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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM North Dakota rank: 50 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate september 2012 0.74% Unemployment Rate 0.94% 3.0% year ago 0.78% 1.04% 3.6% percent point change -4.2% -9.6% -16.7% Top County RaNsom CouNTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate september 2012 1.44% Foreclosure Rate 2.28% year ago 1.29% 2.58% percent point change 11.9% -11.6% Top Core-Based statistical area miNoT, ND 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate september 2012 0.98% 1.22% Court documents revealed Powers and McMaster conspired from October 2007 to April 2010 to defraud North Dakota-based BNC by misrepresenting the financial health of American Mortgage Specialists to obtain funding. According to their plea documents, Powers and McMaster sent false financial information to BNC, overstating their company's cash on hand. The information also disguised delinquent IRS tax payments as marketing and advertising expenses. The DOJ also stated BNC's holding company received about $20 million in TARP funds and used $17 million for BNC. BNC's losses were more than the received TARP funds, and the bank did not make its required TARP dividend payments to the Treasury for nearly two years. Powers and McMaster agreed to forfeit $28,564,470. Both face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when they are sentenced April 15, 2013. year ago 1.25% 0.55% STAT INSIGHT $164,200 percent point change -21.5% 120.3% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the September 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary September 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. IN THE NEWS Former Mortgage Execs Plead Guilty to $27M Bank Fraud Scheme Two former executives of American Mortgage Specialists Inc. pled guilty, October 19 in a federal court in North Dakota for their part in a $27 million bank fraud scheme that put BNC National Bank at risk, according to a the Justice Department (DOJ). Scott N. Powers, former American Mortgage Specialists CEO, and David E. McMaster, former American Mortgage Specialists VP, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution. The now defunct American Mortgage Specialists originated residential real estate mortgage loans and then sold the loans to institutional investors. In 2006, the company entered into an agreement with BNC for the bank to provide American Mortgage Specialists with funding for the loans. Median home price in October 2012 in North Dakota. Source: Zillow Ohio rank: 11 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate september 2012 3.17% Unemployment Rate 4.10% 7.0% year ago 3.41% 4.34% 8.6% percent point change -7.1% -5.4% -18.6% Top County MahOning COunTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate september 2012 4.21% Foreclosure Rate 6.84% year ago 4.66% 7.73% percent point change -9.7% -11.4% Top Core-Based Statistical area aShTaBula, Oh 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate september 2012 3.49% 6.62% year ago 4.08% 7.20% percent point change -14.6% note: -8.0% The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the September 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary September 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. FROM THE BENCH Ohio Supreme Court Issues Notable Foreclosure Ruling The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled, October 31 that in order to file a foreclosure against a homeowner, a lender must prove standing at the time it first files. Lenders do not have a grace period to gather proof of standing between filing and judgment. The case, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. v. Schwartzwald, was brought before the Ohio Supreme Court after a lower court ruled in favor of Freddie Mac's right to file foreclosure without proof of standing. Freddie Mac did not have proof of standing when it filed but acquired proof before the lower court's ruling. The Schwartzwalds, who were in the process of working through a short sale with Wells Fargo at the time they received the foreclosure notice, appealed on the grounds that without proof of standing, Freddie Mac did not have grounds to sue them. The Ohio Supreme Court agreed that "receiving an assignment of a promissory note and mortgage from the real party of interest subsequent to the filing of action but prior to the entry of judgment does not cure a lack of standing to file a foreclosure action." Thus the court reversed the court of appeals' decision and dismissed the case. "This is a huge win for Ohio homeowners and was a much-anticipated decision," said defense attorney Troy Doucet of Doucet & Associates, LLC, a Columbus, Ohio-based foreclosure defense and consumer litigation law firm. "We will begin filing motions to dismiss in a number of our cases immediately," Doucet added. He said the decision could affect as much as one-fourth of all foreclosure cases at Doucet & Associates. IN THE NEWS Ohio Foreclosure Agency Honors Ocwen CEO The president and CEO of Ocwen Financial Corporation was honored recently at an annual gala hosted by Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), a HUD-approved foreclosure prevention agency. 119