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Lawsuit Alleges that MERS Owes California a Potential $60-120 Billion in Unpaid Land-Recording Fees
Former hedge fund manager Shah Gilani notes:
In
creating MERS, these institutions actually changed the land-title
system that this country - for much of its history - has relied upon to
determine legal ownership status of land titleholders.Not only did the lenders sidestep (read that to mean avoid) paying billions of dollars in fees to local governments, they paid themselves from the fees that MERS collected.
MERS
is facing class-action lawsuits and civil racketeering suits around
the country and their members are being individually named in all these
suits. One suit alleges that MERS owes California a potential $60 billion to $120 billion in unpaid land-recording fees.If
suits against MERS and all its members are successful, unpaid
recording fees and fines (that can be as much as $10,000 per incident)
would make every one of them insolvent.
MERS is a shell company, with no employees. However, its parent does have employees.
As Bloomberg notes:
MERS Inc., which holds the liens, has no employees, and MERSCORP, the parent, has only about 50, [the MERS spokeswoman said].
Plaintiffs'
lawyers will undoubtedly argue that the "corporate veil should be
pierced". In other words, they'll argue that MERS hasn't followed
normal corporate formalities (or is inadequately capitalized), and so
the big banks which own it should have to pay any judgments against it.
I am not sure who will win that argument.
But Plaintiffs' lawyers will probably also name the banks themselves directly as co-defendants.
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Poor people don't always follow the rules because the rules are usually used against them and they know it. The power elite never follow the rules because they are the makers of those rules and they manipulate them to their advantage. That is how they stay powerful and rich. The Middle Class are the only ones who believe the lie that following the rules will get you somewhere good. They follow the rules as long as it is someone else (those lazy other folks) who is getting screwed by the rules. When a Middle Class person finally wakes up and realizes that those making the rules don't give a shit about them, they too stop following these rules. Then the system falls apart, because it is the Middle following the rules that keeps it going. Now with instant information all the time, it doesn't take people long to wake up to these facts. The cat is out of the bag now. The screwed Middle is quickly becoming the Pissed Middle and when they start moving watch out. When the Middle stops believing in the goodness of rule following, they will tear the power structure apart in their rage.
Well said and that is exactly where we're at. This is when history gets ugly
"Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?"
- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest,
EXACTLY!
I am one of those, and I am done with these assclowns.
Assets and allegiance moving elsewhere; hear me Washington and Wall Street?
I am one of millions.
Music to my ears!
So California needs a few billion to close the budget gap. See if this will work.
California issues the required billions to pay for local recording fees and balance the budget in bonds. The auction will not fail because the banks affected by this lawsuit agree to buy them up. California takes the bond procedes of let's say $120b and pays off the localities, using the remainder to balance the budget and even plus up some union contracts.
Next step, the Fed buys the bonds from the banks, putting what will certainly be junk on its balance sheet, keeping them off the banks. It doesn't seem to have any impact on the Fed's book.
Now the fed has monotized California's debt indirectly and no one is the wiser. The fed can then "unwind" these postions in about 200 years as they seem to be planning for the MBS garbage on their books. Repeat for all other states and the problem is solved.
Eveyones happy as the typical taxpayer has no clue who is really paying for this fraud.
Yeah, but the problem with the MBS the FED is holding is some of them are synthetics. The hybrid, CDO-squared, CDS/CDO exotic crap isn't going to be worth anything in 200 or infinity years.
Nice touch.
http://maxkeiser.com/2010/10/23/michael-hudson-debt-jubilee-and-debt-parasites/
All the young people I know who don't seem to know what to do have been busy going to law school for some time now. I kept wondering what all of them were going to do with their education. Now maybe we know.
The implications of the entire MBS debacle is that the better part of our financial system is defunct. I would bet that all measures will be taken by banks, regulators, media and others to make sure this doesn't happen. Despite best efforts, the odds are against it. it
s very simple. If the entire US mortgage market is fraudulent, why would anyone pay their mortgage? The market knows this, knows it won't happen. All you have to do is check credit prices. So if you want to bet against insurmountable odds, go for it. have fun.
Lawyers suing the banks over massive mortgage fraud. Lawyers suing the UK government over allegations of human rights violations in the Iraq conflict. Lawyers suing the American government over kidnapping, rendition, and torture. Goddamned lawyers. It's becoming a downright pain-in-the-ass to run a profitable criminal racket these days.
well i use to say the same thing about lawyers/attorneys (whats the diff?), but mine gave me a bit of good news over the weekend. my 8 count of fraud against sellers of property i bought and realtor want to know my damages done to me. so maybe this mortgage fraud crisis is scaring them. be nice i think these headlines really helped my case against a lot of entities and real people. im going for millions. how much in losing an 820 FICO worth do you think?
Good luck, Kathy. Do keep us posted.
Can't say how much your damages should be, but use it as a negotiating tactic.
It might also help to get a lawyer from a big city, rather than one from the local old boys network. Or, at least threaten to. :)
Don't think there will be any more loans, except from government to government, but if you can get Fair Amos (the old fool who invented fica scores) burned at the stake, I'll bring the marshmallows.
+Lawyers . . . let the shit hit the fan with vengence.
Can't stand lawyers, but maybe the sharks and rats will actually do society some good for once.
Probably not, likely we just need a lot of blood in the streets, but maybe they can put a wrench in the gears for the sake of the average person for a little while; even though most seek only their own gain.
I have to admit I am eager to see the whole house of lies fall.
They seem to be our final real hope short of . . . well, highly undesirable conditions. The FBI is clearly captured by the criminal bankster cartel. We're on our own at this point. Time to be real glad for a whole buncha crazy ruthless lawyers.
There is no more dangerous animal than a cornered government.
"In spite of the unceasing efforts made by men in power to conceal this and to ascribe a different meaning to power, power is the application of a rope, a chain by which a person will be bound and dragged along, or of a whip, with which he will be flogged, or of a knife, or an ax with which they will cut off his hands, feet, ears, head—an application of these means or the threat they will be used. Thus it was in the time of Nero and of Ghenghis Khan and thus it is even now, in the most liberal of governments."
-- Leo Tolstoy
interesting reference. source of inspiration for gandhi and m.l. king. now or soon would, imo, be an excellent time for some non-violent resistance to the governing cabal. their moral position is so compromised even the msm is starting to say so.
Thanks. Sometimes I think it would be better if politicians just walked around carrying a severed head by the hair. It would be more honest.
Kind of like this:
http://www.metalkult.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/gates_of_conqueror.jpg
Now that's a campaign poster.
Wait, wasn't that Hillary Clinton's?
This one could likewise be worth billions, all the banks listed as co-defendants.
http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2010/05/10/qui-tam-tennessee-vs-mers-mor...
This puts the 50 state Attorney Generals in a great position to rip the banking industry a new asshole.
The banks and corporations took over the country and thought they could just mine it and all the people of all their money. But this country started as 13 states and I think they want to stay in business even more than the Republicans want to keep the corporations in control. When push comes to shove the states will have the law on their side. If a few big corps have to die to keep the states alive, guess who wins. Also the sharks have killed off all the small fish (middle class) and now have started fighting among themselves (Pinco, etc. vs GS and JPM). They are ready to tear one another apart for the last shred of profit before the ship goes down.
Wall Street didn't "think" it "did." Governments "think." they have "think tanks" even. Now yank this looney toon stuff "George Washington." We are talking "the guy who singlehandedly pushed the entire booze business to Kentucky" thus forcing "Pennsylvaniators" to live morally uptight lives. Talk about a tragedy of Orwellian proportions. Almost as bad as "the town fathers who told the brothers who founded General Motors they didn't want their business stinkin' up the City of Utica." Ooooo. Well, ALRIGHTY then. At least Detroit HAD a football team. Utica USED to have a baseball team. Then "they even lost their hockey team." Obviously "the high school itself cannot be far behind" though "the ones near the Army base are doing fine." 15 straight years of "killing the unit" will do that. Now what was that you said? Somebody owes somebody something? Well...imagine explaining that to George Washington himself for a moment....
?
Laws will be ignored or changed.
This is going to make it mighty interesting for the bastards at MERS and the banks to explain who actually owns the property. Conceivably every mortgage that was securitized would be subject to multiple recording and transfer fees. We'll see what the states attorney's general have to say.
Follow the paper, and only the paper.
It also goes back to the principal in Real Estate called the Statutes of Fraud. Which requires any interest in Real Estate be in writing. I believe that the transfeer of these Mortgages or Mortgage Assets without them being in writing are invalid.
... the Statutes of Fraud ... requires any interest in Real Estate be in writing.
If true, then the last written document will be controlling in each transaction. Monies paid would be owed to the entity specified in that written document. It will be interesting to see how many, if any, of those entities sue to recover the monies "due" to them by virtue of the written document.
the real estate professional on the wHOLE has his/her head up their ass. they have no idea about the statues of fraud. they just call it a mistake and take out the best tool available to them, an eraser.
anyway this is the best headliner i have read in a while on this crisis. you know cali can do it, and the terminator can discharge some of it's IOU's if and when these fees are collector by the counties defrauded.
mortgage fraud, how dare me speak of this 3 years ago. you would of thought i was calling the mortgage industry criminals or something. you be careful of being sued for slander implying these jokesters were intentionally cheating every one that got in their way. oh, Chase made the executive decision oh a year or so ago, stop using mortgage brokedick's.
quite astute Chase Home Finance, you knew they would put a wrench in your title fraud potential.
?
? double doo to you too. you just don't understand things, master george. oh shit.
The lack of recording the Mortgage Transfer is a Huge problem. Just think about how many times the investments in the CDO's have been transferred. If the Note was even ever given to them.
My question would be where were all the damn County Clerks?
Watching porn forwarded by the SEC?
Since the county clerks weren't looking over the bankster's shoulders everywhere, how could they know just what was being done behind their collective backs?
Property taxes! That's how. Property is assessed based on last sales price.
How does the Assessor do his job without coordination with the Clerks?
There is a major disconnect here and I'd expect to see some local heads roll.
So the canibalising has started between insolvent government(state and local) insolven banks and insurers, and last but not least insolvent population, bring out the popcorn
As Grandad Lec liked to say "Don't that beat the bugs a fightin'?"
My Grand Dad always asked me how tall I was. When I answered, he'd say "didn't know they could stack it that high."
That'a good one.
My Grandad used to always say, "Son, that's a hell of a lot of shit to eat just to get a few measly peanuts."
That one allways stuck with me.
On the same topic, "Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you got, the less shit you got to eat."
Not in banksta's paradise, it ain't.
The more bread they get, the more shit it hides. And someone will have to eat it eventually. The question is: how much bread will be left by then?
That describes my accounting career.
When I made a good shot on a pheasant or quail, Dad would laugh, scratch his head, and say "even an old blind sow finds an acorn in the woods now and then." Enjoyed it so much I raised my own youngin's the same damn way;)
Here it comes agains the banker criminals and MERS. You have to follow the law.
I do not see how this does not destroy the current financial cabal. What are they gonna do with the rest of the people that did not pay fees then? There is that little problem with "Due Process of the law" and "equal protection under the law".
Just love this. MI can't wait to see the clawbacks when they start. My bet is that MERS will fold and start screwing the banks to keep it's own ass out of hot water.
"Due Process of the law"?
You mean: Duel Process of the law.
Bankers win again!
Once you understand what TBTF really means it all becomes very clear... WFD!
i think this will go beyond dueling. there may be drive-bys.
Just from a technical legal viewpoint -- supposing MERS served as an end-run around recording and paying the $10 to $15 to the local recorder every time a mortgage or d/o/t moved up the food chain.Does that give rise to a "debt" to the local recorder? Or does the noncompliance with recording laws mean that the security interest was not perfected, is not in compliance with the statute of frauds, may have blown the "first in time, first in right" priority, etc? It's a Hobson's choice either way for the banks. No matter which solution they choose, they wind up in some kind of legal hot water (IRS-Remic law, e.g.). This is sure fun, to watch them writhe in misery because of their own cupidity.