear guilty,
they could pay off so many more Gov. Officials.
Too bad no one ever realeased those BOA Wikileaks gigabytes of exec. emails.
YES!!! I closed my Wells Fargo acct of 25 years one year ago. Don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. I am so much happier at the little bank. They know my name, they smile and welcome me when I come in, they don’t gouge me, nickle and dime me or manipulate my deposits/credits to try to unjustly enrich themselves. Best of all, these guys are SOLVENT and didn’t take any TARP funds.
Today we just moved all of our accounts from Wells Fargo / Bank of America and Chase into two local credit unions, one Credit Union for business, and the other for personal accounts. We have to start somewhere…they are punishing us, let’s start pushing them.
WHY CANT THE LEGISLATORS IN WASHINGTON STATE GET A GRIP ON THIS THEIR NO NOTE NO PROBLEM IS GOING TO BITE THEM IN THE WHEN THE TITLE COMPANIES DECIDE NOT TO WRITE POLICIES ON THESE FORECLOSED PROPERTIES
Moved my money out of Bank of A**wipes about 6 months ago and put it in a credit union. Every little bit helps. Lets Starve the Beast…
lets try it again.
HOORAH a county govt has gotten smarter and used its economic power to say NO to MERS
now what if
all of B of A depostors moved their accounts to a state chartered community bank not part of MERS and NOT accountable to the OCC.
now that would be a powerful economic punch that even those alleged corrupt officials in the govt would get it even.
best regards
David
HOORAH! a county govt has gotten smarter and used its economic power to say NO to MERS
now what if
all BofA depositors moved their accounts to a community bank not part of MERS or accoutable to the OCC . like a state community bank that does pay fees to the county for its mortgages etc etc.
now that would be a powerful economic punch that even those alleged corrupt officials in the govt would get it even.
best regards
David
YEAH!
thanks Maggie Simi
Best regards
DAvid
YVW