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After the forensic audit was completed, Register O’Brien proclaimed: :My registry is a crime scene as evidenced by this forensic examination. The Audit makes the finding that this was not only a MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems) problem, but a scheme also perpetuated by MERS shareholder banks such Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and others. I am stunned and appalled by the fact that America’s biggest banks have played fast and loose with people’s biggest asset – their homes. This is disgusting, and this is criminal. This evidence has made it clear to me that the only way we can ever determine the total economic loss and the amount of damage done to the taxpayers is by conducting a full forensic audit of all registry of deeds in Massachusetts. I suspect that at the end of the day we are going to find that the taxpayers have been bilked in this state alone of over $400 million not including the accrued interest plus costs and penalties.” With 40,000 Home Foreclosures, Massachusetts Official Declares Foreclosure Crisis Is “Still A Crime Scene” By Senka Huskic Occupy.com, November 21, 2014 The foundation of America is being eroded every day, as people keep losing their homes through fraudulent foreclosures with no one to turn to for help. Seven years since the housing crisis began, we should stop, think about the facts and ask: How with a clear conscience can we let this continue? Massachusetts has a special place in American history. The state was home to those who realized they couldn’t, and wouldn’t, take any more injustice – and that they were the ones responsible for making change. One of the new popular heroes from Massachusetts is the Southern Essex County Register of Deeds, John O’Brien. O’Brien was the first government official in the country to stand up and speak out about illegal foreclosures. Until today, he hasn’t given up on his mission to uncover and prosecute the bankers and their accomplices whose fraud brought the country to the edge of an economic and moral collapse. I remember, at first, how as a taxpayer and someone who believed in our justice system, I was extremely upset that there weren’t more elected officials willing to do their jobs and defend not only homeowners, but Americans’ basic property rights as well. Register O’Brien was among the few nationwide who was unafraid to do what was right – and who courageously continues to fight for homeowners against unscrupulous and corrupt banks. In 2010, after a homeowner tipped off O’Brien’s office about on-going irregularities and fraudulent recordings by the banks in his registry, O’Brien decided to conduct an audit of all mortgage assignments. He probably never suspected that audit findings would bring out so much irregularity in his own registry, where he has been serving since 1978. After the forensic audit was completed, Register O’Brien proclaimed: “My registry is a crime scene as evidenced by this forensic examination. The Audit makes the finding that this was not only a MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems) problem, but a scheme also perpetuated by MERS shareholder banks such Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and others. I am stunned and appalled by the fact that America’s biggest banks have played fast and loose with people’s biggest asset – their homes. This is disgusting, and this is criminal. “This evidence has made it clear to me that the only way we can ever determine the total economic loss and the amount of damage done to the taxpayers is by conducting a full forensic audit of all registry of deeds in Massachusetts. I suspect that at the end of the day we are going to find that the taxpayers have been bilked in this state alone of over $400 million not including the accrued interest plus costs and penalties.“ In the audit, 16% of the assignments were valid, 75% were invalid, and 9% were deemed questionable. Only in 60% of the mortgages could the accurate owner be determined. O’Brien suspects his county lost as much as $22 million in revenue since 1998, though the number is probably much higher. He also has a message for those who are trying to play the blame game between America’s two leading political parties: “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue,” he says, “it is an American issue, one that strikes at the very backbone of our country – people’s property rights. To make deals and turn a blind eye to fraud is awful.” After I met with Register O’Brien, he agreed to attend the backyard meeting for homeowners that I organized in 2012. He showed up while the temperature was reaching close to 100 degrees that day. He did his wonderful presentation, the same one that he presented to the country’s registers of deeds during their annual conference. Since the start, O’Brien was diligent in his work and eager to share his findings with those who have more authority to stop and prosecute foreclosure fraud. O’Brien also sent his findings to the Mortgage Task Force and informed its leadership about the enormous fraud occurring in his registry of deeds, perpetrated by the banks and law firm representing them. I asked him how he feels today about the lack of response and action on their part. “I am disappointed, I think they had the opportunity to make real change, but sadly they choose another road,” he replied. O’Brien has printed all fraudulent, robo-signed documents that were recorded at his office; as of today, there are more than 40,000 of those documents sitting on his office desk. When I asked him how he feels about facing this kind of fraud every day, and how these recordings can impact the future of his registry, O’Brien replied: “I am disgusted. Every day I come in and I look at the over 40,000 fraud documents that have corrupted homeowners’ chains of title. I truly believe that we need a full forensic audit to show the extent of the...
