Metro Dream Homes Scammer Sentenced

We’ve been posting information on this group for a while — Metro Dream Homes owner and founder Andrew Hamilton Williams, Jr. from Hollywood Florida has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for his role in a $78 million mortgage fraud scheme that left some homeowners penniless.

“This case exemplifies the egregious mortgage fraud schemes that flourished in the lending free-for-all that contributed to the bubble and collapse of the housing market,” said U.S Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Coordinated law enforcement is helping to hold the perpetrators accountable, but the real solution is meaningful oversight and auditing of lending decisions.”

“These individuals were responsible for shattering the dreams of countless hard working families during one of our country’s worst economic downturns,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely. “The teamwork exhibited by all participating agencies throughout the joint investigation was exemplary.”

Read more about this scam and the co-conspirators in this FBI press release.

Support House Bill 1081

Bill Information: House Bill 1081 would ensure that property owners who have elected to take the Homestead Property Tax, and have later been found ineligible, would not only owe the back taxes — there would also be a financial penalty for claiming a tax credit they’re not entitled to.

Why This Is Important:  Municipalities can ill afford to allow residents to claim tax credits they’re not entitled to — the loss of tax revenue is too great.  Baltimore City loses roughly $1 million annually due to owners of rental, secondary, or vacant property taking the Homestead Property Tax Credit fraudulently…or “by accident”.  This would not only ensure the municipality would have legal recourse to claim the back taxes, but the added penalty would serve as a deterrent against further abuse by property owners.

What You Should Do:  Contact your Maryland legislators and ask them to support this important bill.

Link Roundup

Owner of a Maryland title company pleads guilty to stealing almost $5 million from customers.

Occupy Oakland takes the vacant house problem to a new level.  Please note, we DO NOT encourage this irresponsible and destructive behavior.

Home prices are falling again — no surprises there.

Baltimore City calls its “Vacants to Value” plan “baby steps” towards dealing with the problem of vacant homes — we call it nonsense.

A filmmaker in Youngstown, Ohio documents the life and death of one vacant house.

Speaking of Youngstown, it’s become somewhat of a maverick in the “shrinking cities” movement.  Baltimore needs to shrink — what do you think?

Toledo is expected to demolish a record number of abandoned homes this year.

The Washington Post reports that 700 HUD housing projects (including 10 open projects in Baltimore) have either been delayed or abandoned — that’s a lot of wasted taxpayer money.

Link Roundup

You’ve probably heard that Senator Charles Grassley (R, Iowa) has launched an investigation into the fraud and waste at Baltimore Housing — read a letter from Senator Grassley to Sean Donovan, HUD Secretary here.  Link opens a PDF.

Property owners receiving the homestead tax credit — beware.  If you’re not actually living in the home, you’ll probably lose the credit, and owe the city back taxes.  And rightfully so.  However, we find it odd this article doesn’t give credit (no pun intended) where credit is due.  A resident is responsible for finding the city’s negligence, as documented here in an earlier article.

Kevin Pushia, a disgraced pastor and slumlord, was sentenced to life plus 45 years for his role in the murder of a mentally disabled man in Baltimore. You can read more about this “man of the cloth” here.

The FBI has released the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report — interesting reading. You can see which gangs are active in each state here.

Richmond has two slots for tenant representatives on the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, yet one of the slots remain unfilled.

New multi-family subsidized housing comes to Brewer’s Hill and O’Donnell Heights.

Residents are frustrated with the unfinished work by a City-hired contractor.  Considering his track record, we’re not surprised.

Link Roundup

Lots of links this evening — enjoy!

US Conference of Mayors adopts resolution supporting Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (from the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning).

Apparently someone out  there thinks the City’s “Vacants to Values” program is a good thing, because Mayor Rawlings-Blake was given an award.  We’re still searching for the “Value” part.

Canadian slumlords face jail time for SRO housing violations.  Don’t you wonder what really goes on in the “Wonder Rooms”?  On second thought…

Police find 27 dogs in a vacant home in Chicago — I guess Chicago’s thugs are taking a lesson from Baltimore’s?

Pueblo Colorado enacts legislation to deal with their vacant property problem.

A vacant house in Richmond burns to the ground, creates more vacant homes.

Someone in Flint, Michigan REALLY doesn’t like vacant homes.

Baltimore-area title company owner sentenced to four years in prison for mortgage fraud.

Slumlord Pockets $12K from HABC

According to a WBAL I-Team investigation, slumlord Cephus Murrell pocketed $12,000 in HABC payments on a subsidized home, while his tenant was denied access to the home for over a year.

Yet another flub from our scandal-plagued Housing Authority.

Are Corruption and Incompetence the Norm at HABC?

Andy Green at the Baltimore Sun has a great editorial in today’s Second Opinion, detailing the firing of corrupt HABC housing inspector Algie Epps, and the circumstances that led up to his firing:

When he was hired in 2005 as a housing inspector, the city does not appear to have conducted a “criminal history investigation” — a basic background check — that is required by law. Had it done one, or even performed a simple Google search, it would have found that he stood accused of falsifying sick leave forms while at the Department of Corrections and had been fired from that job as a result.

Mr. Epps failed to meet the education or experience requirements for any of the jobs he held at the housing department.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, according to the editorial — Epps also falsified his social security number and name — and was given a promotion.  But this still isn’t the worst of it — what really stands out is the response by Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano:

Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano wrote in his reply to Mr. McClintock’s report that the department should stop requiring housing inspectors to obtain special enforcement officer status, He lamented the need to fire Mr. Epps and suggested that the whole thing was prompted by complaints from “another agency that had been for years permitting the same to occur.” He also said that, given the applicant pool for entry-level jobs, the city has to recognize and accept “a varying degree of experience.”  (Emphasis ours)

A varying degree of experience, maybe.  Blatant fraud, never.  That may be acceptable to Mr. Graziano, and perhaps his continued tenure should be an agenda item for every person who decides to run for public office in Baltimore City.

You can read the full editorial here.

Link Roundup

Three conspirators were convicted in a $78 million mortgage scam, according to the FBI Baltimore Office.

Information for victims of morgtage scams from the Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force and the US DOJ.

Philadelphia’s City Paper details the decline of once-wealthy slumlord Robert Coyle, and how his “empire” of slummy homes were foreclosed on.

Did you know you can search Baltimore’s zoning board docket by address, neighborhood, or hearing date?  You can also find relevant documents, including plans, permit applications, and more.

Seven percent of the homes in one of Baltimore’s “most dangerous neighborhoods” are vacant, according to a report from ABC2 News.

Link Roundup

Selectmen to slumlords: “Don’t MESS with Webster, Massachusetts!”

State tax booklet adds to the ground rent mess in Baltimore, reported by the Baltimore Sun.

Dear Damian Bohager, you know things are bad when the neighbors would rather have a vacant building than you as a neighbor.  Tax scofflaws are apparently not welcome in Pigtown/Washington Village.

Maryland lawyer and two employees are indicted for mortgage fraud, according to the Daily Record.

More mortgage fraud shenanigans in Maryland, this time reported by the FBI.,,

…and even more mortgage fraud.

Link Roundup

The City Paper has a link to Baltimore Housing’s “Draft 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan” in a short blog post by Ed Ericson — it’s a nice bedtime read, if housing horrors are your thing.  (Link opens a PDF).

Looks like the chickens finally came home to roost for Anne Arundel County delegate Tony McConkey — his real estate license has been suspended for a year.  From WBAL:  “McConkey admitted he had a practice of contacting homeowners on the verge of losing their homes, offered to save them from foreclosure and willfully violated the Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act — a law he voted for in 2005 and 2008.”

Wells Fargo is donating $5 million to nonprofit housing organizations in 34 communities, and guess which city didn’t make the cut?  Gee I wonder why…

If you’re a housing wonk, or just really interested in housing issues, you’ll want to take part in the National Dialogue on Green & Healthy Homes, starting November the 4th.