Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premier website for news and information on mortgage fraud and real estate fraud throughout the United States.
Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of Smith Dollar, PC, is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar
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Exonerated Broker Attempts to Sue US Attorney & FBI
Torina Collis filed suit against the United States of America, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Special Agent Desiree Skinner Smith and Assistant United States Attorney Gina Simms seeking damages for allegedly false and malicious testimony about her provided by Smith to a grand jury, which resulted in her indictment. Collis alleged that the actions by the various defendants amounted to violations of her Fourth Amendment right to be “free from seizure without probable cause” and her Fifth Amendment Due Process rights.
Collis was employed with mortgage broker WMS, Inc. from December 1996 through December 1999. On April 5, 2000, and again on September 20, 2000, a grand jury issued subpoenas to WMS in furtherance of a mortgage fraud investigation. Assistant Attorney Us Attorney Simms and FBI Special Agent Smith interviewed Collis on March 14, 2001 when she no longer worked for WMS. The notes from this interview were presented to the Court at the March 23, 2007 hearing. Collis informed SA Smith and AUSA Simms that:
Collis was told to audit files, which consisted of purging the files, or throwing out information in the files. For files that were missing information that was supposed to be in them, she was told by [a co-defendant] to make up the documents. Such documents included good faith estimates. She was also told to destroy documents such as pay stubs, W-2’s, bank statements and sales contracts (all documents provided by the buyer) by [co-defendant]. She was told to keep the typed application, brokers agreement, handwritten application, credit report, appraisal disclosure, request for transcript of tax form and all the disclosures. [Co-defendant] said they were purging the files because the files were so large and they wanted to thin them. Collis also had some involvement in making loans to buyers. She was told by [codefendant] not to fill out the details of transaction portion of the loan application because one is not supposed to be both the processor and the originator on a loan, however Collis did both.
Over two years later, on May 28, 2003, AUSA Simms presented evidence to a grand jury that included the testimony of SA Smith. Based on the evidence presented, which consisted of SA Smith‘s testimony as well as the testimony of other witnesses presented to it over the number of occasions on which it met, the grand jury indicted Collis on June 25, 2004. She was subsequently arrested by HUD agents, handcuffed and taken into custody. Collis was scheduled to go to trial on November 30, 2004, but the Government moved to dismiss the indictment and superseding indictment as to Collis on November 24, 2004. The Court approved the request on November 29, 2004.
After dismissal of charges, Collis brought suit against SA Smith and the Assistant United States Attorney seeking damages for presentation of allegedly false and malicious testimony to grand jury. At a March 23, 2007 hearing, the Plaintiff presented to the Court without objection a brief excerpt of the grand jury transcript for May 28, 2003 that was alleged to be false and malicious. The brief excerpt produced for the Court contains the following conversation:
A JUROR: Torina Collis. Did you tell us that she said that the files had been purged or that ...
THE WITNESS: No, she told us herself that they had been purged.
A JUROR: And these were files that were under subpoena?
THE WITNESS: Correct.
A JUROR: Is that--isn’t that against the law?
MS. SIMMS: Well, if you want to ask this witness a question, a factual question she can answer.
A JUROR: Well, no, that’s okay. I just wanted to make sure they were under subpoena.
THE WITNESS: Mm-hmm.
The Court was not provided with, and the Plaintiff did not presented, either at the hearing or in its papers, any additional testimony by SA Smith. However, it is the above-quoted colloquy, between a grand juror and Smith that formed the basis for Collis‘ complaint.
The FBI and AUSA moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s claim. The District Court granted their motion to dismiss the complaint holding that:
(1) the prosecutor was entitled to absolute immunity;
(2) the target’s Fifth Amendment right to due process was not violated by federal agent’s testimony before grand jury;
(3) the agent did not violate target’s Fourth Amendment rights to be “free from seizure without probable cause” by allegedly presenting “false, malicious testimony” to the grand jury; and
(4) the agent was entitled to absolute immunity.
Collis‘ complaint was therefore dismissed in totality.
To whom this may concern:
I have been going through identity theft for a few years, one of the worse cases. This public figure is in an unrealistic state of mind. This person told people that I worked forher when I never even met this person. Swindeled her way into my family companies and tried to take over my companies, that my family left me in a will. And she is still stealing money out of my accounts. I have filed a lawsuit, but i do not know why public officials keep letting her the hook. I want her arrested, and to reimburst me for everything she stole, and my sisters were also involved. What else more can i do? Can I go above the Supreme court? Because I want justice now!
Posted by on 06/24 at 05:34 AM
This is an incredible story in the sense that these individuals in making their carriers can utterly destroy someones life just to make a name for themselves, and have immunity although guilty of fraud and false testimony in a federal court. They might as well have bombed a market place or crashed a plain into a building because in my opinion these individuals are terrorist to the American people. The only thing Ms Collins is guilty of is not knowing how to defend herself against these two terrorist pretending to be Americans.
Posted by on 08/06 at 08:01 AM
Loan Purging! Is this real? Is this possible? I know a lot of families who have been victims of fraud by these companies professing to purge people loans from the banks. I don’t see how this is possible. This violates several statues of the California Foreclosure Consultants law mainly because these professed attorneys are actually taking an equity share in the property after the fact is this legal? Where can I find more information on the companies that have been such down
Posted by on 08/06 at 08:07 AM
Going to help her out…
Posted by on 09/26 at 01:30 PM
I am currently under a civil lawsuit with SunTrust Mortgage, Inc and I am a victim of such mortgage fraud. I have reported this in January of 2008 to the FBI, reporting not the bank but the builder of fraud. This came after the bank called my loan in Dec of 2007 during construction and never in default. When I called the the Bank in Jan of 2008 the bank allowed a construction inspection and disbursed funds from the inspection, even thought they had called the loan due, stated that I could finish the properties and then three weeks later called the loan due again. This was a construction to perm loan from Aug. 2005 and was not to become a mortage until the property obtained a Certificate of Occupancy, although the SunTrust has been running the Mortgage immediately with nondisclosure.
I had applied for a construction loan that was suppose to be for a nine month period, extended by the bank for well over 30 months, without a licensed contractor, approved plains, building permits, and all the construction procedeeds being disbursed by a frauduletn POA all under a limited POA for the LLC, who in fact was the builder and the owner of the construction company, and was not at license contractor and had throught this, what I thought was a limited POA, when in fact the notrary signed an affidavit of a Durable Power of Attorney on a limited power of attorney.
Tracey Grifin, Notary for Florida Title, that was directly disbursed the construction proceeds with out my knowledge.we had paid the interest of 9% on a million dollars for over thirty months. I still do not have certificate of occupancy, hundreds of thousands of dollars in liens, being foreclosed upon by the bank for a residential mortgage, when in fact it was a commercial loan, I have had to file bankruptcy, a voluntary chapter 7 under protection form 11 USC 362b and the banks have refiled against my business partners on the usury loans and continue with malice to move against us.
The the properties have been after my BK7 retitled in my name after the bk7, discharged and closed although that estate is under 11 USC 362 b of sec fraud, automatic stay for protection.
We have found out that in fact these were executed from and investment firm from an SEC regulated and transferred to an FDIC regulated when they were told not to because of the mezzanine level financing and underwriting the was insured by UUC Plus that taught Insurance 100 law 0.
This UCC Plus was underwritten by Old Republic insurance the reinsurance was that is AIG. There is an Owners Policy, Loan Policy, Lenders Policy 101792, simultaneous closing insurance are know being denied.
Bend Oregon Event to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosures Oregon.Gov
As part of an ongoing effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, state agencies are organizing a foreclosure-prevention event in Bend on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Shelbyville Man Gets 2-Year Sentence For Loan Fraud Chattanoogan.Com
Prosecutor Gary Humble said the lost was approximately $2.3 million in the mortgage fraud involving hundreds of homes in the Shelbyville area.
Lend America, VP Ashley Banned from FHA Housing Wire
Michael Ashley, the embattled former vice president of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage originator Lend America, and the company he worked for, were permanently banned from doing business in the industry last week.
Countrywide Tries to Pin Blame on Insurer Court House News
Countrywide Home Loans demands $111 million from Triad Guaranty Insurance, claiming Triad is trying to blame mortgage lenders for the insurer's role in the housing bubble and collapse.
Investors Say They Were Swindled in Property Scheme Fox 13 Now
Utah Division of Consumer Protection is joining forces with a few investors who claim they have been cheated by an agency called "Utah Mini Ranches.
Greenfield Man Accused of Housing Scam The Republic
A former real estate agent conned at least eight people by renting them properties actually owned by a federal agency and then running off with their deposits, prosecutors said.
Appraisal Institute Opposes Obama Administration's Plan for Homeowner 'Short Sales' PR News Wire
Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers today voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage "short sales" of homes.
Ownership Rights to Get Another Look TBO.Com
State lawmakers may beef up protections of property owners' rights by rewriting a law this spring that is at the center of a case of alleged fraud in Pasco County.
Defaulted Loans May Haunt Seniors On Line WSJ.Com
A little-noticed law could soon result in smaller Social Security checks for hundreds of thousands of the elderly and disabled who owe the U.S. money from defaulted loans and other debts more than a decade old.
Oregon to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosures CBS State
As part of an ongoing effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, state agencies are organizing a foreclosure-prevention event in Bend on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Continued Testimony
As reported by Anne Mitchell, who viewed the trial:
Angela Parenza worked for Jeff Miller as the office manager for 7 or 8 years beginning in 1998. Parenza was indicted along with Miller and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Parenza testified that Miller or his contractors allegedly preferred to build all the...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage Continued - Witness Testimony
Steve Middleton Testimony - Coverage Provided by Anne Mitchell
The Government continued in its cross examination of Steve Middleton. He was shown several HUD-1 statements involving sales of homes located in Overland Park, KS, and Olathe, KS. The HUD statements each allegedly showed line items of payments to (James) Moser & Associates, LLC's...
Monday, February 01, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage - Continued Witness Examination
According to Anne Mitchell, who is present in court for the trial:
Next Witness: Kelly Sanford
Kelly Sanford of the Federal Reserve was a short witness for the Government. Sanford manages electronic payments between banks and member financial institutions. He was shown copies of wire transfers and asked whether they coincided with the counts in...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - Prosecution Witnesses Continued
According to Anne Mitchell, who is viewing the trial:
January 13, 2010
Witness: Rick Hayes
Rick Hayes testified that on the day that he closed on his Miller Enterprise home, he received a phone call from the Kansas Banking Commission informing him that his loan was fraudulent. After the Hayes responded to a classified ad, they met with John...
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The information and notices contained on Mortgage Fraud Blog are intended to summarize recent developments in mortgage fraud cases and mortgage banking matters nationwide. The posts on this site are presented as general research and information and are expressly not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice. Much of the information on this site concerns allegations made in civil lawsuits and in criminal indictments. All persons are presumed innocent until convicted of a crime. Readers who have particular questions about mortgage banking, mortgage fraud matters or who believe they require legal counsel should seek the advice of an attorney. The creators, editors and sponsors of Mortgage Fraud Blog do not intend to create a confidential relationship or an attorney-client relationship by communication via or arising from this site.
Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
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