U.S., Colorado Say Bella Homes — An MLM ‘Opportunity’ — Is A Foreclosure-Rescue Scam Whose ‘Mastermind’ Is A Convicted Felon Currently On Probation; Firm’s Business Operations Halted

“Foreclosure-rescue scams prey on distressed homeowners’ desire to save their homes and to find any means to help fix their dire financial situations. As is the case with most loan-modification and foreclosure-rescue operations, consumers who dealt with Bella Homes lost not only the thousands of dollars they paid for ‘help,’ but also their homes.” — […]
BULLETIN: Church Pastor (And Recidivist Felon) Charged In Alleged Mortgage-Fraud Caper; Michael Wilkerson Accused Of Recruiting Congregants To Dupe Bank In $6 Million Scheme

BULLETIN: A church pastor, his wife and two real-estate brokers have been charged in an elaborate mortgage-fraud caper in which congregants allegedly were recruited as “straw purchasers” in a scheme that led to a patch of foreclosures and cost Chase Manhattan Bank $3 million. Pastor Michael Wilkerson presided over New Life Millennium Life Restoration Fellowship […]
FBI: ‘Sovereign Citizen Domestic Extremists Throughout The United States’ Are Perpetrating Mortgage Fraud And ‘Debt Elimination Schemes’ And ‘Coaching’ Others To Do So

Is your purported debt coach or foreclosure-relief expert a “sovereign citizen” with an avowed contempt for the U.S. government and banking in general? Is he (or she) actually trying to recruit you into a criminal scheme that only will add to your stress? Is your last disposable dollar going into the pockets of a domestic […]
Judge Says Ponzi And HYIP Operator Who Swindled Mother Of Fallen U.S. Marine Deserves More Jail Time Than Specified In Plea Bargain, Sentences Juan Rangel To 22 Years; Rangel’s Son Wanted By FBI In Bribery Caper

EDITOR’S NOTE: Although this story largely focuses on the sentencing of Juan Rangel, his son — Harold Rangel — is wanted by the FBI in a bribery case and is believed to have helped his father pull off a massive HYIP and Ponzi scheme. Although federal prosecutors offered a plea bargain to Ponzi and HYIP […]
News, Notes And Updates: Jailed And Disbarred, Former Massachusetts Attorney Who Fleeced 95-Year-Old Client Arrested On New Charges

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post distills recent news and development on the fraud and Ponzi fronts. CHARGED: Six people — including a disbarred attorney already in prison — have been charged in Massacuusetts in an elaborate mortgage-fraud scheme. Bruce Namenson, the former lawyer, was charged with 18 counts of of larceny for arranging bogus loan closings, […]
Bowdoin’s New Lawyer Has Another Big Case; Feds Charge Florida Home-Builder Scott Fawcett In Multi-Agency Operation Dubbed ‘The Mortgage Fraud Surge’
Michael R.N. McDonnell is the attorney for a Florida man charged Tuesday with obtaining $388,000 in a mortgage-fraud scheme, according to the Naples Daily News. McDonnell, a lawyer for nearly 40 years, recently was retained to represent AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin in a civil-forfeiture case involving tens of millions of dollars seized from Bowdoin’s bank […]