I began working on this project last year at the peak of the modification frenzy and finished it about a month ago.  I originally planned on posting it last week on the eve of the Mortgage Servicers Convention in Dallas.  I decided hold off because I didn't want to ruin the fun of the champagne fueled Conga lines or the Mad Men style skirt chasing that usually goes on at conventions sponsored by the financial services industry.

The findings of my year-long investigation would have put everyone into a panic mode and stopped the flow of the Dom Perignon for the Conga lines and the awkward moments at the water cooler this week and replaced it with Tums and Roll-Aids.  So in the spirit of not to be a party pooper and in an effort to create a distraction for those employees who may have had "too much fun" I decided to wait.

What have I discovered that would create so much anxiety? Well, mortgage servicers are ripping off not only homeowners but the pension funds and hedge funds who have invested into Mortgage Backed Securities.  What they're doing is reminiscent of what was portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film, Casino, where the local mob Capos would "skim" large sums of money off the top of the casino revenues before they were counted and sent to the bosses in the mid-west.

Before we get into that, we need to hop in the Way Back Machine like Peabody and Sherman from the Bullwinkle cartoons and go back in time.  Back to a time when cops were beating up hippies, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were challenging us as a nation to be better people, men were going to the moon and Jon Voight was playing a gay gigolo on the big screen.

Back then, President Lyndon Johnson had a great idea.  Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time anyway, to make homeownership a birth right for every American.  In those days of Prediluvian America, those who owned the loan also evaluated the risk, collected payments and would adjust payments or terms as circumstances warranted.  Using this business model, lenders made money by writing loans they knew would perform and borrowers had unmediated access to decision makers at the bank that could modify the terms of the loan.  This guiding principal behind this practice was transparency of all parties involved.

This sounds like a great business model and it was.  It helped George Bailey survive the Great Depression in "It's a Wonderful Life" and it helped many real life banks survive the Great Depression. However, expanding homeownership under that business model would have driven the federal budget deficit not only through the roof but to rings of Saturn.  Imagine if you will today's national debt numbers in 1967 dollars.  If converted to 2010 values the numbers would be so large it would blow out a circuit on the speech synthesizer Stephen Hawking uses on his wheelchair.

Being this was the height of America's period of ingenuity and optimism, President Johnson and his Mortgage Finance Task Force didn't let a small problem of a sky rocketing national debt prevent them from coming up with a plan.  Remember, these were the same people who built a space program from nothing and put a man on the moon within 9 years while fighting the war in Vietnam.

This group of financial wizards devised a scheme to auction off mortgages owned by the federal government and the scheme they developed would eventually turn mortgages from long-term commitments that only financial giants like governments, banks and insurance companies were willing to own, into a commodity that any investor could buy and sell. The loans are put into pools are traded like baseball cards on the commodities market.  This is also when the federal government privatized Fannie Mae and created both Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

The first mortgage backed security was sold in 1970 and with this business model came positive results.  Lenders expanded and morphed this model to where home loans were turned into commodities where ownership and accountability diffused.

Today, the vast majority of loans are originated with the intent of selling them on the secondary market packaged together in pools called special purpose vehicles or trusts by underwriters who represent government sponsored enterprises, investment banks or commercial banks.  These special purpose vehicles are then repackaged and re-disbursed to investors all over the world.    Bonds are issued for the different categories of payments, including interest payments, late payments, principal payments and prepayment penalties.  Different groups of investors or tranches may get paid from different categories and in a different order.

Tax and accounting rules were set up to govern these trusts or Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (REMICs) and they were set up to ensure that the assets of the trust are passively managed.  This means they are handled by someone else usually a servicer.  This type of management is required because the trusts receive preferential tax treatment.  So as long as the trust complies with these management guidelines, the trust is not required to pay tax on its income, thus increasing the profitability of the trust.  Compliance also allows investors insulation from the bankruptcy of the entity that transfers the mortgages into the securitized trust.  Without this protection, creditors from the originator could seize mortgage loans from the trust to satisfy debts incurred by the originator.  This business model morphed into what is essentially a legally run multi-trillion dollar tax-free Ponzi scheme.  This scheme is so large it makes Bernie Madoff's empire look like a kindergarten production of the movie,Wall Street.

The only problem was the guys at Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the banks never consulted with the guys at NASA about Newton's theories of gravity when they set this up.  Who can blame them, they were bankers not rocket scientists.  The bankers neglected to consider the idea that what goes up must come down. In 2007, housing which had survived 40 years of double digit interest rates, the S&L crisis, and three recessions was dealt a coup de grace by investors worldwide when they stopped buying mortgage backed securities and Newton's theory was proven correct.  The debate is still out as to what created this.

Wall Street conspiracy theorists like claim that it was a planned bust out by the mega-wealthy.  They claim the investment houses did sort of like what Tony and the boys did when someone owed them money on The Sopranos.  They went in ravaged through everything of value and maxed out the guy's credit with no intent of paying it back.  The only difference, they claim, was that the banking bust out was legal because it was done by "respectable society".  They claim that Bear Stearns and other investment houses pre-sold these securities and needed to fill them as quickly as possible which is why you had so many exotic mortgages such as Option-ARMs, No-Doc and NINJA programs.

Once investors stopped buying mortgage backed securities, this created a domino effect across credit markets and eventually reached the homeowner. People stopped buying homes and property values plummeted faster than contestants on a Japanese game show.  Overleveraged homeowners now owed more on their mortgages than their house was worth.

The rise of the MBS industry has created a new generation of loan servicers.  Up until the meltdown, loan servicers were like an Asian wife.  They were dutiful and passive in public, but yet behind closed doors yielded great power.

The sole purpose of these servicers was to collect and process payments on mortgage loans. While some specialize in subprime loans, some servicers specialize in loans that are already in default (so-called special servicers). There are companies that contain entire families of servicers: prime and subprime, default and performing. Some of these servicers are affiliated with the originating company.   Nearly half of all subprime loans are serviced by either the originator or an affiliate of the originator.  However even when the servicer is affiliated with the originator, it no longer has exclusive control over the loan or an undivided interest in the loan's performance. Servicers are usually collecting the payments on loans someone else owns and then pay the Trustees on a quarterly basis and this relationship is governed by the Pooling and Servicing Agreement or PSA.  The PSA is essentially the agreement between the servicer and the trust which details the responsibility of both parties.

Servicers receive their revenue two ways. First, they receive the majority of their revenue from acting as an automated pass-through accounting entity whose mechanical actions are performed offshore or by a computer system. Second, servicers generally profit from servicing fees based on a fixed percentage of the total unpaid principal balance of the loan pool and interest income on homeowners' payments held by the servicer until the service has to make payments to the investor. They then deduct any pay outs at an inflated rate for taxes and insurance or any affiliated business arrangements from the payments to the investor.

After the meltdown, mortgage servicers were no longer willing to play a passive role in public and moved from the proverbial bedroom to the boardroom faster than when O-Ren Ishii cut off Boss Tanaka's head with her samurai sword in the movie, Kill Bill.

Like O-Ren Ishii, the servicers were smart and they quickly figured out that if they acted quickly they could profit from the financial chaos around them.  Servicers were flooded with requests for modifications from upside down homeowners.  They quickly seized on the idea that they could exploit their ability to skim off the top of the payments to investors by exaggerating their cost estimates and by increasing the outstanding balances of the loans in the trust.   There was one problem with that idea; most homeowners in late 2007 early 2008 were not yet behind on their payments.

What servicers began doing next is shocking! They began to tell homeowners they would not negotiate a modification unless they were 90 days behind on their payments.  Publicly the excuse was because they needed to rescue as many homeowners as possible before moving on to stable homeowners.  This wasn't entirely true.  Let's be honest, this was a blatant lie.  What they weren't saying is how much their profit margins increased by encouraging people to go into default.  The longer someone stays in default the more profit they made by misleading both the trustee and the homeowner.  This gave the servicers incentive to push homeowners into delinquency and keep them there indefinitely with or without a pending modification.

When the homeowner would submit the application for the modification, the lender would drag out the approval process by repeatedly claiming they lost the paperwork.  Again, this all goes back to their profit margin on loans in default and the outstanding balances of the pool. This is why when HAMP was announced in 2009, servicers were included into the program.  HAMP was intended to encourage servicers to modify loans but the cash incentives offered by the federal government were not large enough to entice the servicer to abandon the profitable business model of skimming off the top.

Another misleading statement made by servicers is that they need approval from the trustee to approve a modification.  This is another lie.  Due to the passive management requirement of the trust under REMIC guidelines, investors have little control and seldom influence the servicer's actions when it comes to modifying a homeowner's loan and thus have full discretion to negotiate a modification of a loan for the homeowner.  Most PSA also impose no meaningful restrictions against servicers who negotiate modifications and actually authorize modifications.  In most cases, the PSA immunizes the servicer from litigation from investors when they do modifications.

Servicers also use the excuse that REMIC guidelines penalize them from doing loan modifications.  This is also not factual accurate.  REMIC rules offer an "escape" clause.  REMIC rules state that a loan can be modified when it is in default or a default is reasonably foreseeable.

So now my friends, you now know what would have turned off the flow of Champagne for the Conga lines and put a stop to the reckless sexual abandonments at the conference last week.  The Lending Industry's dirty secret and the trail of public betrayal that they hid from homeowners and investors.

The shocking thing about this whole scheme is its not independent companies doing it.  It's the major banks.  Wells Fargo, JP Morgan-Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, they all do it.  That's right. These banks who received corporate welfare checks in the billions of dollars are now pocketing money from some sweet old grandmother's pension fund.  So while grandma is forced to eat cold oatmeal because she can't afford to heat it up, banking executives from Citibank and JP Morgan-Chase go in front of congress and claim they had nothing to do with it.

Miami-On March 25, 2010, Judge Stuart Simons of the 11^th Circuit Court in Miami handed down a ruling in Wells Fargo v. Cirigliano (Case #08-288-46-CA10) dismissing Well Fargo’s Motion for Summary Judgment against MFI-Miami’s client John Cirigliano.  

“This is great news not only for John Cirigliano,” said MFI-Miami President Steve Dibert , “but it means the judicial system as whole is finally understanding the level of fraud that was committed by mortgage professionals during the boom.” 

Cirigliano’s mortgage appears to contain forged documents, multiple levels of deceptive practices by the broker and the now defunct GreenPoint Mortgage, fraudulent appraisals, and evidence Wells Fargo lacks standing to execute the terms of the mortgage. 

Steve Dibert describes it this way, “This loan is so dirty, I have to shower after just thinking about it.  This is probably one of the most egregious examples of mortgage fraud I have seen in two years!”

Judge Simons did not find the argument put forth by Wells Fargo’s counsel from Marshall Watson and Associates compelling enough to warrant granting the motion and is now allowing this case to go to trial.

“The trial is where all the fun will begin.” said Steve Dibert, “Both Cindi Dixon from Mela Capital Group who assisted me on this investigation, and I are looking forward to the trial. We feel very confident that Mr. Cirigliano will receive the justice he deserves.”

About MFI-Miami 

Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Miami, LLC conducts extensive compliance examinations and mortgage fraud investigations. MFI-Miami is also one of the only firms that investigate the securitization instruments of clients’ mortgages. For more information, visit www.mfi-miami.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email steve@mfi-miami.com.

About Mela Capital Group

Mela Capital Group provides forensic financial auditing and reporting for Attorneys and law enforcement throughout the U.S.  For more information, visit www.melacapitalgroup.com, or email cindi@melacapitalgroup.com

West Palm Beach, FL- MFI-Mod Squad, LLC, a company that investigates loan modification fraud, has issued a list of the twenty loan modification companies about which it has received complaints. The list includes companies that haven't been approved to charge an upfront fee and claim to offer a money-back guarantee. They have either failed to deliver a loan modification or refused to offer a refund to homeowners.

"Many people have been asking me to post a list of unreliable loan modification companies," says Steve Dibert, President of MFI-Mod Squad. "I'm happy to do so because it can help homeowners avoid scams."

The problematic loan modification companies on MFI-Mod Squad's list include the following:

·    Green Credit Solutions

·    Peoples First Financial

·    United Law Group

·    Excel Loss Mitigation

·    Nations Choice

·    USA Mortgage Aid

·    Mortgage Assistance Center

·    Bank Modifications, Inc

·    Apply2Save

·    AmeRestart aka Equinaire

·    Choice Loans Consulting

·    Samaritan Financial

·    Resolutions Mortgage Group

·    Federal Loan Modifications

·    Mortgage Mitigation Clearing House

·    Woosh.com aka Manhattan Mortgage

·    Coastal Pacific

·    New Beginnings Loan Modification Services

·    North American Relief

•    US Justice Foundation

All but Samaritan Financial and Mortgage Mitigation Clearing House are located in California. California-based loan modification companies must be approved by the Department of Real Estate (DRE) to charge upfront fees. You can only be exempt from DRE approval if your company is a law firm

Near the top of MFI-Mod Squad's list of the worst loan modification companies is Peoples First Financial, which is responsible for Massachusetts resident Jon Angers losing his home. 

"He trusted them when they told him not to make his mortgage payment," says Mr. Angers' attorney, Glenn Russell. "He has since been foreclosed on and evicted from his home."

About MFI-Mod Squad

Headquartered in Florida, MFI-Mod Squad, LLC is the only privately-funded loan modification investigation firm in the United States. For more information, visit www.mfi-modsquad.com, phone 561-317-9978, or email steve@mfi-modsquad.com.

About Glenn F.  Russell, Jr.

Glenn F. Russell, Jr. is located in Fall River, Massachusetts. He's a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut Bar Associations, where he specializes in foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, personal injury, and divorce law. For more information, visit www.foreclosuresinmass.com, call 508-324-4545, or email russ45esq@gmail.com.

January 30, 2009
 
For Immediate Release
Contact:           Steve Dibert, President, MFI-Mod Squad, LLC
 
Email: steve@mfi-modsquad.com or www.mfi-modsquad.com
 
Miami: 305-851-2460                         Metro Detroit: 248-841-8511                 Orlando: 407-278-5733
Ft. Lauderdale: 954-607-2266             Northern MI: 231-622-7566                   Tampa: 941-312-7620
West Palm Beach: 561-317-9978        Washington D.C.: 301-979-9577            Boston: 857-776-3030         
                 
MFI-MOD SQUAD TO BUST UP SHADY FORECLOSURE RESCUE AND LOAN MODIFICATION SCAMS
 
West Palm Beach, FL-Steve Dibert, founder of MFI-Miami, LLC, Florida's premier forensic mortgage fraud investigation and forensic mortgage auditing firm is launching MFI-Mod Squad, LLC. 
 
MFI-Mod Squad is the only privately funded loan modification investigative firm in the United States. The goal of MFI-Mod Squad is to expose illegally run loan modification and foreclosure rescue companies and the people who run them. These firms convince desperate homeowners to pay them huge upfront fees by playing on home owner's fears when their real intent is to take the home owner's money and run.   Many of these companies operate by doing business in states that have not adapted their laws to include loan modifications. They solicit clients in states outside their own even if the state where the homeowner lives has laws that govern loan modifications.  This is done intentionally because they think the client won't know how to find them or they think a homeowner facing foreclosure does not have the funds to pursue them across state lines or in federal court. Some even use "Affiliates" or "Resellers"  to collect the money for them in an attempt to shield themselves from prosecution.  Some of these companies are even run by convicted felons who are barred from working real estate or lending.
 
"These people think they're smarter than you and they think they can get away scot-free," said Steve Dibert, Owner of MFI-Mod Squad, "I want to give homeowners the protection they need to protect themselves from kicked while they are down.  Besides, a smart criminal knows you can steal more with a smile than you can with a gun!"   
 
MFI-Mod Squad has three purposes.
 
First, to give homeowners a place on the Internet where they can educate themselves about loan modifications and loan modification companies so they can protect themselves from being taken advantage of.  The website is in a blog format so homeowners can share their stories about loan modifications.
 
Second, MFI-Mod Squad wants to give homeowners a place where they can get help investigating unscrupulous loan modification companies.  If a homeowner feels they have been conned by an unscrupulous modification company or feels the loan modification company is operating outside the law, MFI-Mod Squad will investigate the company for no charge.  

Third, MFI-Mod Squad will publicly expose these unscrupulous companies and use the power of the Internet to shut them down.  Once MFI-Mod Squad completes its investigation, the report will be posted on the website and a copy will be immediately sent to state and federal law enforcement officials and regulators for further action.   Not all loan modification companies are bad or are breaking the law. There are good ones that work hard for their clients, play by the rules and are just as eager to force these people out of the industry as MFI-Mod Squad. Those companies will be promoted on the site and will be encouraged to contribute as will consumer advocates, attorneys and law enforcement.
 
About MFI-Mod Squad
 
Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Mod Squad, LLC is the only privately funded loan modification investigative firm in the United States. The goal of MFI-Mod Squad is to expose illegally run and shady loan modification companies and the people who run them. For more information, visit www.mfi-modsquad.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email steve@mfi-modsquad.com.
 
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MFI-Miami, Florida's premier Forensic Mortgage Auditing firm is currently looking for experienced sales people in the Bay State as I prepare to officially launch MFI-Boston after the first of the year.  I already have clients calling because of an article that appeared in the Boston Herald around Thanksgiving and I want to continue the momentum. 

I am looking for people who have knowledge of lending and real estate.  Candidates must have at least a 5 year track record in either real estate or mortgage sales.  

All candidates will go through a criminal background check and a check with Commissioner of Banks, Mortgage Lender & Mortgage Broker Licensing to see if any disiplinary actions have been taken.  Send Resumes and/or CVs to info@mfi-miami.com.  Only candidates who submit resumes or CVs will receive responses.   

If you need more information, you can check out MFI-Miami at www.mfi-miami.com.

Steve

MFI-MIAMI LAUNCHES MASSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO ILLEGAL FORECLOSURES IN 6 STATES

West Palm Beach, FL-MFI-Miami, LLC, Florida's premier forensic mortgage fraud investigation and forensic mortgage auditing firm is launching a massive investigation against several securities firms and banks for performing illegal foreclosures in 6 states.  MFI-Miami is asking for homeowners who have lost their home in foreclosure from 2005 through 2008, to contact their offices immediately.  

"Every day I get calls from homeowners in foreclosure and in nearly 85% of the cases, the lender cannot prove they have the legal standing to execute the foreclosure.  It boils down to simple Real Estate 101," explained MFI-Miami CEO Steve Dibert, "If you don't own the note, you can't sell it, modify it, enforce it or collect payments on it."  

This investigation will encompass homeowners in the following states; Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Virginia and will be covering foreclosure actions that were filed between 2005 and 2008. 

"This lack of accountability by the lending industry has cost nearly 250,000 homeowners their homes in these 6 states alone," said Steve Dibert, "When we complete the investigation, we'll determine if the report will be handed over to the Attorney Generals of those 6 states or if the clients are eligible for some type of class action litigation in federal court."

Most of the cases that come across MFI-Miami's desk are exotic loans or sub-prime loans that have been transferred from servicer to servicer and from note holder to note holder. The problem was created by Wall Street firms who traded mortgage backed securities with each other.  They would package mortgages in pools and sell them, repackage them and sell them again and again.  Through this maze of trades and counter trades, the mortgage and the note are moved upstream but in no case are all of the transfers of ownership recorded in the local property records.  Although a fund manager could offer a plethora of reasons as to why, the real reason is, fund managers wanted to save a few dollars by avoiding taxes and filing fees that would apply to each recording.   Without recording these transfers in the public record, the right to enforce the mortgage and note is nullified because that recording is what proves ownership.

These cases are quite prevalent in non-judicial foreclosure states like Michigan because there is no judicial oversight of the foreclosure process. Because of this, many homeowners are losing their homes illegally and don't even know it.  MFI-Miami has discovered that in most of these cases, the attorney representing the lender does inadequate due diligence when researching the transfer affidavits of the note while preparing a foreclosure action against a homeowner. 

 About MFI-Miami

 Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Miami, LLC does strictly forensic mortgage auditing and mortgage fraud investigating.  MFI-Miami is the only Florida mortgage auditing firm and only one of about five nationally that does their forensic auditing by hand.  MFI-Miami looks for violations of RESPA, TILA, HOEPA, HMDA, FCRA, FACTA, the FTC Act, ECOA, FHA, FDCPA, and SCRA. MFI-Miami, LLC is also only one of a few firms that investigate the transfer of the securitization instruments of the client's mortgage.  For more information, visit www.mfi-miami.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email info@mfi-miami.com

###

MFI-MIAMI LAUNCHES MASSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO ILLEGAL FORECLOSURES IN 6 STATES

West Palm Beach, FL-MFI-Miami, LLC, Florida's premier forensic mortgage fraud investigation and forensic mortgage auditing firm is launching a massive investigation against several securities firms and banks for performing illegal foreclosures in 6 states.  MFI-Miami is asking for homeowners who have lost their home in foreclosure from 2005 through 2008, to contact their offices immediately.  

"Every day I get calls from homeowners in foreclosure and in nearly 85% of the cases, the lender cannot prove they have the legal standing to execute the foreclosure.  It boils down to simple Real Estate 101," explained MFI-Miami CEO Steve Dibert, "If you don't own the note, you can't sell it, modify it, enforce it or collect payments on it."  

This investigation will encompass homeowners in the following states; Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Virginia and will be covering foreclosure actions that were filed between 2005 and 2008. 

"This lack of accountability by the lending industry has cost nearly 250,000 homeowners their homes in these 6 states alone," said Steve Dibert, "When we complete the investigation, we'll determine if the report will be handed over to the Attorney Generals of those 6 states or if the clients are eligible for some type of class action litigation in federal court."

Most of the cases that come across MFI-Miami's desk are exotic loans or sub-prime loans that have been transferred from servicer to servicer and from note holder to note holder. The problem was created by Wall Street firms who traded mortgage backed securities with each other.  They would package mortgages in pools and sell them, repackage them and sell them again and again.  Through this maze of trades and counter trades, the mortgage and the note are moved upstream but in no case are all of the transfers of ownership recorded in the local property records.  Although a fund manager could offer a plethora of reasons as to why, the real reason is, fund managers wanted to save a few dollars by avoiding taxes and filing fees that would apply to each recording.   Without recording these transfers in the public record, the right to enforce the mortgage and note is nullified because that recording is what proves ownership.

These cases are quite prevalent in non-judicial foreclosure states like Michigan because there is no judicial oversight of the foreclosure process. Because of this, many homeowners are losing their homes illegally and don't even know it.  MFI-Miami has discovered that in most of these cases, the attorney representing the lender does inadequate due diligence when researching the transfer affidavits of the note while preparing a foreclosure action against a homeowner. 

 About MFI-Miami

 Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Miami, LLC does strictly forensic mortgage auditing and mortgage fraud investigating.  MFI-Miami is the only Florida mortgage auditing firm and only one of about five nationally that does their forensic auditing by hand.  MFI-Miami looks for violations of RESPA, TILA, HOEPA, HMDA, FCRA, FACTA, the FTC Act, ECOA, FHA, FDCPA, and SCRA. MFI-Miami, LLC is also only one of a few firms that investigate the transfer of the securitization instruments of the client's mortgage.  For more information, visit www.mfi-miami.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email info@mfi-miami.com

###

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOMEOWNERS ARE BEING

ILLEGALLY FORECLOSED ON BY THEIR LENDERS

 West Palm Beach, FL-MFI-Miami, LLC, Florida's premier forensic mortgage fraud investigation and mortgage auditing firm is warning consumers facing foreclosure that the lender who is initiating the foreclosure action against them may not have the legal standing to do so. This also means the mortgage servicer may not be legally able to accept payments or negotiate a loan modification.

 "It boils down to simple Real Estate 101," explained MFI-Miami CEO Steve Dibert, "If you don't own the note, you can't sell it, modify it or enforce it."  

 This is not just an isolated phenomenon.  It is a nationwide plague that banks and lenders don't want to talk about.  Homeowners in subprime loans are most susceptible because most subprime lenders did not service the loans they originated.

 "Of the nearly 100 foreclosure clients who have come to me for help, nearly 85% of the lenders cannot prove in a court of law that they have the legal standing to enforce the terms of the mortgage and the scary thing is, the lenders know it before they even begin the foreclosure action and they don't care," explained Steve Dibert.

 This creates a number of serious problems for the homeowner because if a homeowner goes into foreclosure and works out a loan modification with who they think is the lender, the real owner of the note could still initiate a foreclosure six months or a year later.  The homeowner is left with costly civil litigation as their only remedy to keep their home.

 The problem was created by Wall Street firms who traded mortgage backed securities with each other.  They would package mortgages in pools and sell them, repackage them and sell them again and again.  Through this maze of trades and counter trades, the mortgage and the note are moved upstream but in no case are all of the transfers of ownership recorded in the local property records.  Although a fund manager could offer a plethora of reasons as to why, the real reason is, fund managers wanted to save a few dollars by avoiding taxes and filing fees that would apply to each recording.   Without recording these transfers in the public record, the right to enforce the mortgage and note is nullified because that recording is what proves ownership.

 "Basically Wall Street traded mortgage portfolios like kids trading baseball cards, explained Steve Dibert, "the only problem was, no one kept track of what mortgages were being sold to whom."   

 MFI-Miami is working with two clients in particular, Nickie Struthers of Bradenton, Florida whose mortgage that was originated by Quicken Loans of Livonia, Michigan appears to have been sold by Quicken Loans to two different servicing entities.  Quicken sold the loan to EMC Mortgage in February of 2007 and then sold it a second time to LaSalle Bank of Troy, Michigan in June of 2008.  Quicken Loans and LaSalle Bank refused to cooperate with MFI-Miami's investigation into this matter as did LaSalle Bank's attorney, Marshall Watson and Associates of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Mr. Watson's firm even attempted to block MFI-Miami and Ms. Struthers from having access to her file and now is attempting to launch a second foreclosure action against Ms. Struthers.

"If Quicken Loans, LaSalle Bank and their attorneys would co-operate with our investigation, it would avoid a lot of legal fees for all the parties involved because now Ms. Struthers has to retain legal counsel just to get access to documents that she has a right to have. These are copies Quicken Loans is legally mandated by federal law to give her when she signed her application and their refusal to co-operate just reinforces the impression they are hiding something," said Steve Dibert.

The second client is Cynthia King of Jamaica, New York whose lender, Deutsche Bank, began foreclosure proceedings against Ms. King and her husband in April of 2008. Deutsche Bank garnished her wages for her delinquent payments.  The only problem was the mortgage Deutsche Bank was attempting to foreclose on and garnishing wages on was paid off in February of 2007. 

 "The crazy thing about this file was no one caught the fact the complaint had the wrong dollar amount, interest rate, or loan number," said Steve Dibert, "The bank, their attorney and the judge all missed it.  MFI-Miami was the only one who caught it and with the help of Gerard Sweet at Foreclosure Hotline USA in West Babylon, New York, we were able to save the house."  

 About MFI-Miami

 Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Miami, LLC does strictly forensic mortgage auditing and mortgage fraud investigating.  MFI-Miami is the only Florida mortgage auditing firm and only one of about five nationally that does their forensic auditing by hand.  MFI-Miami looks for violations of RESPA, TILA, HOEPA, HMDA, FCRA, FACTA, the FTC Act, ECOA, FHA, FDCPA, and SCRA. MFI-Miami, LLC is also only one of a few firms that investigate the transfer of the securitization instruments of the client's mortgage.  For more information, visit www.mfi-miami.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email info@mfi-miami.com

MFI-Miami, Florida's premier Forensic Mortgage Auditing firm is currently looking for experienced sales people in the Bay State as I prepare to officially launch MFI-Boston after the first of the year.  I already have clients calling because of an article that appeared in the Boston Herald around Thanksgiving and I want to continue the momentum. 

I am looking for people who have knowledge of lending and real estate.  Candidates must have at least a 5 year track record in either real estate or mortgage sales.  

All candidates will go through a criminal background check and a check with Commissioner of Banks, Mortgage Lender & Mortgage Broker Licensing to see if any disiplinary actions have been taken.  Send Resumes and/or CVs to info@mfi-miami.com.  Only candidates who submit resumes or CVs will receive responses.   

If you need more information, you can check out MFI-Miami at www.mfi-miami.com.

Steve

MFI-Miami now has a Field Representative to cover the Washington, DC Metro area, Virgina and Maryland!  Our new Field Representative is Columbus Williams and he will be MFI-Miami's Regional Manager for the mid-Atlantic region of the US.  His direct number is (301) 728-2634 or you can call the office number (301) 979-9577.

I am also in the process of creating MFI-DC which will cover all of Virginia, Maryland and DC.