Monday, June 20, 2011

WHAT ARE STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES DOING?


National mortgage fraud scandal spreads to the judiciary

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National mortgage fraud scandal spreads to the judiciary
June 11, 2011 5:38 pm ET .
Richard Thornton
While the U. S. Department of Justice is actively prosecuting mortgage
and foreclosure fraud, a national organization that helps homeowners
avoid foreclosure has evidence that certain state judges appear to be
protecting lawbreakers.  Billions of dollars have been received by
corporations in the foreclosure industry since the Great Recession
began.  Are these vast sums of money finding their way to elected
state judges and politicians?
CHOESTOE, GA – June 11, 2011 (Examiner.com) – Amid the splendor of
pristine mountains, waterfalls and springtime flowers in one of
America’s favorite vacationlands, a passionate lady-with-a-cause,
presented evidence yesterday that could shake the judicial system to
its foundation.   While helping families facing foreclosure, her
non-profit organization has recently stumbled upon very questionable
judicial actions in several states. The evidence is overwhelming that
the powerful foreclosure industry not only has inappropriate influence
over state court systems, but is using threats and economic pressure
to stymie investigative efforts and legislative regulation.
On first appearance one would expect to see Anne Batte as the hostess
of a chic cocktail party in Chevy Chase, MD, welcoming a National
Geographic explorer back home, or perhaps chatting away at the grand
opening of an art museum’s new wing in Denver.   The college coed
figure, youthful looks and sophisticated vocabulary of the blonde
Southern Belle disguise her total dedication to an effort to help the
victims of America’s Great Recession.  She is an Evangelical Christian
and the founder of Operation Restoration, Inc..
Anne Batte grew up in Richmond, VA. She is the daughter of the late,
John Batte, a prominent Virginia attorney and real estate developer.
Her inherited position in Richmond society would have never predicted
her current lifestyle.  Among many experiences in her past, she also
has been the successful developer of large real estate projects and
has lived in several regions, including Costa Rica. After returning to
live in Atlanta in March 2008, she became aware of the mass suffering
in the United States caused by the Great Recession and the apparent
indifference of those in power to this suffering.  She stated
yesterday that she has taken Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, literally
and trusts in God to provide her earthly needs as she carries out her
mission.
Operation Restoration describes itself as “a free, non-profit mission
of healing and restoration that is dedicated to foreclosure
prevention.”  It currently is helping homeowners in 39 states, but as
more donations become available, it plans to provide services
nationwide.  The organization has published educational information
and self-help tools online.  It provides trained case managers to
guide borrowers and realtors.  It also assists law enforcement
agencies when team members become aware of possible crimes being
committed.
The staff and volunteers of Operation Restoration come from a broad
range of professions in the finance, real estate and construction
communities.  Bankers and attorneys have been extremely helpful in
developing the programs of the organization.   Ms. Batte stated that
she hoped the national media would help the public understand that the
entire financial and legal community should not be condemned for the
illegal or greedy actions of some members of their professions.
Evidence of judicial corruption
Under the shade of a giant weeping willow tree in the North Georgia
Mountains, Batte presented a cardboard box full of photocopied legal
documents.   These copies were obtained from court cases and
foreclosure actions from around the nation.  However, the questionable
legal actions seem concentrated in the Lower Southeast, where the
Great Recession began.
Within the mounds of paperwork, the most obvious violations of federal
and state laws involved forged signatures of attorneys, corporate
officers and notary publics.  The names on these documents can not be
released to the public at this time because such information would
interfere with active criminal investigations or are evidence  for
civil cases in progress.
There were 12 different signatures on legal documents supposedly
reviewed and signed by one attorney.  All of them contrasted starkly
with the signature within his own mortgage!   In some of the court
cases he was involved with, sloppy and apparently illegal work allowed
official court documents to be forged for both parties representing
sellers and buyers, or plaintiffs and defendants.  Ms. Batte stated
that this particular case was thoroughly exposed in November 2010 by
one of the nation’s oldest broadcast news teams, WSB-TV.  However,
since then, the ABC local affiliate has ceased investigating cases of
foreclosure fraud. No action has been taken by law enforcement
agencies against the attorney.
Other forged documents claimed that corporations held deeds to real
estate properties that they didn’t own.  A major national bank
foreclosed on a property which the occupants owned free and clear, and
didn’t even have a mortgage.  More common cases involved attorneys
signing documents claiming that mortgages were in default that
actually were current in payments. Certain women signed official court
documents as registered notary publics when in fact they were NOT
notary publics at that time.
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The next level of fraud presented by Ms. Batte involved how state
courts had dealt with obvious cases of fraud, forgery and perjury.
In a typical case, attorneys for the plaintiff challenged the legality
of court documents witnessed and signed by a person pretending to be a
notary public.  Several months after the illegal act, she had become a
notary public.   She was employed by a large law firm, which persuaded
several attorneys and notary publics to sign sworn affidavits that she
was a notary public at the time when they originally submitted
documents to the court.  All of these affidavits were acts of perjury,
which should have resulted in disbarment, criminal fines and
potentially, prison sentences.  So far the judge has done nothing.
In case after case, official court documents identified certain judges
in state courts, who were consistently blocking cases involving
forgery of deeds, legal documents and foreclosure actions from being
brought to trial.  In some cases, district attorneys refused to
present evidence of illegality to the courts.  In other cases,
district attorneys or civil attorneys tried to present evidence of
illegality, but were quickly censured by certain judges.   In one
case, in Fulton County, GA, a judge threatened a crime victim with
contempt of court if she ever was in his courtroom again.   Her
complaint was that forged signatures were utilized by a mortgage
service company to foreclose on her home, when in Georgia mortgage
service companies can not legally foreclose on residential real
estate.
State banking committee stalls mortgage fraud legislation.
Ms. Batte stated that while legislators in many states have publicly
announced their opposition to shady mortgage procedures and fraudulent
foreclosures, there has been little state level legislation that
addresses the problems.   She explained  that most states have public
records of large sums of money being spent by lobbyists to persuade
legislators to maintain the status quo.
A good example of the contrast between public statements made by
politicians and their actual  behind-the-scenes activities can be
found in Georgia.  Georgia State Senator Jack S. Murphy was named
chairman of the GA. Senate Banking Committee in January 2011.   GA
Senate Bill 123, amending the laws on mortgage fraud, was sent to his
committee for review.   There it has sat since then.  In the meantime,
Murphy along with seven other former officers of the failed Integrity
National Bank of Alpharetta, GA have been charged by FDIC regulators
with gross negligence and various breaches of fiduciary duty
associated with its issuance of mortgage loans.  The FDIC is seeking
damages of over $70 million.  Murphy refuses to resign from the
Banking Committee.
The Georgia House of Representatives passed its version of the
mortgage fraud bill in April 2011.  However, since the Senate version
never came out of committee, the House version was introduced into the
Senate shortly before midnight on the General Assembly’s last day of
this session.  It was tabled to the 2012 session.
What are state criminal justice agencies doing?
Ms. Batte was asked why state agencies were not taking a more active
role in the investigation of forgeries, mortgage fraud and illegal
foreclosures.  She responded that the involvement of state attorney
generals varies from state to state.   Some have shown great concern
when shown evidence that judges in their state were not enforcing the
law.  Others claimed that they had no jurisdiction or that it was
improper for them to question the findings of standing judges.
Ms. Batte stated that Samuel Olens, a highly respected attorney and
former Cobb County, GA Commission Chairman, made prosecution of
mortgage and foreclosure fraud a major platform of his campaign last
fall. However, after becoming Georgia’s new Attorney General, he  has
not prosecuted any cases of these types of fraud, nor investigated
charges of judges showing inappropriate favoritism to the foreclosure
industry. She added that apparently “someone got to him” around
February of 2011.  He suddenly stopped mentioning foreclosure and
mortgage fraud in public speechs.  When questioned by reporters about
these subjects,  he dodges the issue and claims that he has no power
to investigate violation of the state laws relating to perjury,
forgery, fraud and judicial misconduct.
At the end of her interview,  Ms. Batte was asked if she felt any
concern for her personal safety since providing incriminating evidence
to criminal justice agencies about  judiciary impropriety.   She said
that members of their organization have received some threats.  At
times their office phones have appeared to be illegally tapped.   The
dynamic civic leader ended her response with this statement of her
faith, “I have placed my life in God’s hands and in him, I will always
trust.”
..
Continue reading on Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/architecture-design-in-national/national-mortgage-fraud-scandal-spreads-to-the-judiciary#ixzz1P7WwQIMn
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11 Responses

  1. For the public good I will add a footnote in respect of the fulton County Court system. The Fulton County Clerk of Courts is responsible for overseeing the operations and compliance of notaries in that jurisdiction. LPS’ DOCX trademark subsidiary was based in Alparetta Georgia–one of the nations most prolific document mills was located there. That is within Fulton County. I filed a complaint there in November 2009 when I observed that one DOCX signer seemed to have as many handwriting styles as a Hindu Goddess–all duly witnessed by Fulton County notaries. Tywanna Thomas whose unusual penmanship skills were demonstrated on the front page of the New York Times before election 2010. Although these and others skills have become the subject of numerous articles and alleged investigations since, at that time Reginald Starling with that Clerk of Courts division determined there was no wrongdoing. I have a letter to that effect.
    Thanks with my case Regie
    Also a special thanks to SEC which also could see no issues –their representative could not even see how it might affect LPS’ investors. The SEC left me a message on my answering machine–preserved–to the effect that SEC does not regulate mortgages. DOCX employees churned out thousands of void assignments weekly, if not daily, and nobody could see a thing wrong with it–except LPS’ Audit Committee and outside auditor –who did recognize the legal significance and disclosed some errors were made in the 2009 10K.in reguatory compliance. I can’t say much for them but trhat they did at least make an effort to comply with Sarbannes Oxley.
  2. I’ve created a t-shirt for anyone that’s interested in my zazzle.com store (you can customize color and style), that reads:
    (front) HOMEOWNER WARRIOR
    GOT M.E.R.S.?
    (back) livinglies.wordpress.com
    I hope it’s okay with you, Neil…if not, let me know: cariemac9@gmail
    It’s a good way to get the word out, (and help me put some food on the table!).
    If anyone is interested in other items with similar wording (or even added artwork), for whatever reason, I would be happy to create them and make them available (there are quantity discounts), in my store—thanks and good luck to all of you!
  3. It’s not just following the “good book”…it’s any “book” that says we need to have good morals and high values and compassion and mercy and a sense of justice and honesty and truth and love…
    When we stop having those things…we destroy ourselves…and that is what is unfolding before our very eyes…
  4. I’m going to ask for help <> simply because it’s the topmost article .. I have all the same players as VEAL V. AHMSI/WF/ et al … I have the 9th circuit decision but where can I find the arguments and such?? THANKS!
  5. AWESOME for this wonderful lady, just found this passage from the
    B asic
    I nstructions
    B efore
    L eaving
    E arth, just yesterday and it so appropriate right now!!
    The land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
    Leviticus 25: 22-24
    L@@K and READ
    Pray and fight
    Fight and pray
  6. Simon ‘Free Will’ remember …
    “GOD’ DID NOT GET US INTO THE MESS. He allowed us to live in a country with choices. We all got us into this mess by not following what the Good Book Says.
    WHo said money is the root of all evil?
    God warned us not to covet and borrowring to purchase today what we can’t afford made us targets.
  7. Please Sign The Stop Foreclosures NOW Petition!
    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/smokeandmers911/
  8. really ???did you really ask that Simon???
  9. @Simon,
    This is the work of the devil.
  10. why did God get us in this mess Ma’am?

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