Presented by Ricardo & Wasylik, PL

Florida arrests foreclosure rescue scammers who set up fake law firms

by Mike on September 25, 2016

The State of Florida announced this month that it has shut down a web of fake law firms operated by a gang of foreclosure rescue scammers who pretended to be lawyers, and in the process, stole up to millions of dollars from unsuspecting homeowners.

To learn more about the scam and how to protect yourself, check out the article by Ricardo & Wasylik.

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Want to know more? Contact us at Ricardo & Wasylik, PL.

Your debt forgiven? Fifteen million dollars of debt forgiven by John Oliver.

June 22, 2016

It may be the largest one-time giveaway by a TV host ever… but this time, with a heart. John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, uncovered how easy it is for virtually anyone to buy zombie debt—debt that’s so old you can no longer be sued for it—for pennies on the dollar and try to collect it […]

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Florida Police and Firefighters Pension Sues Nationstar for Securities Fraud

June 7, 2015
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A Florida pension fund for firefighters and police has sued Nationstar Mortgage for securities fraud, alleging that Nationstar executives concealed a variety of unsavory dealings from its potential investors. The complaint alleges: [U]nbeknownst to investors… defendants knew or recklessly disregarded that: (a) Nationstar’s deficiencies in management control and supervision rendered it unable to comply with […]

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U.S. v. Bartram: Appellate court guts five-year limitations law (briefs available)

May 1, 2014

Imagine a bank that can lose a foreclosure suit, file it again, lose it again, file it again, and so on—with virtually no limits whatsoever as to the number of times they can file or the time they have to accomplish it. In a surprising ruling, the Fifth District Court of Appeal effectively stripped away […]

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How to Fabricate Evidence: Wells Fargo’s Foreclosure Manual Confirms the Worst

March 15, 2014
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If there was any doubt in your mind that banks have been forging evidence, put it to rest. According to the New York Post, an internal Wells Fargo manual has now leaked confirming the exact procedures Wells and its attorneys use to fabricate evidence in foreclosure cases—down to the computer codes they use to order […]

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David Stern Disbarred, Recommends Florida Bar Referee

October 28, 2013
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The case of Florida Bar v. David J. Stern just reached its next-to-last step, as the judge presiding over the hearing recommended disbarment. The report is scathing. Read it for yourself: Florida Bar v. David J. Stern: Report of Referee [PDF]

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Can You Cancel Your Mortgage Based on Forged Signatures?

October 9, 2013
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You’ve got a forged signature in your mortgage documents. You’ve got them dead to rights—there’s no doubt it’s a fake. You’re excited, because you think you might have a free house. So, can you cancel your mortgage? The answer may surprise you. Who Else Wants a Free House? A lot of homeowners call us, having […]

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The Florida Bar v. David J Stern: No Harm, No Foul?

October 1, 2013
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Although many people have heard of the Florida foreclosure kingpin David J. Stern, not many of those people get to see him in person.  And I, who have litigated hundreds of cases against his law firm, never saw the man before today, when I testified in the trial of the numerous bar complaints against Stern. […]

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The Mandate from Tallahassee: Ease Up on Banks or Crack the Whip?

September 27, 2013
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The Angry Judge and the Mandate from Tallahassee We had settled the case, and the judge was furious. She stood up from her seat, looming over us from the bench, and yelled at the at me and the bank’s lawyer. We had dared to agree to postpone the foreclosure sale date so the bank would […]

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Is Smith, Hiatt, and Diaz (SHD Legal) about to go under?

June 6, 2013
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The law firm of Smith, Hiatt and Diaz has been in trouble before, but since January of this year there have been several warning signs that the firm may be in fatal trouble. I thought it was strange when, in January, the firm failed to show up for two hearings in a single week—one of […]

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The biggest mistake you can make in fighting your foreclosure: hiring the WRONG lawyer

May 17, 2013

Don’t hire the WRONG foreclosure defense lawyers Sometimes having the wrong lawyer is worse than having no lawyer at all. Here’s a redacted paragraph out of a recent decision by Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal about the shoddy work of one defense law firm: The quality of the legal work performed by [defense] attorneys […]

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David J. Stern: Florida Bar files 17-count complaint

April 18, 2013

Almost everyone knows that the Law Office of Davis J. Stern has been out of operation for more than two years now,even though the legal entity still exists (mainly for the purpose of suing its former clients for fees). But Stern himself looks like he’s about to lose his license. On April 17, the Florida […]

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Big Four Banks Apologize for Wreaking Economic Havoc and Promise to “Make it right.”

April 1, 2013
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NEW YORK, April 1—The leaders of the nation’s largest banks held a press conference today to apologize to the nation for the disastrous impact their greed and short-sightedness has had on the U.S. economy since the turn of the century. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and JP Morgan Chase all vowed that they would […]

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Only 15% of national mortgage fraud settlement benefits Florida homeowners

February 23, 2013

Remember when the feds and the Attorneys General of the various states announced the settlement of claims arising from the robo-signing scandal? Remember how they promised that $26 billion dollars would go to help victim of foreclosure fraud? Will you be surprised to learn it didn’t exactly happen that way? Me neither. A new report […]

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Pinellas Residents:
Contact Florida Senator Jack Latvala to OPPOSE foreclosure fast-track legislation

February 11, 2013
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No Senator has yet introduced a companion bill to HB 87—but rumor has it Sen. Jack Latvala will be instrumental in one when it gets drafted. Here’s the Senator’s information: latvala.jack.web@flsenate.gov Tallahassee Office: 408 Senate Office Building 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 (850) 487-5020 Please contact Set. Latvala today Our sources tell us […]

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Florida’s foreclosure fast-track bill may expose state to billions of dollars in liability under Bert Harris Act

February 11, 2013

The Florida legislature is once again considering a bill to fast-track foreclosure cases in the judicial system—even though no one wants to use the expedited procedure that already exists—and one of the most dangerous provisions the bill contains is the so-called “Finality of judgment” section. The finality provision This finality provision is backed by well-funded […]

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VOTE NO ON HB87:
An open letter to Florida’s lawmakers

February 6, 2013

Dear Subcommittee Members, Party Leaders, and all Legislators: Vote NO on House Bill 87. If you’ve never stepped foot in a foreclosure courtroom, vote NO HB 87, because you cannot understand what the real problem is. If you think that the speed of foreclosure is the fault of Florida’s homestead property owners, then vote NO […]

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The “Bring a court action” language does not substantially comply with Paragraph 22, says Broward County judge in blistering opinion

January 24, 2013

What’s the biggest battle raging on the front lines of the foreclosure wars? The failure of nearly all the banks to comply with the pre-acceleration notice requirements contained in paragraph 22 of the mortgage. The bank’s breach vs. substantial compliance On the defense side, we see that nearly every letter that goes out contains some […]

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Another one bites the dust: Spear and Hoffman, minor foreclosure mill, to close its doors

January 8, 2013

A day after we learned aout the impending closure of Marshall C Watson, P.A., we have now learned that Spear and Hoffman P.A., a relatively small foreclosure mill based in Miami, is also shutting its doors soon. This one seems to be financial, rather than any wrongdoing—the firm had a much smaller volume than most […]

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