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BofA Settles Up With Attorney In Nyerges Case

June 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dick Hogan, Naples Press-News

Bank of America is caught up at last on its account with a Golden Gate couple who were sued by the bank for foreclosure even though they never had a mortgage, the couple’s attorney said today.

The bank cut a check Friday for $5,772.88 to cover Naples-based attorney Todd Allen’s $2,534 fee for defending retired Bay Village, Ohio, police Sgt. Warren Nyerges and his wife, Maureen, who were being foreclosed on by the bank.

That check also covers the expenses of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Two deputies showed up Friday at the bank’s Davis Boulevard branch in Naples with Allen and a court order authorizing them to remove property such as furniture from the bank for public auction if the debt wasn’t paid.

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Homeowner Threatens To Seize Assets From BofA Branch For Unpaid Judgment

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Steven Beardsley,  Naples News

Warren and Maureen Nyerges know how difficult it can be to get Bank of America’s attention.

When the lending giant mistakenly attempted to foreclose on the couple’s cash-purchased Golden Gate Estates home in 2010, they spent weeks on the phone and in court before the case was dismissed.

A judge ordered the bank to pay $2,500 in attorney fees for the couple’s troubles. Yet after five months and even more phone calls, neither the bank nor its local counsel had paid.

Friday morning, the couple opted for a different tactic. Media in tow, their attorney arrived outside a Davis Boulevard branch of the bank with deputies, a moving company and the court’s permission to seize branch assets.

“I’m either leaving the building with a whole bunch of furniture, or a check or cash or something,” the attorney, Todd Allen, vowed.

It was a scene that turned the foreclosure crisis on its head, if briefly. Collier County sheriff’s deputies entered the bank shortly after 9 a.m., located the bank manager and presented him with a court writ and a familiar choice: Pay the money or prepare to lose possessions.

The Daily News first reported on the Nyergeses in 2010, after Bank of America filed a foreclosure complaint against the pair.

The lawsuit came as a surprise. Not only had the couple never defaulted, they had no mortgage to default on, having paid cash for the 2009 purchase of a single-story, 2,700-square-foot home owned by the bank.

For nearly two months, Warren Nyerges, 46, a former sheriff’s deputy in Ohio, fought the lawsuit on the phones and in a Collier County courtroom. He worked with a local branch to clear up the misunderstanding, and he filed a motion to dismiss the case and a motion for fees.

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FL AG Investigates One of It’s Own

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SHANNON BEHNKEN and MICHAEL SASSO, Tampa Tribune

The Florida Attorney General’s Office said Friday that it is investigating the involvement one of its attorneys had with one of the state’s largest foreclosure firms.

This comes a day after the office said it is investigating the firm, Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, for what “appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases.” The investigation is a civil action, rather than a criminal probe.

Florida Default Law Group represents lenders and mortgage servicing companies in foreclosure lawsuits and other real estate matters. Such firms, which frequently process hundreds or thousands of foreclosure cases a month, are sometimes referred to as “foreclosure mills” in the legal field.

Erin Cullaro, a former employee of the foreclosure firm, now works as anassistant attorney general in Tampa for the Economic Crimes Division of the attorney general’s office.

While working for the attorney general’s office, Cullaro was approved to work as a notary for the foreclosure firm, the state law enforcement agency said. Her conduct in that role is now being questioned in connection with an ongoing foreclosure lawsuit that alleges her role was a conflict of interest and that her notarized signatures were inconsistent.Court documents assert that she signed off on documents while out of town on business with the attorney general’s office.

“Any suggestion that one of our attorneys might have been involved inimproper activities while engaged as a notary outside of her scope of employment with this office is troubling,” said Ryan Wiggins, aspokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. “The attorney general has asked his inspector general to thoroughly investigate this matter.”

Cullaro could not be reached for comment. John Cullaro, her husband, represents her in the case and said he has no comment. Also, the Tribune was unable to reach representatives of Florida Default Law Group on Thursday or Friday.

Meanwhile, the lawyer who raised the questions about Cullaro said he is pleased the matter is being taken seriously.

“This is shocking that one of the attorney general’s own attorneys was helping to execute documents on behalf of the very company it is now investigating,” said Tom Ice of Ice Legal in West Palm Beach.

Ice detailed his questions in court documents filed in the 7th Judicial Circuit in Volusia County. Ice said Cullaro worked as a lawyer with Florida Default Group before she worked for the attorney general’s office. When she left the firm, she continued to serve as an expert witness for the firm, signing affidavits to establish that the firm’s fees were reasonable.

Her sister-in-law, Lisa Cullaro, notarized the affidavits, according to court documents. When Erin started work for the attorney general’s office, the Cullaros changed roles: Lisa Cullaro served as the expert witness, and Erin Cullaro notarized the documents.

Ice said both Lisa and Erin Cullaro’s signatures varied in appearance, and he wants to question the two about it. The Cullaros, through lawyers, protested, but a Volusia County judge agreed in early April to allow Ice to ask the two limited questions. This has not yet happened.

Ice thinks the questions may help his foreclosure lawsuit. In that case, Florida Default Law Group is representing Wells Fargo Bank.

read more here: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/01/bz-state-ag-investigates-its-own/news-money/

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MFI-Miami Report Persuades Judge to Deny Motion Filed By Foreclosure Mill Law Firm

March 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

On March 25, 2010, Judge Stuart Simons of the 11th Circuit Court in Miami handed down a ruling in Wells Fargo v. Cirigliano (Case #08-288-46-CA10) dismissing Well Fargo’s Motion for Summary Judgment against MFI-Miami’s client John Cirigliano.
“This is great news not only for John Cirigliano,” said MFI-Miami President Steve Dibert , “but it means the judicial system as whole is finally understanding the level of fraud that was committed by mortgage professionals during the boom.”

Cirigliano’s mortgage appears to contain forged documents, multiple levels of deceptive practices by the broker and the now defunct GreenPoint Mortgage, fraudulent appraisals, and evidence Wells Fargo lacks standing to execute the terms of the mortgage.

Steve Dibert describes it this way, “This loan is so dirty, I have to shower after just thinking about it. This is probably one of the most egregious examples of mortgage fraud I have seen in two years!”

Judge Simons did not find the argument put forth by Wells Fargo’s counsel from Marshall Watson and Associates compelling enough to warrant granting the motion and is now allowing this case to go to trial.

“The trial is where all the fun will begin.” said Steve Dibert, “Both Cindi Dixon from Mela Capital Group who assisted me on this investigation, and I are looking forward to the trial. We feel very confident that Mr. Cirigliano will receive the justice he deserves.”

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