December 22, 2007

HousingPANIC Mystery Quote of the Day - guess who said it...

"The stuff I did is technically mortgage fraud, but it's not officially called that until someone prosecutes me and proves that that is indeed mortgage fraud"

- ????, June 2007

Meanwhile, want to know why mortgage fraud ran rampant (and likely still does)? Because nobody is out there prosecuting the perpetrators, including the world's most famous (or infamous) mortgage fraudster.

If everyone thinks they can get away with crime because laws are no longer enforced in the United States, all bets are off. Rape? Murder? Bank Robberies? Hey, why not, because under George Bush's corrupt Justice Department and keystone-cops FBI, the US is obviously no longer a nation of laws.

Just ask the Mystery Quote guy...

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Laws not enforced"
Except when it comes to 2 Border Guards from Texas.

Oh! You are referring to Casey..

blogger said...

Here's a good one - wanna bet no law enforcement is even looking at this corrupt realtor:

Realtor Caught in Cash-Back-at-Closing’s Crosshairs

http://tinyurl.com/2ostbn

According to Realtor Lori Polin, she was totally unaware that what she was involved with consisted of real estate and mortgage fraud.

If ignorance of the law was an appropriate defense, she could be off the hook. Unfortunately it’s not.

According to a recent story in the St. Petersburg Times titled, “Unsigned letter accuses agent of mortgage fraud,” Polin was allegedly involved in classic cash back at closing schemes.

Here’s how a cash-back at closing scheme works: The buyer pays more for a property than it’s worth, and the seller agrees to kick back the surplus cash to the buyer at the closing. On its surface, cash back at closing seems to benefit everyone involved. The buyer pockets some extra cash. The seller unloads his house at or near the asking price. The real estate agent gets a bigger commission. The loan officer chalks up another successful loan. And the lender stands to earn more interest over the life of the loan. Everybody wins.

Or so it seems.

Anonymous said...

"Casey Konstantin Serin (born September 10, 1982 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) was a real estate speculator and blogger" ... may he rot in hell

blogger said...

Anyone else get the feeling you could have stolen millions these past few years with cash back at close deals, with no chance of ever being prosecuted?

http://tinyurl.com/2dc3vx

Fraud Seen as a Driver
In Wave of Foreclosures


ATLANTA -- Skyrocketing foreclosures are a testament to how easy it was to borrow from mortgage lenders in recent years.

It may also have been easy to steal from them, to judge from a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that federal prosecutors unraveled here in Atlanta. The criminals obtained $6.8 million in mortgages from Bear Stearns Cos., including a $1.8 million mortgage to Calvin Wright, a New Yorker who told the investment bank that he and his wife earned more than $50,000 a month as the top officers of a marketing firm. Mr. Wright submitted statements showing assets of $3 million, a federal indictment alleged.

In fact, Mr. Wright was a phone technician earning only $105,000 a year, with assets of only $35,000, and his wife was a homemaker. The palm-tree-lined mansion they purchased with Bear Stearns's $1.8 million recently sold out of foreclosure for just $1.1 million. Bear Stearns, meanwhile, posted the first quarterly loss in its 84-year history as it wrote down $1.9 billion of mortgage assets yesterday. (See related article.)

Fraud goes a long way toward explaining why mortgage defaults and foreclosures are rocking financial institutions, Wall Street and the economy. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the share of its white-collar agents and analysts devoted to prosecuting mortgage fraud has risen to 28%, up from 7% in 2003. Suspicious Activity Reports, which many lenders are required to file with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network when they suspect fraud, shot up nearly 700% between 2000 and 2006.

Anonymous said...

Here’s how a cash-back at closing scheme works: The buyer pays more for a property than it’s worth, and the seller agrees to kick back the surplus cash to the buyer at the closing.

Fraud is when you lie about something on the mortgage paperwork. Paying 100K and getting 5K cash back to do repairs for a property that is appraised and listed for 100K is not fraud.

There are a lot of bunker mentality conspiracy theorist types posting here these days.

Anonymous said...

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
Honore de Balzac
French realist novelist (1799 - 1850)

True then true now be a criminal or get robbed.

Welcome to reality.

Me

2007

Anonymous said...

Here’s how a cash-back at closing scheme works: The buyer pays more for a property than it’s worth, and the seller agrees to kick back the surplus cash to the buyer at the closing.

"Fraud is when you lie about something on the mortgage paperwork. Paying 100K and getting 5K cash back to do repairs for a property that is appraised and listed for 100K is not fraud."

Sorry but if the property is appraised at 100K when it should be 95K, isn't the lie starting with the appraisal?

Anonymous said...

Keith, when you compare white collar crime to violent crime (i.e. rape, murder, robbery, etc...) you are truly comparing apples and oranges.

Violent crime will always be prosecuted. White collar crime is so hard to investigate and so hard to prosecute. Thus in the past few years people could commit financial fraud and get away with it and others what was happening and they decided to join the party.

Anonymous said...

casey

Anonymous said...

To Alex3191: wouldn't repatriation be a better choice? Tashkent is a wonderful place, with flats valued at $500/ea in 1990s and world's safest democracy across the southern border.

Anonymous said...

"The stuff I did is technically mortgage fraud, but it's not officially called that until someone prosecutes me and proves that that is indeed mortgage fraud"
--------------------------

Let me guess, that was Alan Greenspan?

Anonymous said...

Easy fix:

NO CASH BACK PERIOD!

BUYER 20 % Period!

All apps reviewed by a independent third party.

Lawyer signoff on every transaction

SARBOX laws for real estate

Anonymous said...

Any real HPer knows that's Casey!

Merry Christmas Keith!!

Anonymous said...

Martha Stewart?

Anonymous said...

The cretins at the FBI and district attorneys are more interested in making healines. Arresting people for mortgage fraud is not frontpage news. Nobody is going to quote you or give you a press conference for arresting Casey Serin or Jose the lettuce picker. The FBI's #1 job isn't enforcement of the law, it's to make headlines. A few years ago, they spent 3 years and $10 million in a case to arrest a bunch of 80 year-old guys with Italian name for playing cards at a neighborhood cafe. They claimed that they were Mafia. That's how you get the big headlines. The jury acquitted all of the defendents.

Anonymous said...

That is exactly how it works...and did in Portland Oregon. A LO and a Realtor owned 2 pieces of property together. They are listed for a price in MLS. A Mortgage Broker approaches them and presents them with the idea of raising the prices (which they did). He them (with a stolen identity and Appraisers #) produces fraudulent appraisalsand the three fraud the bank out of about 70K on one home and 90K on the other.

Unknown said...

Suzanne

Anonymous said...

All cashback deals are fraud unless the lender knows that they are lending more than the property is worth. If the cashback is not put into an escroll account for repairs, it can be used on a vacation or car, which does not improve the value of the property. Honesty was never part of the REIC, so I don't expect them to agree.

Maybe we can help the FBI. Go house shopping and ask for big cashback deals under the table. When the realtor and seller agree, call the FBI and have them set up a sting.

Anonymous said...

Well I guess this means I'm ok until someone digs up my back yard.

'Technical murder'

Frank R said...

That quote reminds me of what a certain former President once said:

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

Anyways, no need to jail them, their lives are already ruined. Save the prisons for violent criminals. If we had the jail space and money, it'd be one thing, but I don't want my taxes going up to pay the cost to house these scumbags.

Seriously, the typical realtor/mortgage dirtbag was living the high life with the big house, BMW, Rolex, cocaine, etc etc., and now it's all over and he has to live an a shitty apartment and drive an old Honda and work at McDonald's now. It's worse than prison for them.

Anonymous said...

I guess this is why real estate prices went to the moon.As all the crooks got money back it inflated the values for everyone so they could use the housing atm.I cannot believe all this shit you guys.What a scam.Now you are going to really see what homes are worth.

Caveat emptor hpers!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Why are lenders so stupid to hand out a loan for more than the house is worth on a cash back deal?
Easy, because they don't care. The loan gets securitized with a bunch of other questionable deals and sold off to some other bag holder.
Everybody wins except the bag holder. Problem these days seems to be that we ran out of bag holders....bummer. No bag holder, no deal.

Anonymous said...

Anyways, no need to jail them, their lives are already ruined. Save the prisons for violent criminals.

How about having them spend their weekends picking up the trash in the streets and parks?

Anonymous said...

Sold in summer 2006. Dropped our asking price by 60K and sold to "real" people. At the time, there were other sellers working with an investment group who turned out to be crooks (Stonewood). My agent warned me about them. She said it was "fishy" and didn't want to be involved even though it would have been an easier sale.
However, my neighbor did a deal with Stonewood. Classic case of cash back fraud. Renters moved in only to find out house was being foreclosed. They lived there rent free several months and must have trashed the place. It's now on the market for $200,000 less that what it sold for Oct. 2006.

Anonymous said...

The Dildocity of that guy.

Princess Mononoke said...

www.mortgagefraudblog.com

Anonymous said...

"Seriously, the typical realtor/mortgage dirtbag was living the high life with the big house, BMW, Rolex, cocaine, etc etc., and now it's all over and he has to live an a shitty apartment and drive an old Honda and work at McDonald's now."

Or in the case of the ex-lender superstar across the street: move back in with mom.

Anonymous said...

Note to the Justice Department, the FBI and the SEC:

May you rot in hell with festering boils.

Cow_tipping said...

BTW a thought just stuck me as I was listening to NPR and they had the George Bush sounding guy mention "owner ship society" on whatever comedy show is on evenings, dont remember these days. But, I am thinking OK homeownership went to 69% from 61 right ??? How did they calculate that ???
Did they say, ok There are this many houses and this many people so they must all be owners (or somehitng like that) Maybe this many listed as primary residences, and this many families, not people ...
Yea, how do they weed out the Casey Serins who own 12 houses as their primary residence, and still live rented in his sister in law's apartment ???
Yea, Thta is some feat though. Like my 10 motorcycles that dont run so I take the bus. OK OK Not that bad, like 3 that run out of 10, but every other month its a different 3.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

Anonymous said...

Mortgage fraudster Casey K. Serin

Anonymous said...

Problem these days seems to be that we ran out of bag holders....bummer. No bag holder, no deal.

Don't worry, Fannie, Freddie and FHLB are still buying the garbage with your tax dollars. Thank FDR for the corporate welfare.