ML-Implode Exclusive: Foreclosure Expert Mildred Wilkins Blasts Industry in “Fraudclosure” Report
In a new report entitled “The Title Crisis: Clouded at the Core”, Foreclosure Intervention Specialist (and former Fannie Mae Broker-Specialist) Mildred Wilkins lays out what is really going on underlying the “fraudclosure” scandal. The report is a response to bank and government propaganda that the crisis has been “looked into and resolved,” after the furor that erupted due to a number of high profile lawsuits, rulings, and mainstream media articles early this past fall. In this first-publication of the report online, ML-Implode brings you Mildred Wilkins’ powerful words and in-the-trenches perspective.
(See Mildred’s web site at www.HomeOwnershipMatters.com. “Foreclosure Intervention Specialist” is a registered trademark of Mildred Wilkins. This article is Copyright, all Rights Reserved Mildred Wilkins and Mildred Wilkins Consulting, LLC. Posted with special permission.)
Foreword
I would have made this report shorter if I could have explained what you need to understand in fewer words. I honestly didn’t believe that I could, so I have written what I feel compelled to share. It’s long, but developed in such a way as to provide an adequate background, lead you to factual information, and give you a professional analysis of the broader picture.
Background
We have been assaulted with revelations, facts, anecdotes, bankster PR and media spin for more than three (3) months now discussing and uncovering the fraud associated with the foreclosure problem in America. We’ve had congressional hearings, interesting legal decisions and the promise of a riveting expose from Wikileaks founder Julian Assange against one of America’s largest banks. If he can manage to keep himself alive long enough to deliver, we could have revelations which will make the stuff of the past few months kids’ play by comparison.
Thus far the startling revelations have come so fast that all of us are waiting for the other shoe (or next unbelievable TRUTH to be revealed) that we have been left with barely enough time to breathe, certainly little time to analyze anything before there is another incredible revelation. Headlines such as “Judge refuses to let public into his court room” are now common. There is more research, follow-up, corrective action. Wash, rinse, repeat. I’ve jokingly (only kinda) told friends I can hardly sleep for six hours straight anymore because I don’t dare not check in with updates from my most reliable sources to see what’s the latest incredulous revelation. If you miss www.4closurefraud.org for more than 6 hours you will be seriously behind in your foreclosure reading. My personal favorites are 4closurefraud.org, LivingLies weblog and Mortgage Implode-o-Meter (ml-implode.com). Only Living Lies provides lengthy analysis or opinion pieces on what all the ‘facts’ mean or could mean.
We now have a fulltime job trying to absorb the enormity of the ‘facts’, ‘incidents’, ‘life stories’, ‘personal tragedies’, ‘court decisions’ and ‘sworn testimony’ which continues to unfold. It has been difficult to focus on anything other than uncovering the activities of the banksters which are now clearly systemic, anti-consumer and frequently illegal. Indeed, I have had numerous professionals ask me “why are the banks doing this?” “Why are they trying to foreclose while pretending that they really don’t want to foreclose?”
Understanding the issue (and consequently the answer) requires a broad understanding of what I have called for years ‘the BANK GAME’. Almost no consumers and very few professionals have spent any time analyzing the entire banking process—why would you? You only need to know so much to open a checking and/or savings account and get your debit card. You need to know a little bit more to get a mortgage and they happily provide you with the information and lead you through the process. They get your financial information (or as we now know, make some up for you if your true information does not work for them) and presto/chango, you became a happy homeowner. You learned a bit more if you needed to re-finance (this could be dicey if you tried in the past 5 years) but the truth is that they were more than accommodating if there was in any way possible to ‘make it work’. Almost nobody would have called dealing with your bank ‘a game’. They were your bank, there to serve you and meet your financial needs. They told you that and you believed them.
In reality, it IS a game. Perhaps it didn’t start out that way but about 20 years ago (at least 20 years ago) the consumer’s relationship with the bank shifted. No longer was the consumer the most important part of the equation and their needs paramount but the needs of the institution became paramount and the consumer became a necessary pawn in the BANK GAME. You have been drawn into the GAME without your knowledge or permission. You are impacted whether or not you know it and are now faced with external behaviors such as their fore-closure practices which seem suspect. If you never knew there was a game you would also be unaware of the existence of game rules which details all the activities associated with playing the game. In fact there are TWO rule books, the official one and the one they actually use.
The official BANK GAME rule book has rules/stipulations which cover every conceivable activity which a bank might be required to perform but I will only focus on the mortgage related rules since the bank serves other functions. The rules cover areas such as:
- The loan application process
- The recording and transferring of your mortgage and note (or deed of trust)
- On-going responsibility for keeping up with and recording title transfers (for several good reasons)
- Steps for conversion of mortgages into securities
- Loan servicing requirements, including responsibilities to the consumer who took out the loan
- Guidelines for reporting to the government and Wall Street revalent information about the loan, the borrowers and other information, as required
- Responsibility of processing foreclosure—when a default could not be cured by any other method—as a part of loan servicing
All of these activities which were entrusted to lenders are governed by a multiplicity of federal laws, federal regulations (not the same as federal laws) legislative recommendations (totally different than laws or regulations AND totally unenforceable (HAMP for instance) state laws, basic contract law and assorted other considerations. When you factor in employee cost and the time needed for them to cross reference all of the above and still make a profit which would allow them to pay billions of dollars in bonuses—off YOUR money—they had no choice (from their perspective) but to cut corners. It was also imperative that they get really creative in creating new revenue streams.
The necessity to make the most money possible meant there had to be a 2nd set of rules—the
ones they operated by on a daily basis while giving lip service (and the finger) to the official rule book. Everything which has been uncovered is evidence of the existence of the 2nd set of rules and the norm for our biggest banks. Many readers are still trying to grasp HOW things got off track and WHY have the banks been willing to go to such extreme measures to deny actions which have clearly been uncovered as systemic. What does it means other than they are lying?
Let’s discuss the HOW part first.
Further to my comment of 9 August 2016, unlike the old Bank Rate system with its high interest rates, Quantitative…
Comment by Jean E. Allan on 20 December 2010:
My family’s saga is being told on nhjustice.net. It is a very ugly story about how a small state has been captured by big financial interests, and has used the ‘color of law’ to take private property from the average citizen and turn it over to the large financial/business interest. In our case, the State overtly took $100,000, but there may have been more trading that we are not aware of.
Today, I am schedule to have a competency hearing. The State’s Office of Forensic Examiners found me not competent because I essentially reported exactly what you are reporting in this paper. The only difference was that I used the specifics of my case. And, the names are very well know. And, on is about to get the medal of freedom award for his assistance in the 2008 bailout of the banksters.
Thank you for continuing to write on this issue. Individual citizen families cannot fight the foreclosure fight alone. We continue to pray that some authority will intervene on our behalf. Perhaps I will know more after 1Pm today. That is the time of the competency hearing.
Sincerely,
Jean E. Allan aka Jean E. Allan Sovik
Pingback by Fraudclosure Report | “The Title Crisis: Clouded at the Core” « Foreclosure Fraud – Fighting Foreclosure Fraud by Sharing the Knowledge on 27 December 2010:
[…] 1 2 3 4 5 6 […]
Comment by marilyn lane on 27 December 2010:
For anyone who has had their property fraudulently sold, they have another battle to fight – that of the Title companies that insured the forged deeds.
After having Astoria Federal S & l ,Successor in Interest to Fidelity NY FSB state in New York Supreme Court in front of Judge Alice Schlesinger, Its Indemnify, Indemnify Indemnify , we are stepping aside and the title coompanies are stepping in.(Astoria Federal with corrupt debt collector attorneys Mullooly, Jeffrey Rooney & Flynn auctioned off my two NYC condos to straw buyers without even owning my two properties.
Fast forward – The Bank got rid of these corrupt attorneys MJRF and has new attorneys. At that point when the banks new attorneys said it’s Indemnify , I should have been given back possession of my two condos.
Instead corrupt attorney Thomas Malone for Fidelity National Title and corrupt attorney David K Fiveson of Coronet Title did not want to indemnify the forged deeds they insured but wanted to be Intervenors instead and be heard and what they told the court is time makes forged deeds good.
FORGED DEEDS CONVEY NO TITLE AND HAVE NO LATCHES.
The Title Companys , Judge Alice Schlesinger of NY Supreme Court, and I all know there is no “equity” in a forgery.
With the fraud being discovered at William P Foley’s (CEO) Fidelity National Title ,Fidelity National Financial and Lenders Processing Service (DOCX) the title attorneys statement to Judge Schlesinger “we have equity”,
only meant there was money under the table for the judge and Judge Schlesinger said to me, “it doesn’t look good for you” and she ruled against the law.
Judge Alice Schlesinger perpetrated Title fraud with Fidelty National Title and Coronet Title.
I am the true owner of apts xx and xx at xxxxxxxxx and I will continue to pursue to get possession of my two condos.
Comment by Michael Haltman on 27 December 2010:
Hi Mildred:
Great article on the title crisis. I am giving a CLE class on foreclosures and title and in my research have found what you are saying regarding MERS, securitization and standing to foreclose.
My read is that the new owners of the homes who bought foreclosures or REO’s probably won’t be thrown out avoiding a claim to the title company. The original homeowner, although delinquent and subject to a legally done foreclosure, may have a claim against the lender who foreclosed illegally and took their house.
It is somewhat confusing unless I do a flow chart, but in your opinion who is going to be held culpable including the referee. Thanks.
Mike Haltman
Comment by mike on 27 December 2010:
Great article but you miss real valid arguments. 99% of the notes are unenforceble if transfered correctly into the trust. Why?
)1 Because once the notes enter into the REMIC they are no longer notes but have been converted into bonds. Once done, they can not be undone.
2) Likewise the mortgages/DOT also need to transferred, assigned and recorded at the local level in order to get into the trust. The problem is the trust can’t hold assets or they lose there IRS tax free status and their ability to be bankruptcy remote.
What you have here realy is the sale of unregistered securities to unknowing investors (homeowners). The banks and securities underwriters knew this all along and that’s why nothing was ever transferred and they used MERS to hide it all.
Let’s follow the rabbit further down the hole. When a homeowner makes a payment that payment was never truly credited on the books of his loan. Why? Because the money was paid into a pool(trust) where the bonholders were paid in their tranches. This why they will not and cannot produce the loan level files.
On top of that you need to also factor in the over$ 7 trillion dollars in bailout money the FED(foreign owned) gave out and the billions of dollars the FDIC bought back of MBS from all the players. Also, the CDOS, CDS, insurance money that has already been paid off.
There is no money owed and their is no clear title! How do you fix that mess?
Iit is FRAUD from the creation at every juncture of the game and all the players are complicit including thegovernment for the coverup.
Comment by John R. on 27 December 2010:
This is directed to Michael Haltman’s question. As I’ve read it,if fraud was used in a lawsuit, and then, post judgment proved, then the original lawsuit is deemed VOID ab initio…. (or “at initiation”)that means it’s as if the judgment was never rendered! Ergo, the “new owners” own nothing! How could they? They were, after all, only a part of a fraudulent scheme. And the correct procedure for the “victims” who originally lost their homes would be to submit a motion to vacate a void judgment and once ruled on, to file an eviction notice. Woe befalls those who participated in the fraud, the buyers & the sellers of the illegally foreclosed on property.
Comment by Blanche Dubois on 16 January 2011:
I read the article with great interest although I am already familiar with this mess. However, great as the information may be, it still doesn’t answer any questions. For example, here’s my predicament:
1. I refinanced my mortgage in Nov. 09 with BofA. At the time of the closing, I was provided with blank copies of all my docs. Shortly thereafter, I received a notice telling me that they had already shuffled the mortgage around to someone else. When this mess hit the public eye, I started to track my papers but to no avail. My payments are going to (what seems) is BofA and I’m receiving statements from what seems to be BofA. I requested a copy of my Deed and Note and, instead, received a copy of my appraisal report which tells me that they don’t have the original documents. I hold a recorded Deed, Note and Title from Chase (my prior mortgagor) but have not received the discharged papers from them either. So what does that mean? What am I supposed to do? Where do I start looking? What are my options? Coincidentally, my mortgage is in good standing and I’m in no danger of losing the home that I know of.
Comment by clark on 24 September 2012:
Lots of fraud folks. Many of the crooked attorneys who foreclose very homes are financed by the mortgage companies they foreclose for. Many of the judges are taking bribes thru their homes also being financed multiple times and then paid off by robo signers. Basically check the records they’ll get loans totaling $200,000 up to millions on the same home some show 2-3 loans a year. The loan is quickly paid off, a few months later they’re given another loan. No one can do this, but they can. The government doesn’t inquire about a fat check like this. They walk away with big bribes to go against borrowers no matter even though they know it’s a fraudulent loan. Many of these attorneys and judges allegedly make no house payments.
Their income would not sustain this but they have been also trustees for predatory lenders also and trustees for home improvement companies that defrauded borrowers which turned into predatory loans. This is how they proved themselves worthy to be judges and hold a license to defraud the borrowers. This has been going on for years. They are being paid by the title companies and banks to do this folks. This is a big network all the attorney bar associations want to keep the crooks on the bench. This the very reason when folks have been defrauded by mortgage and title companies most attorneys refuse to take the case or if they do take the case won’t fight and just take clients money. They know what will happen if they challenge the crooks, they won’t ever win another case in court. This thing is sinister folks, but true
Comment by Mike Libera on 27 December 2013:
I am involved in several loans with Ocwen as servicer. They have unbelievably sent me copies of bills they have submitted in my case (one for a property already sold at auction to them; one which they refuse to sell despite my many requests to do so)which total over $30,000 for two BPO letters, which normally run around $100 apiece. Clearly they’re milking somebody – I guess the taxpayer. Isn’t anyone watching these thieves?