Mortgage fraud in Cities on FBI radar

Judged:

Dodd, Conrad: Mortgage Discounts Were 'Courtesy'

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/...

Two powerful Senate Democrats said Tuesday that they knew they got low mortgage-rate deals in a lender's VIP program but thought the special treatment was a "courtesy" or the same as "frequent flier" discounts.

Both vehemently denied any wrongdoing or ethical lapse in the mortgage deals, which came to light a year ago and triggered investigations by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"I thought this was like a frequent-flier program," Sen. Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said of the special benefits. "I thought nothing of it."

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said an account executive at Countrywide Financial Corp. told him that the VIP status was "nothing more than ... courtesy stuff."

A Countrywide official who handled the loans had said that both senators knew they got preferential treatment in the form of waived fees and points that likely saved them tens of thousands of dollars.

Robert Feinberg, who formerly worked in the mortgage giant's VIP section, said in testimony to congressional investigators last month that the senators were made aware of their status as VIPs or "Friends of Angelo," referring to Countrywide Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo. The CEO played a central role in the subprime-mortgage meltdown, which included the downfall of Countrywide last year.

Read more at washingtontimes.com ...

----------

"frequent Liar " discounts .

The Truth

Judged:

Hey Wakins, have you been to visit them in prison? How is it in there, are they having fun. Are you coming for the appeal?

moving on

i agree it is about the art and fun of dance but the studio got too caught up in winning and ignoring the students that tried hard but were always in the back row and paid their bills on time didn't missed practice. These are the dancers who could keep the studio in the black. These are the students who had to move on and find somewhere they could feel valued and not used as back-up to the "front row" dancers. Hopefully lesson will be learned.

Got Answers

Judged:

11.7 million. Ouch. I wonder how Amy feels.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/529...

The Truth

Judged:

A federal judge Tuesday ordered two convicted Twin Cities mortgage scammers and their former company to pay nearly $11.7 million in restitution to their victims.

The chance they'll pay even a fraction of that? Next to nothing, said lawyers for both sides.

Jonathan Edward Helgason and Thomas Joseph Balko are both in prison and broke. The real estate that had been bought by their Roseville-based company, TJ Waconia, has been either foreclosed or sold by court-appointed receivers.

Still, the hefty restitution ordered by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen sends the message that "crime does not pay," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Dixon III, who prosecuted the case.

"The obvious reality is that if they don't have the money and don't come by the money, we will never get paid," Dixon said. "But what's important is that people who commit fraud should know that there's no gain because they will be held accountable for the losses they've caused."

Helgason, 46, of Chisago City, and Balko, 38, of Rogers, were sentenced in April after each had pleaded guilty to a single count of mortgage fraud. Helgason is serving an eight-year sentence, and Balko is serving a seven-year sentence; both are at the federal prison camp in Duluth.

From 2004 to 2007, the two men and companies they set up bought 162 properties, most of them in North Minneapolis. They would buy the properties, then quickly turn around and resell them — for up to $60,000 more — to "investors,"
people who let Helgason and Balko use their credit to get loans.
The investors owned the property in name only. The companies Helgason and Balko owned still made the payments. In all, federal investigators believed the two men got $35 million in fraudulent loans through the scheme.

When the housing market collapsed, so did their scheme.

The "investors" were left "owning properties purchased with mortgages that exceeded the market value of the property," the government claimed in a filing before the men were sentenced. "As a result of the collapsing scheme, the communities in which the properties were concentrated suffered blight and a real estate market collapse, affecting the municipalities and nearby homeowners."

Twenty-four victims put in claims for restitution, and officials determined that 92 percent of what they had asked for was eligible for compensation. It amounted to $11,692,962.08.

"What happens in these kinds of cases, there's a restitution order, and then the defendants have a payment plan to make payments," Dixon said.

No payment plan has been set up. In a court filing in May, Helgason pleaded poverty in asking the court to pay for a lawyer to appeal his sentence (he has since withdrawn the appeal) and said his family's only income was his wife's $105,000-a-year salary.

The two men can earn money working in prison. Kevin Gregorius, an attorney with Steven Meshbesher, who represented Helgason, said the court could set up a plan where "they're making $50 payments each month for the rest of their lives."

If they were set up on such a plan, it would take more than 9,700 years to pay off the sum.

William Skolnick, an attorney who represented TJ Waconia in the criminal case, said the company has nothing to contribute toward restitution.

"What assets are there for restitution?" he asked. "TJ Waconia is out of business. Some of the properties have been foreclosed or sold by the court-appointed receiver."

hmmmm

Eden Prairie, MN

Judged:

I know how discouraging it can be when your child is not in the front row, but competition dance IS about winning. Here is the definition from Websters the act or process of competing rivalry 2 a contest between rivals also one's competitors faced tough competition
What dance teacher who wants to make a reputation and name for themselves is going to put their choreography out in the public, at a competition and not expect to win. They would never be held up in the dance world as a serious contender. Also, the studio will never get more students if winning wasn't the goal. For those that just wanted to have the fun of dance, then there is once a week dance. I personally think that in this case the studio was more than generous with loyal students creating a line for them where they could have the FUN of dancing and just not be in the front row. If it is the fun of dancing for your and your family, then why does the front row even matter to you? I would have to disagree with you that the dancers that can't help a studio succeed at a competition are the ones that keep the studio open. I believe that it is a combination of both dancers
QUOTE i agree it is about the art and fun of dance but the studio got too caught up in winning and ignoring the students that tried hard but were always in the back row and paid their bills on time didn't missed practice. These are the dancers who could keep the studio in the black. These are the students who had to move on and find somewhere they could feel valued and not used as back-up to the "front row" dancers. Hopefully lesson will be learned. QUOTE

anon-a-mouse

Why did everyone stop posting here? It seems like the 11.7 million dollar judgement took the wind out of the sails here. Sad.

Got Answers

Judged:

Because Tom and Jon are busy keeping the other prisoners out of their shorts in jail in Duluth,

Amy is busy keeping up appearances at her $105 per year job as a Manager of Quality Assurance at Infinite Campus (according to Linked in).

Jill is doing who knows what...

What more is there to talk about? Unless Amy or Jill have their true involvment revealed, the story is over.

anon-a-mouse

game over trolls.

Even Watkins won't touch 'em now.

anon-a-mouse

Judged:

Well... here's just one more thing to talk about:

Any of you treasure trolls still think Helg/Balk are innocent?

Well, here's one more nail in that coffin:

"JONATHAN HELGASON is currently incarcerated at FPC Duluth and is scheduled for release on May 15, 2016. The inmate is NOT eligible for parole. Please be assured that, unless otherwise requested, we will keep you informed of all significant release-related activities pertaining to this inmate during the period of incarceration.

THOMAS BALKO is currently incarcerated at FPC Duluth and is scheduled for release on July 2, 2015. The inmate is NOT eligible for parole. Please be assured that, unless otherwise requested, we will keep you informed of all significant release-related activities pertaining to this inmate during the period of incarceration."

In conclusion: "NOT eligible for parole."

jac buddy

anon-a-mouse wrote:

Well... here's just one more thing to talk about:
Any of you treasure trolls still think Helg/Balk are innocent?
Well, here's one more nail in that coffin:
"JONATHAN HELGASON is currently incarcerated at FPC Duluth and is scheduled for release on May 15, 2016. The inmate is NOT eligible for parole. Please be assured that, unless otherwise requested, we will keep you informed of all significant release-related activities pertaining to this inmate during the period of incarceration.
THOMAS BALKO is currently incarcerated at FPC Duluth and is scheduled for release on July 2, 2015. The inmate is NOT eligible for parole. Please be assured that, unless otherwise requested, we will keep you informed of all significant release-related activities pertaining to this inmate during the period of incarceration."
In conclusion: "NOT eligible for parole."

balko is a cole, joseph a. partner her is the connection to ipm.

anon-a-mouse

Judged:

"With the fraud and financial damage Jon Helgason caused, he and his family have been able to keep their house at 30686 Wallmark Lake Dr, Chisago Lake.

It's tax records are listed as KCH Holdings LLC. A search on this title shows a previous listing on the Sec. of State filings for the State of MN for Kch Holdings at the address of 3101 Old Highway 8 -- yep, that's TJ Waconia.

Nice to know they haven't had to change their address! Unbelievable."

-and-

"hey probably did not disclose that to the judge possibly?

I had heard they lost it and where renting it back from the bank?

Anyone know?"

Posted from another Helgy/Balky blog... Well, trolls?

Marco

Buffalo, MN

I was doing the cleaning at Dancer's Edge. He locked the doors keeping equipment and Tom left owing us more than 5,000 dollars plus cleaning equipment. I know that this is a small amount compare to others, but 5 grand to me are like 50k to other people. I hope that we can get our money back.

Marco

Buffalo, MN

It is unknown what has happen. Does anyone have information on them? if anyone knows please e-mail me with info. expcs@aol.com

Gubermint Fraud

Judged:

Fannie Mae to Rent out Homes Instead Foreclosing
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory...
Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday.
The government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease" program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.
more at abcnews.go.com ...
----------
Government controlled rental properties? Isn’t that what section 8 housing is already?
The main facet is it allows Fannie and Freddie to maintain the fictitious value of the house, and not write it down, which adds fuel to the economic collapse of housing and lending for housing.
Obamavilles - the new Hoovervilles !
Karl Denniger nails it :
WHERE ARE THE DAMN HANDCUFFS?(Fraudie)
http://market-ticker.org/archives/1585-WHERE-... -
Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday.
The government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease" program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.
This has exactly nothing to do with helping "homeowners."
It is entirely about Fannie not having to recognize the written-down value of these houses - that is, allowing them to hold the "mark" on the loan at it's original value, rather than recognize the loss.

The Truth

Marco wrote:

I was doing the cleaning at Dancer's Edge. He locked the doors keeping equipment and Tom left owing us more than 5,000 dollars plus cleaning equipment. I know that this is a small amount compare to others, but 5 grand to me are like 50k to other people. I hope that we can get our money back.

Good Luck. You will need to get in line after the others that have claims for 11.7 Million. They are only earning $1.50 a day in prison. Sorry to bring you the bad news.

The Truth