Leading Role By Small Fraudulent Lenders In Big Foreclosure Crisis

Posted in Foreclosure, March 4th, 2008 |

Considering the big hand of small time lenders fraudulent maneuvers in mortgage loans, New York state has made it a law that all those originating mortgages from here must be checked for criminal backgrounds and their fingerprints taken to prevent a repeat of the foreclosure crisis that is raging.

Many like Elizabeth Giammarino who had been cheated in 2006 by lenders sigh and wish that the law had been effective few years back. Two men had cheated her and those same two have been lately arrested for drug trafficking recently. One of them, Joseph Crapanzano was a criminal record holder related to mortgage scams even before he duped Elizabeth’s mother about preventing foreclosure. The old lady sunk further into debt after she could not manage the interest only mortgage taken in 2006. Several mortgage companies were involved in her complicated case. A widow of 9/11, Roxann Giordano had made a legal loan to Mrs. Giammarino that helped to stop the foreclosure on her house. The argument is that Mrs. Giammarino suffered investment losses that made it impossible for her to carry on with the mortgage. Mrs. Giordano claims that she never met the criminal Crapanzano or the other person LaMassa who are supposed to have brought the parties together for a solution. Shortly after being arrested LaMassa claimed that he was a loan officer representing E-Island mortgage. It is the same company that dealt with the Mrs. Giammarino. The name of Crapanzano still pops up in the E-Island website. Both the men are now out on bail. When Crapanzano had dealings with Elizabeth and her mother he had already served 21 months sentence in a federal prison regarding shady real estate matters in Florida. He had forged income proof to lay hands on loan amounts. It did not deter him from continuing with his criminal habit.

The banking department of New York state is optimistic that by this new law unsavoury elements will be weeded out. Previously such types of people worked under license brokers. It is estimated that 40,000 such applications will be screened and processed by 2010. The names will be made available to 40 states that are participating in the programme. It will automatically apply to Summit Investments Loan Corp. based in California. Their attorney remained non committal. Crapanzano’s criminal lawyer too remained silent. It was just blatant profiteering without a veneer of excuse.