This topic consolidates everything you need to know to stay informed including prominent industry advocacy movements, current regulatory enforcement actions, and judicial rulings impacting mortgage banking.
A California man was extradited from Mexico on March 8 and pleaded guilty on June 24, 2022, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering charges for two high-yield investment fraud schemes.
Mortgage Professional America--Mika Pangilinan
A federal grand jury in Portland has indicted Michael James DeFrees, a real estate developer, with fraudulently obtaining COVID-relief program funds and has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
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Buckley--Buckley Special Alert
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a published decision that the Dodd-Frank Act does not prohibit the enforceability of delegation clauses contained in consumer arbitration agreements “in any way” as it is one of the first appellate decisions in the country concerning Dodd-Frank’s arbitration provision and supports broad enforcement of delegation clauses even where a statute could allegedly prohibit arbitration of the underlying claim.
OIG
A US Attorney announces the return of an indictment charging Evelisse Hernandez, a licensed mortgage loan officer, for creating and executing a mortgage fraud scheme targeting the financial institution where she was employed, and if convicted, could face up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count and a mandatory consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts.
OIG
George Kritopoulos, 50, of Salem, MA has been convicted by a federal jury in connection with a 10-year mortgage fraud scheme involving at least two dozen fraudulent loan transactions totaling $6.5 million and resulting in more than $3.8 million in losses to lenders.
Mortgage Fraud - Stephanie Abbott
Philip Abramowitz a business owner from Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in relation to the sale of two Baltimore properties.
"ACES has made my life so much easier from a QC perspective. It's life-changing"
- Kelly Cooper Spencer, QC & Business Intelligence Data Manager at Thrive Mortgage
Mortgage Fraud Blog - Stephanie Abbott
Evelisse Hernandez, a licensed mortgage loan officer, has been charged with four counts of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Mortgage Fraud Blog
Adolfo Schoneke, 44, and sister Bianca Gonzalez, 39, a.k.a. Blanca Schoneke, of Torrance, California, pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for participating in a $6 million real estate scam that involved listing homes without the owners’ consent and collecting money from multiple would-be buyers for each of the not-for-sale homes.
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According to several reports, Redfin has agreed to pay $4 million to fair housing organizations to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a proposed order to resolve its allegations that Performance SLC, a student loan debt relief business, and Performance Settlement, a general debt-settlement company, along with their owner and CEO, Daniel Crenshaw, engaged in wrongful fee-charging practices and deceptive telemarketing
"ACES has shined a light on our productivity and empowered us to hold our teams accountable."
- Emilee Rada, Director of Lending Operations at Georgia's Own Credit Union
The CFPB has filed a major lawsuit against TransUnion, two of its subsidiaries, and executive, John T. Danaher, for violating a 2017 law enforcement order where TransUnion agreed to halt its illegal, deceptive marketing practices regarding credit scores and other credit-related products.
Ballard Spahr LLP--Kevin Cordero
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court decision that Experian Information Solutions, Inc. did not violate FCRA as the information the plaintiffs alleged Experian should have disclosed was not subject disclosure such as behavioral data, “soft” credit inquiries along with the identity of all parties who procured consumer reports from Experian and more.
According to court documents, Tyler Forbes, 27, of Manlius, New York, was employed as a trader on the U.S. Treasuries desk of a global financial institution and he pleaded guilty today to manipulating U.S. Treasury securities prices.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information and comments regarding the application of the laws, practices, rules, regulations, guidance, and statements of policy that apply to merger transactions involving one or more insured depository institution, including the merger between an insured depository institution and a noninsured institution.
