Investigative journalist becomes victim of foreclosure fraud

George Knapp, chief investigative reporter from Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS was investigating improper foreclosure practices – widespread in the area – just to find out that he too was a victim of foreclosure fraud.

He was investigating foreclosure cases to analyze and bring into spotlight the situation of tens of thousands of troubled homeowners who turned out not to actually own their homes due to fraudulent paperwork. After seeing how this can be figured out, he took his papers and found out he faces the same situation he was investigating.

According to Las Vegas foreclosure attorney Tisha Black, nine out of 10 foreclosure filings aren’t done properly, which jeopardizes the ownership status of the house in the future.

Learning from Tisha Black’s words, the reporter, George Knapp said, “I gave her my address, because I bought a home out of foreclosure three years ago. The Attorney General’s office confirmed to me that I don’t own my home because of bogus signatures and improper filings.”

Knapp shows in his investigation that fraudulent paperwork and bogus signatures have driven many families into foreclosures, even they paid their monthly mortgages on time. They, just as Knapp are the victims of the foreclosure fraud set up by banks which created MERS, an electronic registry that clouds the title ownership of the property, so the banks can foreclose on the properties. Instead of playing by the rules and follow the law, banks have created their own rules and they were backed by the administration in their work. The result speaks for itself: financial crisis, followed by the foreclosure crisis.

What homeowners who purchase a home out of foreclosure need to do, Knapp underscores, is take their papers and track the paper trail, just to be sure there is everything is clear and if not, which can happen easily, get in contact with a foreclosure attorney, as the foreclosure is imminent on that property.