Panel drops mortgage fraud casesThe Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force has decided to stop taking mortgage fraud cases in a move that may or may not dent the state's efforts to combat a widespread problem, depending on whom you talk to.
Either way, the decision speaks to the tough time law enforcement is having tackling a new breed of financial crime, one that has played a significant role in the nation's foreclosure crisis and doesn't fit neatly into traditional police beats. In fact, the U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis is holding a special meeting today to discuss just how federal and state laws can be used together to better tackle mortgage fraud.
"If the task force can't do it, then we need to reinvigorate this other task force to start coordinating cases," said John McCullough, executive director of the Retailers Protection Association, which includes lenders. McCullough also is a member of the council that oversees the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force.
The "other task force" McCullough referred to is a group of federal investigators in the Twin Cities including the FBI that have been working on mortgage fraud with prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As for the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, its 17-member oversight council in January instructed the group to shut the door on mortgage fraud, saying the cases were so time-consuming they threatened to overwhelm the group. Chris Omodt, a Hennepin County Sheriff's lieutenant who heads the task force, said he thinks crimes will go unchecked, but acknowledges it doesn't have the resources.
Many homeowners still trapped in Ameriquest loans Foreclosure possible even for those with fraudulent mortgage terms
In the fall of 2005, well before the mortgage meltdown hit, Roland Arnall was trying to become an ambassador.
President George W. Bush had nominated the founder of California-based Ameriquest Mortgage to head the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands. But some in the U.S. Senate questioned whether Arnall was the right choice.
With the pressure on, Arnall's company agreed early in 2006 to a $325 million settlement with the states. Within a few weeks, the Senate blessed Arnall's nomination, clearing the way for the self-made billionaire to pack his bags for the Netherlands.
The settlement was hailed as a significant victory for consumers. But as it turns out, it did very little to ease the huge financial hit experienced by thousands of Americans still trapped in Ameriquest loans.
The settlement offered Ameriquest homeowners a token payment.
For homeowners stuck with fraudulent Ameriquest mortgages, the government's settlement offered no revision of the terms of the loans.
Consumer advocates say that Ameriquest customers at risk of foreclosure have great difficulty winning modifications to their mortgages now, even though the Bush administration has encouraged lenders to make reasonable changes to keep families in their homes.
Same scenario, different day. When the robbery taking place is sooooo big and soooo complicated, let's shut it down.
Yet, there are discussions, Congressional hearings, panels, and talk of creating new laws to
save the system that robs and imprisons Americans, their children, and generations to come.
More than a year
before acknowledging the current meltdown, economists were predicting that U.S. citizens will be paying the debt created for the next 75 years. Now that everyone is looking into an economical abyss, no one can predict an end.