Hat tip to W.C. Varones for sending in this article on Crisp and Cole, the two real estate agents in Bakersfield who were found guilty of defrauding banks out of nearly $30 million:...
Cole Gets 17.5 Years
read more
Fraud
Wire Fraud for Housing
Hat tip to WW for sending this in! https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/04/phishers-divert-home-loan-earnest-money/#more-25690 Real estate and title agencies are being warned about a new fraud scheme in which email bandits target consumers who are in the process of...
Short-Sale Flipping
Here is investigative reporting for you. Jason Hidalgo from the Reno Gazette-Journal found that dual-agency short sales with a prearranged cash buyer accounted for more than 10 percent of Northern Nevada’s 2,096 single-family home short sales last year. He looked me...
Mortgage Fraud
Last summer I met with an FBI agent to discuss a local realtor. I submitted 32 pages of conclusive evidence that implicated the realtor in committing 19 cases of short-sale fraud. Though the agent said he would pursue it, I never heard from the FBI again. Hat tip to...
Short Sale Fraud is Illegal
Hat tip to Booty Juice! From calcoastnews.com: Timothy William Barnes, 37, pleaded guilty Monday to committing bank fraud. Barnes, a San Francisco resident, owned and operated Apex Properties Real Estate Brokerage in San Luis Obispo. Barnes is accused of...
$15 Million in Kickbacks
The Wolf of Ramona! From Channel 6: SAN DIEGO - A Ramona real estate agent who admitted taking part in an investment and mortgage fraud scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars in phony loans and illegal kickbacks was sentenced Friday to serve 15 months in...
More Pocket Scum
Realtors will put a twisted spin on any new gadget in order to justify hoarding commissions. In this article, one manager convinces himself that because he gets '300 emails a day and four actually apply', it's good to use a separate system that enables pocket...
Short-Sale Bribes
Hat tip to bode for sending this in from the latimes.com: A Bank of America Corp. employee assigned to deal with delinquent mortgages has been arrested on federal charges of accepting more than $1 million in bribes to allow homes to be sold far below their market...
More on Pocket Listings
My contribution to a big article on pocket listings in the OC Register: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mls-529529-pocket-home.html Other agents say pocket listings are never a good idea. If being on the open market is good enough for Kobe Bryant, arguably the...
Summer Distressed Pricing
The impact of the short-sale fraud is becoming more obvious. It was at its worst in 2012, and though there has been some rebound this year, the short-sale average pricing is still well below the rest: NSDCC detached homes sold between June 1-to-August 31: Year REOs SS...
