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Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been convicted of one count of mortgage fraud, after testifying that she unintentionally made false statements on loan applications to buy two Florida vacation homes. The Associated Press reported that the split verdict was announced Tuesday evening after jury members deliberated for most of the day, finding Mosby not guilty on a second mortgage fraud charge. In November, Mosby was convicted of two counts of perjury by a federal jury after she falsely claimed financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to withdraw money from the city’s retirement fund. She has...

The chants cut through the warm, humid air like an approaching cold front, prompting drivers to crane their necks and pedestrians to stop in their tracks on the sidewalk outside the U.S. Post Office on Liberty Street. "No justice, no peace, no more people in the streets." "What do we do when banks attack? Stand up, fight back." The protesters' numbers were few – less than 20 – but the collective voice of Springfield No One Leaves was mighty as the group took aim at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered government-sponsored mortgage enterprises bailed out by taxpayers, and...

Two former Florida prosecutors are accusing the state Attorney General of firing them for going after mortgage lenders too aggressively.The Sun Sentinel reported that Theresa Edwards and June Clarkson were abruptly fired by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at the end of May and say the attention they were focusing on combating mortgage fraud was the reason. "Obviously we did our job too well," Edwards told the Sentinel. "We were making too much noise." Bondi's chief of staff Carlos Muniz released a long statement to the newspaper which said that Edwards and Clarkson were let go because of problems related...

WASHINGTON -- Officials in 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage c

What could go wrong? From the Washington Independent: “Buy new with $1,000 down,” the advertisement says, the words resting atop a trim green clapboard house offset by a bright blue sky. “The time has come. Stop wasting rent check after rent check and start building equity in your own home. And with only $1,000 down, affordable monthly payments and no private mortgage insurance required, the dream is closer than you think.” It sounds too good to be true. But it is true. This offer does not come from a subprime lender, looking to reel in thousands of unqualified and ill-advised...

Obama in his three complete years in the Senate was the second largest recipient of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae campaign contributions, behind only Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the powerful chairman of the Senate banking committee.

A friend of mine has received information from a company called The Loan Modification Team, which is offering to modify his mortgage at a lower monthly payment, with a fixed interest rate. He currently has an ARM, which is, in my opinion, a dangerous position to be in at this point in time. Do any FReepers have info on this company specifically, or this practice in general, to offer, as he attempts to make a good decision? His current monthly payment is pushing his budget to the limit, and he is NOT behind in his payments, so there is no...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - There is a link between the high foreclosure rates in some states and the rash of arson incidents involving foreclosed homes, officials say. According to fire safety officials in Nevada, Massachusetts and Ohio, the seven-decade rise in the number of mortgage defaults is connected to the spate of blazes which destroyed the empty homes. In 2006, when the median price of a U.S. home peaked to $221,900 based on data from the National Association of Realtors, 31,000 arson cases were recorded the same year by the U.S. Fire Administration. In Ohio, fires that razed vacant units...

A year ago Irvine, Calif., was still riding high on the subprime boom; then almost overnight the industry and more than 4,000 good paying jobs vanished.___ IRVINE, Calif. (CNNMoney.com) -- The subprime mortgage meltdown has shaken the entire U.S. economy. But nowhere might the impact be as stark as Irvine, California, a planned community nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego. A year ago at this time, Irvine was home to 18 subprime lenders, including many of the leaders in the field, such as New Century Financial and Option One. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye,...

PHILADELPHIA - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton called on President Bush on Monday to appoint "an emergency working group on foreclosures" to recommend new ways to confront the nation's housing finance troubles. The New York senator said the panel should be led by financial experts such as Robert Rubin, who was treasury secretary in her husband's administration, and former Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker. Such a panel would recommend legislation and other steps to "help re-establish confidence in our economy," Clinton said in prepared remarks for a speech on the economy in Philadelphia. She and Sen. Barack Obama...

Baltimore’s mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased its costs. The recent surge in homeowner defaults nationwide, generated by lax lending practices during the real estate boom, has officials bracing for a range of problems that often accompany foreclosures. Some municipalities, including Cleveland and Buffalo, are trying to make lenders responsible for abandoned properties to ward off crimes like arson, drug use and prostitution. But the civil suit that officials in Baltimore are filing...

Mortgage Rate Freeze Reached Thursday December 6, 2:31 pm ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Deal Reached With Mortgage Industry for 5-Year Rate Freeze WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of thousands of strapped homeowners could get some relief from a plan negotiated by the Bush administration to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages that are scheduled to rise in the coming months. "There is no perfect solution," President Bush said Thursday as he announced an agreement hammered out with the mortgage industry. "The homeowners deserve our help. The steps I've outlined today are a sensible response to a serious challenge."

Federal Reserve policymakers begin a two-meeting today amid new worries that the central bank may not cut interest rates after all. An article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal said an interest rate cut this week is no sure thing and officials are not seriously considering a half-point reduction in overnight rates. J. Scott Applewhite / AP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The article by Greg Ip, the Journal's Fed watcher who is known for sometimes reflecting the views of senior central bankers, said policymakers view this week's decision as a choice between a quarter-point cut to 4.5 percent and not moving at all. Investors...

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday approved a plan to expand federal backing of mortgages in hopes of helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The bill, which passed the House, 348-72, would allow the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for low- and middle-income borrowers, to back refinanced loans for tens of thousands of borrowers who are delinquent on payments because their mortgages are resetting to sharply higher rates from low initial "teaser" levels. The measure, which exceeds limits favored by the Bush administration, is Congress' first stand-alone bill in response to the mortgage-market tumult of the summer, which came amid...

A historic decline in home values comes down to this: Even if you never signed papers on a risky loan during the real estate frenzy, you may now be paying a price. In recent decades, it has been uncommon for US home prices to fall much, even during recessions. One government measure has never shown a year-over-year decline in its three-decade history. But the current economy is far from normal – with the housing market in a period of persistent decline at a time when many other economic indicators are positive. By one index released this week, home prices are...

The last time Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke at the annual bankers conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., everyone hoped he'd keep his mouth shut about interest rates. This time, it's the only thing people want to hear him talk about. Bernanke speaks tomorrow at the annual gathering in what is arguably his most important speech since taking over for Alan Greenspan in February 2006. It will be the Fed chairman's first public comments since the credit and debt markets started to go haywire in late July. What's he going to say? The Fed never comments on the topic ahead...

OCTOBER 2, 2006 NEWS & INSIGHTS Bad Blood Over Bad Loans Mortgage defaults are rising. Wall Street thinks banks should mop up the mess Everyone involved in the mortgage business got rich during the housing boom, including Wall Street. The biggest firms bought all the loans they could get their hands on, repackaged them, and sold them for a fee to hedge funds and other investors. Mortgage-backed securities issuance soared from $184.5 billion in 2000 to nearly $1 trillion in 2005, generating more than $1 billion in fees last year. But now that the real estate tide is ebbing, trash...

Foreclosures May Jump As ARMs Reset By J.W. ELPHINSTONE NEW YORK - In 2003, Anita Britten refinanced her two-story brick cottage in Lithonia, Ga. using a hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM. Her lender reassured her that she could refinance out of the riskier loan into a traditional one when her interest rate started to reset. Three years later, Britten can't get a new mortgage and her monthly payment has jumped by a third in six months. She can't afford her payments and may face foreclosure if her financial situation doesn't change. As more ARMs adjust upward and housing prices...

It's the American dream -- buying a home for your family. And now you don't have to be in the country legally to own one. Wells Fargo is first major California lender to offer home loans to illegal immigrants, 10News reported. "We're not required to ask the immigration status of any of our customers. That is the responsibility of the federal government," Wells Fargo bank representative Jerry Ruiz said. The program is called "Celebrate Home" and Wells Fargo says it complies with all federal regulations, 10News reported. Applicants do need a tax identification number issued by the Internal Revenue Service...

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