Chain of Title (51 page)

260
The judge gave her two and a half years in prison:
Martha Neil, “Lawyer Who Fought Foreclosure Fraud Takes Federal Plea in Straw-Buyer Money-Laundering Conspiracy,”
American Bar Association Journal
, October 12, 2011; Kimberly Miller, “‘God-Fearing' Former Lawyer Will Serve 2½ Years in Prison for Versailles Mortgage Scam,”
Palm Beach Post
, November 19, 2011.

260
Attorney general Pam Bondi settled:
Michael Redman, “Marshall C. Watson | Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Settles Investigation Against One of Florida's Largest Foreclosure Firms,”
4closurefraud.org
, March 25, 2011.

260
fifty-state settlement without monetary penalties:
Kimberly Miller, “Bondi Voices Concern over Home Loan Reductions,”
Palm Beach Post
, March 23, 2011.

260
“triggering a nationwide review”:
Kimberly Miller, “Florida Fraud Report Key to New York Foreclosure Case,”
Palm Beach Post
, July 16, 2011.

261
“It came from the top. Tallahassee didn't give me a reason”:
Stefan Kamph, “June Clarkson and Theresa Edwards Were Fired After Revealing Widespread Foreclosure Fraud,”
Broward/Palm Beach New Times
, June 21, 2012.

261
Joe Jacquot . . . Mary Leontakianakos:
Ibid.

261
But she landed with foreclosure mill Shapiro and Fishman:
Michael Redman, “Erin Collins Cullaro | Fired Assistant Attorney General to Pam Bondi Joins ‘Foreclosure Mill' Shapiro and Fishman,” May 27, 2011,
4closurefraud.org
.

261
Then her spokesperson issued a statement:
Kathleen Haughney, “Florida Attorney General, Two Fired Lawyers in Public Dispute,” Orlando
Sun-Sentinel
, July 21, 2011.

261
As Clarkson and Edwards found out:
Letter from Andrew Spark, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa Economic Crimes, August 8, 2011, available at
www.tampabay.com/specials/2011/PDFs/bondi081811/sparkletter.pdf
.

261
Lisa requested a formal review:
Michael Redman, “Dissecting the Pam Bondi/Jeff Atwater Inspector General Report re June Clarkson, Theresa Edwards and Lisa Epstein,”
4closurefraud.org
, January 9, 2012,
http://4closurefraud.org/2012/01/09/dissecting-the-pam-bondi-jeff-atwater-inspector-general-report-re-june-clarkson-theresa-edwards-and-lisa-epstein/

261
Public interest group Progress Florida echoed that demand:
David Dayen, “Update on the Investigators Fired by Florida's AG for Pursuing Foreclosure Fraud,” FDL News, July 28, 2011,
http://shadowproof.com/2011/07/28/update-on-the-investigators-fired-by-floridas-ag-for-pursuing-foreclosure-fraud
.

262
including on Citizen Warriors Radio:
Michael Redman, “Citizen Warriors Exclusive Part Deux | Former Bondi Assistant Attorneys General & Foreclosure Fraud Investigators June Clarkson & Theresa Edwards Live on WDJA 1420AM Saturday from 8–10 am EDT,”
4closurefraud.org
, August 5, 2011.

262
Bondi agreed to have the inspector general:
Catherine Whittenburg, “Bondi Wants Probe on Firings,”
Tampa Tribune
, August 3, 2011.

262
It was a petty tactic to harass the family into silence:
Zach Carter, “Deutsche Bank Sues Foreclosure Fraud Expert's Son with No Financial Interest in Her Case,”
Huffington Post
, May 13, 2011.

262
the IRS acknowledging an “active review” of REMIC practices:
Scot Paltrow, “Exclusive: IRS Weighs Tax Penalties on Mortgage Securities,” Reuters, April 27, 2011.

262
When Yves broached REMICs:
Yves Smith, “IRS Likely to Expand Mortgage Industry Coverup by Whitewashing REMIC Violations,”
Naked Capitalism
, April 28, 2011.

262
“backdoor bailout of the financial system”:
Paltrow, “Exclusive: IRS Weighs Tax Penalties.”

20. The Final Whitewash

264
“Boy, I wish I could've done that”:
“Ocwen—Delivery of Modification Package and Petition by Bermuda Triangle Recovery Services,” posted by Michael Redman, October 19, 2011,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZviWlPbcOE
.

264
Dixie did get a modification:
Michael Redman, “Victory | National Campaign Pressures Ocwen Financial to Modify Dixie Mitchell's Loan,”
4closurefraud.org
, October 24, 2011.

265
born from a suggestion in the Canadian magazine
Adbusters
:
“#OCCUPYWALLSTREET,”
Adbusters
, July 13, 2011.

265
“We have no leverage”:
“AG Eric Schneiderman Opposes Foreclosure Deal,” Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle
, June 28, 2011.

266
the beating heart of securitization FAIL:
Gretchen Morgenson, “Two States Ask if Paperwork in Mortgage Bundling Was Complete,”
New York Times
, June 12, 2011.

266
“Please everyone, we must support this man”:
Michael Redman, “Dismissal of NY Attorney General Schneiderman Shows Obama Administration and Iowa AG Miller Poised to Let Big Banks off the Hook for Mortgage Fraud,”
4closurefraud.org
, August 25, 2011.

266
“actively worked to undermine”:
Brady Dennis, “N.Y. Bumped from 50-State Foreclosure Committee,”
Washington Post
, August 23, 2011.

266
“Wall Street is our Main Street”:
Gretchen Morgenson, “Attorney General of N.Y. Is Said to Face Pressure on Bank Foreclosure Deal,”
New York Times
, August 21, 2011.

266
hosting tea-and-cookies settlement talks:
Dina ElBoghdady, “Shaun Donovan on Confronting Hurricanes, Homelessness and Big Banks,”
Washington Post
, June 11, 2014.

266
everyone would benefit from a speedy resolution:
Morgenson, “Attorney General of N.Y. Is Said to Face Pressure.”

266
all had active foreclosure investigations in their states:
David McLaughlin, “Foreclosure-Deal Releases Draw State Resistance Amid Probes,”
Bloomberg Business
, July 26, 2011; David McLaughlin, “Nevada Joins States Balking at Releases in Foreclosure Practices Deal,”
Bloomberg Business
, August 16, 2011.

266
“that has not been investigated”:
David Dayen, “Minnesota AG Swanson Backs Schneiderman: No Settlement with the Banks Without Investigation,” FDL News, September 13, 2011,
http://shadowproof.com/2011/09/13/minnesota-ag-swanson-backs-schneiderman-no-settlement-with-the-banks-without-investigation
.

266
“immunity against the banks”:
David Dayen, “Kentucky AG Conway Joins Growing Coalition Backing Schneiderman on Foreclosure Fraud,” FDL News, September 22, 2011,
http://shadowproof.com/2011/09/22/kentucky-ag-conway-joins-growing-coalition-backing-schneiderman-on-foreclosure-fraud
.

267
Californians for a Fair Settlement:
Alejandro Lazo, “Kamala Harris Pressured to Reject Bank Foreclosure Settlement,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 30, 2011.

267
“inadequate for California homeowners”:
David Dayen, “California AG Kamala Harris Rejects Foreclosure Fraud Settlement,” FDL News, September 30, 2011,
http://shadowproof.com/2011/09/30/california-ag-kamala-harris-rejects-foreclosure-fraud-settlement
.

267
JPMorgan Chase's headquarters has a moat:
Betsy Dillner, “Storming the JP-Morgan Chase Castle,” Alliance for a Just Society, May 20, 2011,
http://allianceforajustsociety.org/2011/05/storming-the-jp-morgan-chase-castle
.

267
make it painful for banks to toss people into the street:
Mike Konczal, “The Sword and the Shield: Occupy Foreclosures,”
Rortybomb
, October 19, 2011,
https://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/the-sword-and-the-shield-occupy-foreclosures
.

267
a tactic they called a “live-in”:
Michael Redman, “Take Back the Land | Rochester Liberates Home, Moves Lennon Back into House,”
4closurefraud.org
, May 10, 2011.

268
Occupiers mobilized to defend those homes:
Zaid Jilani, “Movers and Sheriff's Deputies Refuse Bank's Order to Evict 103-Year-Old Atlanta Woman,”
ThinkProgress
, November 30, 2011; Zaid Jilani, “Occupy Cleveland Saves Woman's Home from Imminent Foreclosure,”
ThinkProgress
, November 15, 2011; Micah Uetricht, “Occupy Minneapolis Occupies Second Foreclosed Home as Housing Occupations Spread,”
ThinkProgress
, November 22, 2011; Kari Huus, “Homeowner Taps ‘Occupy' Protest to Avoid Foreclosure,”
MSNBC.com
, October 17, 2011.

268
“This is a shift from protesting Wall Street”:
Justin Elliott, “Occupy's Next Frontier: Foreclosed Homes,”
Salon
, November 30, 2011.

268
Lisa organized two events:
Lisa Epstein, “December 6th National Day of Action Against Foreclosures—Occupy Our Homes,” Foreclosure Hamlet, December 5, 2011.

268
In the evening, protesters lit candles:
Lisa Epstein, “Video—Occupy Our Homes National Day of Action Dec 6, 2011—Palm Beach County Fraudclosure Candlelight Vigil,”
Foreclosure Hamlet
, December 7, 2011.

268
Other Occupy Our Homes groups were more aggressive:
Occupy Our Homes, “National Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures,” December 6, 2011,
www.occupyourhomes.org/blog/2011/dec/6/national-day-action-stop-and-reverse-foreclosures
; Alain Sherter, “Occupy Wall Street, Homeowners Ally to Fight Foreclosures,” CBS News, October 25, 2011; Zaid Jilani, “Occupy Atlanta Encamps in Neighborhood to Save Police Officer's Home from Foreclosure,”
ThinkProgress
, November 8, 2011.

268
Rose Gudiel:
Huus, “Homeowner Taps ‘Occupy' Protest.”

268
Beth Sommerer:
Jilani, “Occupy Cleveland Saves Woman's Home.”

268
Vita Lee:
Jilani, “Movers and Sheriff's Deputies Refuse Bank's Order.”

268
Bobby Hull:
Steve Frank, “Former Marine's Home Saved from Foreclosure,”
MSNBC.com
, February 27, 2012.

269
Rose Parade float:
David Dayen, “Occupy the Rose Parade: Working Through the Next Stage of the Occupy Movement,” FDL News, January 1, 2012,
http://shadowproof.com/2012/01/01/occupy-the-rose-parade-working-through-the-next-stage-of-the-occupy-movement
.

269
Nevada, where three out of every five homeowners:
Samuel Weigley and Michael Sauter, “States with the Most Homes Underwater,” NBC News, July 26, 2012.

270
he recognized the depth of the problem:
J. Patrick Collican, “Housing Scam Artists Staying on the Move,”
Las Vegas Sun
, September 25, 2009.

270
“Bank of America misrepresented”:
Never should have represented they could
: State of Nevada's Second Amended Complaint,
State of Nevada v. Bank of America Corporation et al
., United States District Court, District of Nevada, Case No. 3:11cv-00135-RCJ (RAM), filed August 30, 2011, available at
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/SecondAmendedComplaint.pdf
.

271
employees from the Vegas LPS office, including Tracy Lawrence:
Tracy Lawrence's story taken from grand jury testimony,
State of Nevada v. Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard
, Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada, Case No. 11AG3037AB, taken November 8–9, 2011, available at
www.scribd.com/doc/75153635/Transcript-Day-1
,
www.scribd.com/doc/75153619/Transcript-Day-2
.

271
“Regarding the signature of my name”:
Ibid., day 1 transcript, 151.

271
Trafford replied affirmatively:
Ibid., day 1 transcript, 153.

272
“I didn't really think about it”:
Ibid., day 1 transcript, 166.

272
606 counts of signing documents:
Indictment,
State of Nevada v. Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard
, Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada, November 16, 2011, available at
www.scribd.com/doc/72962780/Indictment
.

272
“the signing procedures on some of these documents were flawed”:
“LPS Responds to Nevada Attorney General Announcement,” press release, PRNewswire, November 17, 2011.

272
When police reached Tracy's apartment, they found her dead:
“Foreclosure Fraud Whistleblower Found Dead,”
MSNBC.com
, November 29, 2011; Mark Ames, “Tracy Lawrence: The Foreclosure Suicide America Forgot,” The eXiled, August 23, 2012,
http://exiledonline.com/tracy-lawrence-the-foreclosure-suicide-america-forgot
.

273
they had other notaries from the Vegas office:
Ken Ritterthe, “Three More Nevada Notaries Charged in Foreclosure Fraud Case,” Associated Press, December 5, 2011.

273
suing LPS for document fraud:
David Dayen, “Nevada AG Masto Sues LPS for Document Fraud,” FDL News, December 16, 2011,
http://shadowproof.com/2011/12/16/nevada-ag-masto-sues-lps-for-document-fraud
.

273
“Sharon Bullington may lose her home”:
Mark Puente, “Pasco Couple Fear Losing Home to Foreclosure for Paying Mortgage Too Early,”
Tampa Bay Times
, August 19, 2011.

274
“Love, Your Broken Home”:
Tim Miller, “Love, Your Broken Home,” live studio recording uploaded by Tim Miller on May 14, 2010,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm_W445bidA
.