Wells Fargo Forced to Disclose Its "Foreclosure Manual"

Earlier this week, Wells Fargo, in a Bankruptcy Court matter in New York, was required to admit into evidence a copy of its foreclosure procedures manual, which apparently had been written on November 9, 2011.  Wells Fargo had been trying to keep the manual out of evidence, fearing that its foreclosure practices, which have been called into question by many foreclosure defense attorneys (including this writer), would be revealed to the world to be questionable at best or fraudulent at worst.  

Now Wells Fargo will be required to produce a witness to testify as to the contents of the manual.  This is important because defendants fighting foreclosure actions (against Wells Fargo and other lenders as well) question the tactics that the lenders and their attorneys have been utilizing to, in some instances, allegedly fraudulently produce documents to support the lenders' claims to have the right to foreclose on homeowners' properties.  In the New York Bankruptcy case, the defendant homeowner claims that the endorsement on the Note in question was fraudulent, and the homeowner's attorney claims that this manual proves there was a concerted and coordinated effort by Wells Fargo to do so in their foreclosure preparations and filings.

This blog will follow the developments in that case, and report on any additional details as they emerge.

This blog post is not considered to be legal advice, and is intended for educational purposes only. For more information regarding any of the foregoing issues discussed above, please contact us at www.SchillbergLaw.com or Robert F. Schillberg, Jr. (rschillberg@schillberglaw.com).

News Videos Now Warn of IRS Scams

My latest blog post warned all Americans about the recent scams being perpetrated by fraudsters preying on our fears of being targeted by the IRS.  I had hoped that the scam that I reported that my client had experienced was a relatively minor occurrence.  Well, it appears that the scam is more widespread than previously thought.  Imagine my surprise when, weeks later while watching cable news, there was a report of THOUSANDS of such reported attempts to scam people, resulting in losses of over $1 Million!  

I repeat my earlier advice that if you receive such a phone call, do not panic.  Ask the caller for any identification (usually  legitimate callers from the IRS will have an identification number), request that you are provided a number to call them back, and then immediately seek the assistance of counsel, or  make an inquiry to your local IRS office to attempt to confirm the allegations.  

Remember,  time is on YOUR side; don't make any hasty decisions to give personal information simply to get them off the phone and avoid the alleged dire consequences.  These scam artists attempt to capitalize on your fears, and will make all sorts of threats about immediate punishments if you do not provide that information to them over the phone in an effort to compel you to pay immediately.  

In addition, if you  have received such a phone call, or are faced with such a call in the future,  do not hesitate to call the Inspector General's  fraud hotline:  1–800–366–4484, or get additional information from the Inspector General's website:
www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report.shtml.

Also, watch the news video at foxnewsinsider.com/2014/03/21/irs-warns-elaborate-phone-call-scam-targeting-taxpayers.

This blog post is not considered to be legal advice, and is intended for educational purposes only. For more information regarding any of the foregoing issues discussed above, please visit our website www.SchillbergLaw.com, or contact Robert F. Schillberg, Jr. (rschillberg@schillberglaw.com).