Ok, we know about GM, Citigroup, California, etc all with the hands out and getting our money, well their pretty good-But Nobody, But Nobody Beats Florida when it comes to ripping people off.
Check this out reported from Sun-Sentinel
South Florida’s home prices have gone south, but mortgage fraud hasn’t.
Law enforcement and corporate officials alike are bracing for a new wave of cases as the market falters.
As scores of loans go bad, some Florida legislators back a bill that would direct more federal dollars to combat the fraud epidemic.
“Fraud always shifts to take advantage of the market,” said Ann Fulmer, vice president of Interthinx, a mortgage fraud detection firm in Atlanta. “People are so desperate now, we’re actually seeing fraud going up.”
From corrupt closing agents to criminal condo flipping, Florida has held the top spot for mortgage fraud in the nation since 2006, according to the FBI.
Before the downturn, most mortgage fraud involved some variation of the real estate flipping. Unscrupulous investors would take control of properties at low prices and resell them quickly for big profits. Perpetrators often used false or stolen identities because they did not intend to repay lenders.
When the housing bubble burst and criminals could no longer profit by reselling properties at ever-greater prices, they simply walked away.
An April FBI report warns the depressed housing market provides “an ideal climate” to create more victims.
Here’s an example: After falling behind on their mortgage, Henry Gribensk, 56, and his wife Rhonda Schnitzler-Gribensk, 53, received a flood of mailers promising help with foreclosure. One, from a company called Florida Housing Council, seemed promising, Gribensk said.
The company’s owner, Jack Moussa, went to their Loxahatchee home with a stack of documents, which the couple hastily signed, thinking Moussa would help them restore their credit and avoid foreclosure. Instead, the contract transferred their property to a trust controlled by Moussa, making the Gribensks renters and subject to eviction, they allege in a lawsuit.
“Somehow he got his name on the deed,” said Gribensk, maintenance manager for two Palm Beach condominiums. “It’s not even our house right now.”
In March, state prosecutors filed a civil action accusing Florida Housing Council, Moussa and others of defrauding more than 30 homeowners with deceptive business practices.
Neither Moussa nor his attorney could be reached to comment.
Meanwhile, the Gribensks, who are not part of the state’s case, stand to lose their home
Unbelievable-People Play It Safe-We are surrounded by crooks of every type!
Seven weeks ago or so President Bush goes on air with the dire predictions of financial ruin. Okay we need a bailout of ‘only 700 billion to right our ship, and oh by the way the biggest insurer of just about EVERYTHING, AIG, need 85 billion to balance their “books”-Well of course all of us freaked out accordingly, and we actually believed somewhat those numbers. Well Suckers (ME included) we been had again, as usual, LAST WEEK in the Wall Street Journal reports the the “estimate” for the AIG rescue was “mis-calulated” and the money needed was between 150 to 200 billion. Hmmmm, they need three times as much money as first asked for, wow the financial minds of Wall Street and our government didn’t get it right again, or, could it be possible that they lied to us! You know this 7 Trillion Dollar robbery in Wall Street which has lead to this recession, lets extropoliate from the AIG lie and factor it by 3x and possibly maybe the 7 trillion is 21 trillion? As Michael Ray Richardson of the NY Knicks once said after a bad road trip “The Ship Be Sinkin”. More to come-
