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» at TriMavin from October 2011 to January 2013—alleges Stearns developed a program to recruit mortgage brokers and loan officers by telling prospective recruits they could provide their own personal list of appraisers to be included on TriMavin's panel of approved appraisers. Regulations under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) require employees, officers, and directors in the loan process not to be directly involved in selecting, retaining, recommending, or otherwise influencing the choice of who will perform a valuation or who may be included on a panel of approved appraisers. The complaint, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court, goes on to say that when Scheri brought up her concerns to Eric Dellorusso, TriMavin president, he responded that the accepted names were blended into the list of approved appraisers and would be used on a rotating basis. Scheri alleges that Stearns' appraisers were ranked in such a way that they were guaranteed to be used over other appraisers. Scheri also says in a meeting with Dellorusso, she observed a stack of papers that Dellorusso admitted was a list of appraisers provided by incoming Stearns CEO Brian Hale to be used at TriMavin. Immediately thereafter, "Dellorusso told [Scheri] he should not have told her where this list of appraisers came from and directed her not to disclose to anyone that she had seen the list or where it came from as it could cost him his job," the complaint says. STAT INSIGHT Decline in distressed property sales in California over the 12-month period ending in August, countered by a 46.6% annual increase in nondistressed sales. Source: PropertyRadar VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM Scheri additionally alleges that, when she refused to budge on the issue of Stearns' production personnel manipulating appraisals, Dellorusso "told [Scheri] he had decided a man would be better equipped to handle [her] job as a man could deal with [Stearns'] production personnel better than a woman." Eventually, her disagreements with upper management over the alleged violations culminated in her firing, Scheri says. Based on her experience and TriMavin's alleged unlawful retaliation, Scheri has brought suit against the company, along with Stearns and 30 as yet unnamed defendants. Representatives for Stearns did not immediately respond to a request for comment. California Broker Receives 10-Year Prison Sentence for Mortgage Fraud In California, a real estate broker out of Elk Grove was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme that led to more than $5.5 million in losses, the Justice Department announced recently. Hoda Samuel, 62, owned and operated Liberty Real Estate & Investment Company and Liberty Mortgage Company. Samuel served as the real estate agent for the buyer in 29 out of 30 fraudulent sales transactions that occurred between April 2006 and February 2007. All the properties involved in the transactions went into foreclosure. The transactions included false statements pertaining to income, employment, and rental history. To back the fabricated information, false documents were created and presented to lenders, and people were paid to answer calls from lenders and affirm the false statements. Samuel also exaggerated the value of the collateral securing the loans, often exceeding the actual asking prices by $15,000 to $40,000. Repairs and costs for disability access modifications were also included in the prices but were rarely done. According to the Justice Department, at times, children of buyers were named as building contractors so money could go to the buyers. "Greed-based crimes such as these can undermine the stability of our financial institutions and the economy, resulting in devastating consequences for homeowners, businesses, and the communities in which the properties are located," said special agent in charge Monica M. Miller of the Sacramento division of the FBI. THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. 73

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