USDOJ

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that the Townhomes of Kings Lake HOA Inc. (HOA) and Vanguard Management Group Inc. have agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The lawsuit alleged that the HOA adopted and both defendants enforced occupancy limits that discriminated against families with children at the Townhomes of Kings Lake, a 249-townhome community in Gibsonton, Fla

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins announced today that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corporation and certain of its affiliates, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith f/k/a/ Banc of America Securities, LLC, Bank of America, N.A., and Banc of America Mortgages Securities, Inc. (collectively “Bank of America”). The complaint alleges that Bank of America lied to investors about the relative riskiness of the mortgage loans backing the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), made false statements after intentionally not performing proper due diligence and filled the securitization with a disproportionate amount of risky mortgages originated through third party mortgage brokers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Glen Alan Ward, 48, a former Los Angeles resident who fled to Canada and was a federal fugitive for 12 years, was sentenced today to serve 132 months in prison for aggravated identity theft and bankruptcy fraud in connection with his leading role in a nearly 15-year foreclosure-rescue scam that fraudulently postponed foreclosure sales for more than 800 distressed homeowners

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced that seven defendants were arrested and arraigned today for their roles in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated in Detroit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 2, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owners and managers of rental homes in and near Kelso and Longview, Wash., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against persons with disabilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 28, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Four Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 28, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that Lawrence Properties Inc., Lawrence at Lakewood LLC, Michael Lawrence, and Williams Bounds have agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit involving violations of the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants denied housing to an African American woman and her family because of race. The lawsuit also alleged that the owner and the regional manager of Lawrence Properties communicated to employees a company policy of not renting to African Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern Californi...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two Alabama real estate investors and their company were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, for their participation in conspiracies to rig bids an...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department today announced a settlement with the architects and civil engineers involved in the design and construction of multifamily housing complexes located in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. The department’s lawsuit alleges that nine multifamily housing complexes with more than 800 units covered by the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements were designed and built without required accessible features.

BOSTON - May 15, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Dorchester man was sentenced yesterday for operating a mortgage fraud scheme to sell his own home and to buy other residential properties.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that Oregon developer David Montagne and others affiliated with him have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem, Oregon, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they had violated the Fair Housing Act by building the complex with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento today returned a superseding indictment charging Andrew B. Katakis, of Danville, Calif., with obstruct...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento today returned a superseding indictment charging Andrew B. Katakis, of Danville, Calif., with obstruction of justice related to a federal investigation into conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., the Department of Justice announced

PHILADELPHIA - May 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The former general manager and five former employees of Madison Funding, Inc., a now-defunct Allentown mortgage loan origination company, are charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that caused mortgage lending businesses to issue millions of dollars worth of loans that were based on false information. All six defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related crimes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- New guidance released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice reinforces the Fair Housing Act requirement that multifamily housing be designed and constructed so as to be accessible to persons with disabilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- President’s Request Identifies Savings and Efficiencies, Sustains National Security Programs, Strengthens Efforts to Promote Gun Safety, Increases Enforcement of Cyber Security, Financial and Mortgage Fraud, and Immigration Laws, Invests in Protecting Civil Rights, Increases the Capacity for Prisons and Detention, and Enhances State, Local and Tribal Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former Los Angeles resident, who fled to Canada and was a federal fugitive for 12 years, pleaded guilty today to aggravated identity theft and bankruptcy fraud in connection with leading a nearly 15-year foreclosure-rescue scam that fraudulently postponed foreclosure sales for more than 800 distressed homeowners, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Melinda Haag, Assistant Director in Charge Bill L. Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office and Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).