FTC Catches “Forensic Audit” Co. With Bogus Promises

In a far too common story the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shut down yet another bogus Forensic Audit Company (see below).

It is important that consumers understand that most companies will tell you what you want to hear to get your dollars into their pockets. “Forensic Auditing” better described as Compliance Auditing is not a new and powerful tool that will stop your lender from foreclosing. In fact your lender uses the same “quality control” tool as a requirement to sell loans to FHA and to ensure that their portfolios have minimal risk to Secondary Market Investors.

We have heard numerous audit companies make claims that they are “experts” or that they wrote the book on mortgage securitization. Again, be careful what you believe in or throw your hard earned money after. There are experienced auditors, but those that wrote the book on mortgage securitization are enjoying a very luxurious life of traveling, skiing, and painting; while we the “common” people work through the mess.

Forensic, Compliance, Mortgage, and/or Loan Audits are just the facts. If you find one or several violations in your loan through research or an Audit you will not be automatically entitled to anything, nor will your lender be forced to give you preferential treatment. Your mortgage is a legally binding agreement between you and your lender. Do not take any action in regards to your property without first consulting a competent Legal professional.

Get The Facts, Audit Your Loan and Protect Your Rights!

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The defendants behind an operation that allegedly preyed on vulnerable homeowners have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they lured people into paying $1,995 or more by holding out bogus promises that they could help them avoid foreclosure and renegotiate their mortgages.

The FTC’s settlement order against the Los Angeles, California-based Consumer Advocates Group Experts, LLC, company owner Ryan Zimmerman, and two other related companies is part of the agency’s continuing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress. It bans the defendants from marketing any mortgage assistance relief or other debt relief products or services. It also prohibits them from making misleading claims about any financial product or service, or any other type of product or service.

To see entire FTC Article goto http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/02/cag.shtm

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Mortgage Loan Compliance The Forensic Loan Audit Company

Proven Results That Work - Get The Facts, Audit Your Loan, Sue Your Lender and Protect Your Rights!

Call Today 1-866-966-6615 or Visit www.ml-compliance.com

McGraw-Hill and S&P Sued For Securitization Credit Ratings Fraud

In federal court yesterday the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) filed a complaint accusing McGraw-Hill and S&P of mail fraud, wire fraud and financial institutions fraud.  According to the complaint, S&P falsely represented to investors that its credit ratings were objective, independent and uninfluenced by any conflicts of interests.  Under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, the DOJ seeks civil penalties of as much as $1.1 million for each violation.

S&P issued credit ratings on more than $2.8 trillion worth of residential mortgage-backed securities and about $1.2 trillion worth of collateralized-debt obligations from September 2004 through October 2007, according to the complaint. S&P downplayed the risks on portions of the securities to gain more business from the investment banks that issued them, the U.S. said.

Most “Credit Rating” firms have faced criticism from U.S. lawmakers over how they granted top grades to securities that packaged home loans from the riskiest borrowers, leading to the Mortgage Crisis of 2007, that sent the economy into its longest recession since 1933 as defaults soared and U.S. home values plummeted.

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Mortgage Loan Compliance | The Forensic Loan Audit Company

Proven Results That Work - Get The Facts, Audit Your Loan, Sue Your Lender and Protect Your Rights!

Call Today 1-866-966-6615 or Visit www.ml-compliance.com

Has Access For All To Mortgage Credit Ever Been The “Right Track”?

The homeownership boom that began in the mid-1990s was remarkable for its depth and breadth, but these gains were not evenly shared. Even in the mid-1990s, there was growing concern about the significant gaps between the homeownership rates of racial/ethnic minorities and non- Hispanic whites. Census Bureau figures for 1995 indicated that the homeownership rate was only 42.9 percent among African-American households and 42.0 percent among Hispanic households, nearly 30 percentage points lower than that of non-Hispanic whites. The housing boom did little to change this disparity - the gap in homeownership rates between the minority households and non-Hispanic whites narrowed by about 7 percentage points as policymakers failed to confront the underlying structural factors-growing income inequality and the vestiges of discrimination- perpetuating the gap.


The Harvard Joint Center of Housing Studies recently released a study on the impact of the housing crisis on low-income and minority communities and what can be done to improve their access to mortgage credit going forward. The paper, Getting on the Right Track: Improving Low-Income and Minority Access to Mortgage Credit after the Housing Bust looks at some factors, particularly leading up to the crash, that are not normally brought forward in the seeming endless discussions of the topic, or at least not in quite the same way.


Expansion of homeownership opportunities has been viewed as an important step in reducing inequality in the distribution of income and wealth, but the study says what actually fueled the growth of lower-income and minority lending was a bank/non-bank dual mortgage delivery system. Low income and minority borrowers were targeted by different types of lenders and steered to a different mix of products than commonly found in higher-income markets; products that typically had higher interest rates and less favorable terms than the conventional prime loans available in the mainstream market.


These loans were highly profitable for both primary and secondary market participants, prompting a surge in private label asset-backed securities (PLS) which opened the door to mass securitization of nontraditional mortgage products. Particularly in the case of nonprime residential mortgages, the PLS market suffered from weaker lending standards and more limited counterparty controls and loans were sold to investors that, unless they had capital requirements, did not have to hold any particular level of funds to cover losses.


When house price appreciation slowed and mortgage defaults mounted the collapse of the PLS market triggered a mortgage market meltdown that rocked the world. The resulting constriction of mortgage credit and the mounting wave of foreclosures quickly eliminated the homeownership gains achieved earlier in the decade and bought widespread devastation to the many lower-income and minority communities where subprime lending had been concentrated.


Despite the view of homeownership as the American dream, its direct and indirect contribution to numerous positive outcomes and that it can enable a household to secure decent housing for a relatively low monthly payment, homeownership is not necessarily the best choice for all individuals and families at all times and many households fail to weigh the benefits and costs of ownership. For example, a basic tenet of financial management is that families should diversify their assets; homeownership does the exact opposite by concentrating assets into the purchase of a home while putting the homeowner into a highly leveraged position which could magnify the risk of price declines.


While the paper is a comprehensive account of the growth of the housing boom, and interweaves narratives of how seemingly unrelated actions on the part of all market participants were interwoven into what was finally a devastating collapse. The paper is long but worth attention.


Get The Facts Audit Your Loan and Protect Your Rights!

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Mortgage Loan Compliance | The Forensic Loan Audit Company

Proven Results That Work - Get The Facts, Audit Your Loan, Sue Your Lender and Protect Your Rights!

Call Today 1-866-966-6615 or Visit www.ml-compliance.com

BofA Pays $1 Billion, $8.5 Billion, $11.7 Billion, But No Wrong-Doing

A deal was struck yesterday to settle lending complaints, sell rights to service $300 billion of mortgages and repair relations between Regulators and Bank of America. The $11.7 billion agreement will hopefully resolve most disputes with Fannie Mae, even though BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank “largely addressed” the liabilities just two years ago. Bank of America sold the rights to service about 2 million mortgages, and with 9 other banks, will pay $8.5 billion to end reviews of foreclosure-abuse claims stemming from a 2011 deal with regulators.



In the settlement announced yesterday, Bank of America will make a $3.6 billion cash payment, spend $6.75 billion to buy back residential loans sold to Fannie Mae, and pay $1.3 billion in fees for taking too long to assist or foreclose on overdue borrowers, according to separate statements.



In a separate settlement, 10 of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers, including Bank of America, agreed to pay a combined $8.5 billion of foreclosure abuse claims from the 2011 deal with regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve said in a statement yesterday. BofA will account for about $2.9 billion of the settlement, according industry sources. About $1.1 billion of the expenses are in cash payments and $1.8 billion comes in the form of assistance for distressed homeowners.



These numbers may seem boring but this tells the “American Story” very well. All these monies are to fix “abuse” and “negligence” claims yet no wrong doing or jail time for anyone. I guess the best way for a homeowner to resolve their issues would be to follow suit. Audit your loan, then sue the lender! It seems to really work for Fannie, Freddie, the OCC, and the Fed.

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Mortgage Loan Compliance | The Forensic Loan Audit Company

Proven Results That Work - Get The Facts, Audit Your Loan, Sue Your Lender and Protect Your Rights!

Call Today 1-866-966-6615 or Visit www.ml-compliance.com