Sherry Hunt of O’Fallon, Missouri started at Citigroup as Vice President of Mortgages in late 2004. As someone who worked in the mortgage business for many years, Hunt quickly recognized the shortcomings of the mortgage processing at Citigroup. In 2007, her sector of the company reported that about 60% of the mortgages being processed were defective. In Hunt’s report, it stated that much of the documentation from the buying and selling of mortgages was missing. After confronting her boss about this, Hunt did not notice much change in the process. Attorneys for Citigroup began questioning Hunt and she began keeping personal records on a spreadsheet at home.
In 2008, Hunt was transferred to the quality control group at Citigroup. It was there that Hunt recognized even more wrongdoings by her company. Hunt saw that her team shipped questionable loans, with issues such as forged signatures, whited-out income lines on tax forms and misspelled bank names on borrower bank statements. Hunt reached her breaking point in 2011 when a supervisor called her into his office to say that, “her ass was on the line” if the defect numbers did not decrease. At this point, Hunt decided to take advantage of the Dodd-Frank rule and blow the whistle on Citigroup.
Hunt followed all of the necessary steps that she researched, knowing there was a slim chance she would receive help from the federal government. She hired a lawyer and decided to file a false-claims complaint against Citigroup. Almost six months later U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was going to assist her in her suit against Citigroup, contacted her. Ultimately, Citigroup admitted wrongdoing, settled with the Justice Department and Hunt collected $31 million.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-31/woman-who-couldn-t-be-intimidated-by-citigroup-wins-31-million#p5
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com
Bank of America Settles with the SEC for Lying to Shareholders
Bank of America announced its plan to merge with Merrill Lynch in 2008, admitting that there would be a small loss in the beginning. As the deal was closer to becoming official, 
Merrill Lynch was taking major profit hits as high as $7.5 billion in one month. After internal emails were disclosed, it revealed that Bank of America executives knew of these outrageous profit losses and downplayed them to its shareholders. At one point, Bank of America ordered Merrill Lynch to sell off assets to compensate for the profit losses, knowing that this would decrease the value to its shareholders.
Four days later, shareholders met and approved the merger. At the meeting, the CEO at the time, Kenneth Lewis knowingly made inaccurate statements to persuade the shareholders to approve the merger with Merrill Lynch. Just days after the approval, Bank of America’s attorneys prepared documents to back out of the merger due to “new financial woes.” After shareholders learned of the financial crises going on at Merrill Lynch, stock in Bank of America dropped at excessive rates. The bank did not claim wrongdoing but settled with the SEC for $150 million.
To read more on this story visit: http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2012/06/04/how-bank-of-america-execs-hid-losses-in-their-own-words/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ForeclosureFraudByDinsfla+%28FORECLOSURE+FRAUD+%7C+by+DinSFLA%29
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com
State of Florida Still Number One in Percentage of Mortgages in Foreclosure
According to CoreLogic, twelve percent of Florida’s home mortgages are in foreclosure, the highest percentage of any state in the nation.
In April, 66,000 foreclosures were completed across the nation, flat with the month of March and down from 78,000 in April 2011. The percentage of mortgages in foreclosure in Florida was down 0.4 percent from April 2011.
The five states that logged the most completed foreclosures for the year ended in April 2012 were California with 142,000; Florida with 92,000; Michigan with 60,000; Texas with 58,000; and Georgia with 57,000, CoreLogic said.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/30/2824533/florida-still-no-1-in-percentage.html#storylink=cpy
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
“Taxmaggedon” Expected to Throw the U.S. Back into a Recession
At the end of the year, the Bush Administration’s tax cuts are set to expire. The Obama Administration’s payroll tax cuts are also set to expire along with cuts for several federal agencies, such as the Pentagon. All of these changes are expected to send the economy into another recession beginning in early 2013. If no changes are made to the expiring cuts, the economy will take an estimated $607 billion hit.
As of now, the Republicans and the President are not in agreement on how to avoid the recession. President Obama has made it clear he will veto any attempt at continuing Bush’s tax cuts, which is precisely what the Republicans want to happen. President Obama has threatened to veto any effort to amend current policies unless Republicans agree to let the Bush tax cuts expire for households earning more than $250,000 a year.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/cbo-taxmageddon-would-throw-us-back-into-recession/2012/05/22/gIQAblvliU_story.html
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
IRS Makes More Changes to Help Taxpayers gain a ‘Fresh Start’ with their Finances
On May 21, 2012 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a change in the terms of the Offer In Compromise presented to taxpayers to promote the ‘Fresh Start’ initiative. An Offer In Compromise is a leniency accessible to financially distressed taxpayers who meet certain guidelines. The new terms for the ‘Fresh Start’ initiative reflect the government’s attempt to help struggling taxpayers resolve their tax debt in 1 – 2 years, as opposed to 4 – 5 years.
The changes to be made to the guidelines for an Offer In Compromise include:
• Calculating a taxpayers future income will now include only one year if payment can be made in 5 months or fewer, or two years if payment will be made anywhere from 6 months to 2 years
• Taxpayers will now be allowed to pay student loans as part of their living expenses
• Taxpayers will be allowed to pay delinquent state and local taxes
• Taxpayers Allowable Living Expenses will be expanded to provide a more fair and consistent plan
To read more on this story visit: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=257542,00.html
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Goldman Sachs Accidentally Released Documents Incriminating the Firm
The lawyers for Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking and securities firm, have been dealing with a lawsuit filed against them by Overstock.com. After Overstock.com filed a motion to disclose certain internal documents of Goldman Sachs, the lawyers for the firm filed an opposition which accidentally made many of their internal documents, such as emails within the company, public record. Among the many issues that were brought to light due to the disclosure of the documents was ‘naked short selling.’ The speculation throughout Wall Street was that naked short selling was nothing more than a myth, but in fact Goldman Sachs has been participating in this act of high finance counterfeiting for years.
The act of naked short selling is where the investment firm who is hired to purchase stocks (such as Goldman Sachs) does not actually locate or purchase the stocks. By doing so, Goldman Sachs was creating an artificial stock supply. Goldman Sachs was avoiding spending time searching for the stocks and also avoiding paying fees to borrow the stocks. The illegal acts committed by Goldman Sachs have been brought to light only months after the former Goldman Sachs’ Executive, Greg Smith resigned and publicly released that the firm took advantage of their clients.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/accidentally-released-and-incredibly-embarrassing-documents-show-how-goldman-et-al-engaged-in-naked-short-selling-20120515#ixzz1v0M2jZcl
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
South Florida Ranks Number One in Credit Card Delinquencies
CredAbility, a non-profit credit counseling agency, conducted a study of 25 metro areas in the United States to determine the financial standings of major cities across the country. According to the study, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties ranked highest in overall consumer credit card delinquencies. South Florida also ranked fourth of the 25 metro areas with the highest number of bankruptcy filings during the first quarter of 2012.
Much of the credit problems in South Florida can be attributed to lenders handing out credit cards to freely during the recession. Many South Floridians used their credit cards as spending money as they suffered pay cuts and job losses. Over time lenders began taking steps to hold borrowers to higher standards and not lending out money as freely as before. The financial problems for many South Floridians are not expected to ease up until the job market becomes more secure, which could take a couple more years.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-worst-credit-rating-20120515,0,2146740.story?track=rss
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Local Foreclosure Case has Banks and Courts Confused as to Ownership
Abby Lopez of West Palm Beach found herself in a foreclosure trial, where even the bank was unsure who owned her home. Lopez bought her home in 2006 for $608,715. In September 2009 she was served with foreclosure papers. The trial that is now underway has proven just how faulty the paperwork of banks can be when it comes to mortgages. Emails have surfaced that prove bank officials are unsure if the bank that served the papers (Bank of America) actually owns the mortgage. HSBC Bank USA is the bank that is listed as the trustee that is foreclosing on the home. As many mortgages before, Lopez’s mortgage went straight to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, which is now under investigation for keeping accurate records of mortgages.
In the emails, bank officials also discussed ignoring the lack of knowledge of mortgage ownership due to extra court fees that would be applied to change the plaintiff in the case. Lopez’s attorney said he is not expecting to win the home back for his client, which is now valued at only $189,343. However, he is determined to ensure that the correct party forecloses on the home.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/foreclosure-case-on-despite-glitch-confusion-2358300.html
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Tips to Obtain Your Best Credit Score Possible
Early in 2012 credit card issuers became more selective about who they issued cards to. According to Mintel Comperemedia, credit card issue rates dropped about 30% during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the previous year. Although the issue rates are decreasing, there has been an increase in incentives for cardholders and potential cardholders. For example, American Express is offering $150 cash back if a cardholder spends $1,000 or more in the first three months of holding the Blue Cash Preferred card. Another incentive from Chase requires a cardholder to spend only $500 in the first three months with a reward of $100 cash back. Offers from credit card issuers are expected to multiply during the summer months.
Below are some helpful hints to improve and maintain a good credit score:
1. As long as you manage them well, the more credit cards you hold, the better. Many people think if you are not using a card frequently, the best thing to do is cancel it. However, the more cards you hold, the more responsible you seem to lenders. It is very important to your credit score to always pay your credit card bills and all other bills on time.
2. Do not max out your credit cards. Many credit analysts have said in the past the best way to improve your credit score is to never use more than 30% of your available credit. Fair Isaac said that Americans’ with the highest credit scores rarely use more than 10 – 20 percent of their available credit per card.
3. Even those who are in debt should hold at least two cards. Even cardholders who have two credit cards are sometimes viewed as having a “thin file.” Most experts in the field suggest for everyone two carry anywhere from three to five cards.
4. Do not apply for credit cards any more frequently than six months apart. Applying for a credit card can lower your score up to 25 points; therefore it is never a good idea to apply for cards too close together. When inquiring for a new card, this information stays on your record for two years and can impact your score for one year. Those who apply for multiple cards in a short time frame are perceived as having financial problems.
5. If you want to close a credit card account, the best way is to pay off the card and not use it for a long period of time and eventually the card issuer will close the account.
To read more on this story visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303877604577380263570426758.html
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
GM Relieved from Paying Federal Income Taxes for Years to Come
General Motors received a government bailout in 2009 of approximately $49.5 billion. After generating a reported $13 billion in profit since 2009, $7.6 billion was made in 2011; however General Motors paid no income taxes for 2011. The spokesman for GM disclosed that GM would not have to pay income taxes for “many more years.”
In 2009, GM received the government bailout after filing for bankruptcy and recording about $18 billion in losses. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, GM must record at least a $1 billion profit for at least 18 straight quarters before they will be expected to pay federal income taxes, again. GM is still paying a worldwide tax and state taxes. GM’s limited liability partner, the Chrysler Group, is taking advantage of the partnership and not paying federal income taxes, either.
Ford Motor Co. has also avoided paying federal income taxes due to profit losses of up to $30 billion in previous years. Auto manufacturers are not the only major corporations receiving huge tax breaks from the government. AIG and Citibank have also received government bailouts after major profit losses.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.torquenews.com/1081/despite-massive-profits-gm-pays-zero-federal-income-taxes
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.