Occupy the Crime Scene: County Recorder’s Office Monday March 12th 9:30 am

A recent audit by the San Francisco County Recorder found 99% of the foreclosures audited had questionable activity, 84% had at least one clear violation of law on foreclosures and over 66% with 4 or more violations.*

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has found a similar level of foreclosure fraud related to the MERS system, which is depriving counties and municipalities of mortgage deed filing fees in the millions of dollars.**Yet, on a statewide basis, very little is being done by elected and appointed government officials either to expose or prosecute foreclosure fraud.

It’s outrageous that the nation’s largest banks and Wall Street are allowed to dictate the terms and conditions of their punishment for foreclosure fraud while thousands of people in California are losing their beloved homes as the result of fraudulent foreclosure practices.

On Monday, March 12th, Occupy groups from across California will hold multiple simultaneous events at county recorder offices in as many of the 58 California county seats as possible to call attention to massive and ongoing foreclosure fraud.

The goals of these events are twofold.

First, we are seeking to expose the full extent of foreclosure fraud by banks and Wall Street in California. Therefore, we demand that every county recorder conduct similar audits both to measure the level of foreclosure fraud and to determine the amount of tax dollars that have been lost due to fraudulent filings.

Second, we are seeking an end to illegal foreclosures. Therefore, we demand that California Attorney General Kamala Harris (and/or the State Legislature? and/or the Governor?) immediately suspend all foreclosures in the state until both these county audits and her criminal investigation of foreclosure fraud are complete.

*http://aequitasaudit.com/images/aequitas_sf_report.pdf
** http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2012/feb/feb03a_12.html

II. TYPE OF EVENT

1. Peaceful Rally and Press Conference attended by homeowners facing foreclosure, Occupy representatives, activists, community leaders, interfaith groups, foreclosure/housing advocates, government officials and others.2. Visual displays may include crime scene images, legal document boxes that represent the evidence: number of fraudulent foreclosed homes in a particular county. These could be affixed with “Evidence” stickers. “Crime scene” tape could be draped around the boxes or on the county recorder building. Occupy groups are encouraged to get creative.

3. Date and time: Monday, March 12, 2012 at 9:30 am PST.

4. Marches/vehicle convoys from the county recorder’s offices to regional offices of AG Harris could be held in certain locations (San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.).

III. METHOD OF ORGANIZING

 

1. Strategy & Planning: Conference calls will be held on Wednesday, February 22 & 29 and Wednesday, March 7 at 11:00 am PST. To participate in the conference call, go to this link to register: http://interoccupy.org/frzcall/2. Division of Responsibilities:

a. Media – Occupy LA & OccupySacramento will draft multiple press releases at key times and serve as statewide media contact. Occupy Petaluma and other groups will share media contacts and work with local media. Occupy Sacramento is going to take the lead on this, since they have a media pro up there. Occupy LA will help when asked.
b. Website – Occupy LA will create a special Facebook page for the M12 action. Occupy Petaluma will prioritize the M12 action at www.foreclosurepreventionzones.com.
c. Outreach – Occupy LA and Occupy Petaluma will reach out to other Occupy groups and organizations that are active in preventing foreclosures and protesting the banks. Key individuals will be invited to evaluate the Action Plan and join the Wednesday conference calls.
d. Government Liaison –All participating groups will coordinate on contacts and dialogue with the California Congressional delegation, Sacramento legislature and AG Harris. An effort will be made to persuade sympathetic legislators to hold hearings and introduce bills on our two demands. Individuals Occupy groups will work independently with their local and county officials.
e. Legal Strategy Team – This group will evaluate key issues related to (i) conducting audits and (ii) implementing a moratorium on foreclosures, develop a strategy for court actions and make recommendations to the entire planning group.
f. Legislative Strategy Team – This group will contact key legislators working on banking and housing issues, develop a strategy for legislation and make recommendations to the entire planning group.
g. Audit Strategy Team – This group will facilitate audits by contacting Aequitas (www.aequitasaudit.com) and other auditing firms, develop a strategy for statewide audits in counties and make recommendations to the entire planning group.3. Name of event: “Occupy the Crime Scene: County Recorder’s Office“

4. Geographic Areas of Responsibility:

a. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – OccupyLA will contact Occupy groups in the following 11 counties; Los Angeles, Fresno, Kern, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Merced.
b. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Occupy Petaluma will contact Occupy groups in the following 17 counties: Sonoma, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Mendocino, Humboldt, Napa, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Monterey, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus.

(The other 30 counties will be encouraged to join the action through media coverage, Facebook and other online communications.) [NOTE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_California]IV. FRAMING THE ISSUE

1. The foreclosure crisis is the result of massive and ongoing fraud by the nation’s largest banks and investment firms. This fraud is evident in the public records of every County Recorder’s office in California.2. County and municipal governments are losing millions of dollars in lost tax revenues due to this fraud. These lost revenues necessitate massive cuts in badly needed services and personnel.

3. Government officials charged with upholding the rule of law in an equitable manner are not holding the banks and investment firms accountable for foreclosure fraud. They are either ignoring this ongoing fraud or allowing the perpetrators to dictate the terms and conditions of their accountability.

4. The California state legislature is not addressing this ongoing fraud at the county recorder’s offices. They must pass legislation that ensures the traditional and legal process of recording deeds of trust be protected from fraudulent practices such as MERS.

5. The voices of homeowners who have been foreclosed or are facing foreclosure should not be peripheral to discussions and negotiations on addressing the foreclosure crisis. They have borne the brunt of suffering due to illegal foreclosures. They deserve a seat at the table in negotiations with the banks and government. If they continue to be excluded, justice will never be achieved in the foreclosure crisis.