We did it everyone!!!
We really did it!!!
It is all collapsing right in front of our eyes…
Secretary Brunner Outlines Two Lines of Attack in Fighting High Ohio Foreclosure Rates
9/30/2010
For Immediate Release
SECRETARY BRUNNER OUTLINES TWO LINES OF ATTACK IN FIGHTING HIGH OHIO FORECLOSURE RATES
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio’s chief elections officer and the state officer responsible for licensing notary publics, today issued a directive to boards of elections that foreclosures cannot be used without further investigation to disqualify voters and revealed that she has referred specific instances of notary abuse occurring at Chase Home Mortgage in Columbus and by the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) to a federal prosecutor for investigation.
DIRECTIVE ON VOTERS FACING FORECLOSURES: Secretary Brunner, in Directive 2010-66, instructed Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections that they may not cancel an Ohioan’s voter registration based solely on the fact that the person is involved in the foreclosure process. The filing of a foreclosure action does not affect a voter’s right to vote until there is a final judgment entry, including the passage of at least 30 days from the date of the entry because of the right of appeal, and verification that the person no longer resides at the property. Ohio continues to experience high residential foreclosure rates.
Those who lose their homes because of foreclosure may wait until Election Day to update their address. Boards are instructed in the directive how to help voters displaced because of foreclosure, based on whether they move (1) within the same precinct, (2) within the same county but to a different precinct, or (3) to a different county in Ohio. Voters facing foreclosure may use their current location of residence as their residence for the purposes of voting.
REFERRAL OF CHASE HOME MORTGAGE AND MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. TO FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Secretary Brunner, in two letters dated Aug. 11, 2010 and Sept. 1, 2010, referred matters of alleged notary abuse in thousands of home mortgage foreclosures by Chase Home Mortgage and the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. to U.S. District Attorney Steven Dettelbach in Cleveland. Citing two depositions, (one & two) of Chase employee Beth Cottrell, taken in Columbus in May of 2010, and a deposition of MERS Secretary and Treasurer, William Hultman taken in New Jersey in April of 2010. These depositions contain sworn testimony that at Chase Home Mortgage, 18,000 documents per month are executed and notarized per month by eight people, with admissions that:
- it is the notary and not the document signer who gives an oath who fills in numbers in the affidavits used in court ordered foreclosures,
- no oath is administered for the signing of each document,
- notarized documents are not verified by the person signing and giving oath that they have personal knowledge of the contents of the documents, but rather, signers are relying on verification by others,
- documents are signed in bulk and notarized in bulk separately,
- notaries know this at the time they notarize documents in this process.
The MERS deposition of William Hultman demonstrates that after corporate status changes occurred for MERS, new designations of authority were not executed, leaving one or more individuals for the former MERS corporation continuing to delegate authority on behalf of the new corporation without authorization by the new corporation.
According to its website: “MERS was created by the mortgage banking industry to streamline the mortgage process by using electronic commerce to eliminate paper…MERS acts as nominee in the county land records for the lender and servicer. Any loan registered on the MERS® System is inoculated against future assignments because MERS remains the nominal mortgagee no matter how many times servicing is traded. MERS as original mortgagee (MOM) is approved by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHA and VA, California and Utah Housing Finance Agencies, as well as all of the major Wall Street rating agencies.”
MERS was created by the mortgage lending industry to:
- eliminate frequent re-recording of liens,
- avoid paying county recorder fees and other local taxes as mortgage loans are assigned as backing or securitization for derivatives trading by banks and other financial institutions,
- monitor and facilitate the transfer of original mortgage notes in the trading of mortgage-backed securities,
- foreclose on mortgage notes for unnamed note holders, even though it is not the real financial party in interest and does not hold the original note for the mortgage.
Currently, over half of all new residential mortgage loans in the U.S. are registered with MERS and recorded in county recording offices in MERS’ name, reducing transparency, leaving consumers unable to determine who actually holds the note on their homes.
Secretary Brunner made the following statement on the situation:
“Mortgage foreclosure documents must be notarized according to the law. Requiring this is not an afterthought or an exercise of form over substance—the law must be followed when taking away someone’s home, regardless of the circumstances.
For too long thousands of homes have been taken from consumers without proof that the foreclosing party actually has that right. Our courts must be cautious and require absolute adherence to the law. As the officer in Ohio who licenses notaries, I cannot stand idly by and watch financial institutions concoct a chain of title they never had by abusing the notary process.
It’s not fair to consumers or to the employees who by virtue of their jobs, are signing these documents. I urge the U.S. Department of Justice to take up this investigation with vigor and purpose to protect consumers and hold financial institutions to the standards of scrutiny and exactitude required by law, even if it means prosecuting some of our largest corporations. These apparent violations of state law point to schemes that merit federal investigation of large institution lending practices and use of the U.S. Postal Service.”
Last week, GMAC Mortgage announced it had suspended evictions and post-foreclosure closings in 23 states over concerns about employees preparing foreclosures with affidavits submitted to judges containing information they did not personally verify. Yesterday it was announced that JPMorgan Chase and Co hired external counsel to review its affidavit process based on the depositions of Beth Cottrell and is delaying approximately 56,000 current foreclosure proceedings.
SOURCE: Ohio Secretary of State
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4closureFraud.org
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“I haven’t seen any widespread problem” Sasser said
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I wish my accessories included one of your little mouses These people are so involved intertwanged and laughable. My case involves MortgageIT that was sold just before GMAC bought it out, then sold to IndyNac who was negotiated to One WEst owned by George Soros. What a family of Mafia Jews etc.
The nationwide fraud by these entities sort of makes Bernie Madoff look like a small time, petty operator. These bank higher-ups have been in bed w/policitians for far too long and have operated without benefit of strong regulation and oversight. Where is the outrage at the Fed level? I’m not seeing anything in the news…
For those of us in MI wondering why our Attorney General’s office has been so quiet? I sure have. I’d read that even the state regulator has complained about handing the AG cases of fraud “on a silver platter” – cases the AG’s office only seemed to take on after much press / pressure. Hmmmm, might this be because the third largest foreclosure chop-shop Trott & Trott and its owner have given tons of cash to the Micnigan AG’s campaigns (AG run and his run for governor)? The AG’s office needs to be pressured apparently to bite the hand that feeds the AG the cash…..MAN UP Mr. AG — This is outright fraud and a no-brainer.
How many people have lost their homes with fraudlent short-cuts…and without proof of who even holds the note? This not only has to stop – but there has to be a HUGE slap on these mortgage firms and their co-conspirators.
#2 in the list of “reasons” for MERS *still* looks like a deliberate, and admitted, fraud on local municipalities. Why haven’t local municipalities sued to get their mortgage recording fees?
While everyone was busy watching American Idol and drinking the Kool-Aid, our politicians easily took control over the lives of it’s citizens so now we in essence work so that our politicians can fly around in jets and eat at fancy restaurants. Only now, are people beginning to complain which shows just how ignorant most of our citizens are. When our financial markets eventually crash and those same individuals are eating dog food and living in the streets, we will have received what was deserved. When citizens fail to understand how their government works and instead let injustice occur because it’s not there problem, eventually it will land on their doorstep like it is now and all the chickens will come home to roost.
[…] Kaboom!!! Referral of Chase Home Mortgage and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, INC. to Fed… We did it everyone!!! We really did it!!! It is all collapsing right in front of our eyes… Secretary Brunner […] […]
I am sooooooooo loving this!
Chase is only agreeing to temporarily postpone final hearings in foreclosure cases. If you have been sued for foreclosure by Chase or by GMAC, you still need to defend yourself.
In reply to fighting mad, mad as hell:
SoS Brunner is acting to prevent voter suppression on election day by vote challengers. See this article from 2008 about plans to suppress the African-American vote in Michigan by using foreclosure lists:
………
Thanks for this excellent website keeping us up-to-date on the latest in this cascading fraudulent foreclosure/mortgage securitization disaster. It’s more interesting to follow this story than reading Agatha Christie’s mysteries. And I don’t even have a mortgage, nor any RE investments.
That is truly despicable. Did it ever happen? Wasn’t anyone outraged? Well, anyway, good old McCain didn’t win, hahaha!
You are railing at Republicans in Michigan. What about Democrats in Florida that used the same process to block certain voters there?
This ploy has been used by both major political parties and both parties are up to their eyeballs in the ongoing fraud in the real estate and securities markets.
What is important is not to elect one particular party but to elect individuals who will force this crap to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Unless and until we purge the entire system of lies from both the left and the right, there is not chance of economic recovery.
You do not lose the right to vote if you become homeless.
Once upon a time, in the not to distant past, the USA had poll taxes. You needed to show you were paying property tax in the district in order to be able to vote. This has been struck down for both federal and state elections.
See >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_tax
It is not uncommon for republican dominated states or counties to try and eliminate as many poor people from voting because they are more likely to vote for democrats.
If you know of an elected official, county or state wide practice that is attempting to “clean” the voter rolls by removing voters because they have become homeless, contact your local homless and voter fairness advocates.
Loosing your home, becoming homless, is not a valid legal reason for you to be removed from the voter roles. Just because you are staying with friends, camped out at a motel, are in transition to a new rental or in a homeless shelter does not mean you lose the right to vote.
Find politicians and / or lawyers who will stand up and fight on this one.
@fightingmad
Your ballot depends on your permanent address. If you are removed from that permanent address, you may register using your new address which may require a different ballot. For years, both parties have had individual ballots disqualified by playing tricks with permanent addresses. One of the favorites is by doing mailings with “do not forward, return to sender” instructions to neighborhoods with histories of voting for the other party. This also works to void votes cast by people in the military. The returned mail is used as evidence that the voter no longer resides at the listed address.
Register to Vote While You Still Have a Fixed Address! The Roof Over Your Family’s Head Depends On It. http://ning.it/bDbnCY
Lisa
ForeclosureHamlet.org
I didn’t know that you lose the right to vote if your house is in foreclosure!
WTF!
Could it be that there was another ulterior motive to mass foreclosures, to strip us of our RIGHT TO VOTE!
IS THIS WHY THERE HAS BEEN AN UPSURGE IN ROCKET DOCKETS!?
IF THEY CANCEL OUT ENOUGH PEOPLE, OF THE BANKS CHOSING, THEY COULD CONTROL ELECTIONS COAST TO COAST!
If so, we just might have dodged that bullet!
And I thought I had heard it all!
Quote from an ealier post from Ohio:
“DIRECTIVE ON VOTERS FACING FORECLOSURES: Secretary Brunner, in Directive 2010-66, instructed Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections that they may not cancel an Ohioan’s voter registration based solely on the fact that the person is involved in the foreclosure process. The filing of a foreclosure action does not affect a voter’s right to vote until there is a final judgment entry, including the passage of at least 30 days from the date of the entry because of the right of appeal, and verification that the person no longer resides at the property. Ohio continues to experience high residential foreclosure rates.
Those who lose their homes because of foreclosure may wait until Election Day to update their address. Boards are instructed in the directive how to help voters displaced because of foreclosure, based on whether they move (1) within the same precinct, (2) within the same county but to a different precinct, or (3) to a different county in Ohio. Voters facing foreclosure may use their current location of residence as their residence for the purposes of voting.”
Secretary Brunner should be going to her own state attorney general. One of the worst things that could possibly happen in this mess would be for the feds to be allowed to seize jurisdiction. We have already seen what happens when the too-big-to-fail have a problem. Those banks should have been vaporized. Instead, they control the game.
Today, on the 55th anniversary of the iconic James Dean’s tragic death, for me, will be a happy day……….The sun may once again shine on us in florida. I know it’s a little premature, but CONGRATULATIONS……to all real americans in all states. I feel now…….. a genesis may have begun. Maybe we’ll get to watch all the greedy banksters and their high style cohorts HANG FROM THE GALLOWS!!!!!
Thank you, Secretary Brunner! Now where are the rest of our illustrious elected officials in the other states and why aren’t they standing up for the little people?