I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The office of Attorney General Mike Cox announced indictments of four Michigan men over an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving more than a million dollars in fraudulent loans.
Three of the individuals are charged with racketeering: Dequincy Hyatt, of Detroit; Seaesther Thompson-Hayes, of Flat Rock; and Aaron Brooks, Jr., of Southgate. The fourth individual, Pietro Biundo, of Washington, Michigan, is charged with filing false documents when selling a home in one of the mortgage fraud transactions.
An investigation by the Michigan State Police and Attorney General’s office revealed that in 2006 Dequincy Hyatt, managing partner of J.B. Homes/Construction, LLC., Seaesther Hayes, a mortgage broker, and Aaron H. Brooks, Jr., a former service representative for the People’s Trust Credit Union (PTCU), partnered together to perpetrate a large scale mortgage fraud.
Two properties were involved in this case. In the first case, it is alleged the defendants secured a $710,000 mortgage for a $510,000 home in Shelby Township. After paying fees, the defendants were able to skim more than $163,000 off the transaction.
In the second case, it is alleged the defendants secured a $785,000 mortgage though the straw buyer for a $515,000 Clinton Township home. The seller of the home in this case, Biundo, was also charged with filing false documents related to the transaction.
Cox said that enforcing the law against such frauds is important: “Mortgage fraud directly hurts Michigan consumers. The housing market, consumers and mortgage lenders suffer when scam artists limit the ability of law-abiding citizens to obtain loans.”
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