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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM shrinking, the share of non-distressed sales is at its highest level in four years. In August, non-distressed sales accounted for 62.2 per- cent of sales, an increase from 59.5 percent in July and 51.7 percent in August 2011. Interthinx Teams Up with Compliance Firm Hills, California, announced it is teaming up with Dallas, Texas-based Middleberg Riddle & Gianna's MRG Document Technologies practice group to assist financial institutions in addressing legal and regulatory requirements. Roger Fendelman, VP of compliance at Interthinx, headquartered in Agoura redundancy; reduce loan underwriting time; and recognize borrower, participant, and property valuation risk swiftly." California Man Faces Up to 30 Years for Foreclosure Scheme Interthinx, said, "In this new environment, lenders are faced with increased compliance demands with less margin for error. Most originators do not have sufficient in-house staff or expertise to address these issues." Interthinx provides risk mitigation tools with a focus on mortgage fraud and regulatory compliance. MRG Document Technologies provides compliance and mortgage technology products and services in the document compliance space. The service the two companies will offer combines technology with reviews performed by Interthinx mortgage compliance special- ists and the experts at MRG Document Technologies. The organizations hope to put their compliance and legal expertise to work to provide detailed compliance reviews without the need for system integration. "We understand the increased pressure on lenders to be fully compliant with the ever- changing legal and regulatory requirements," said Michael L. Riddle, managing partner at Middleberg Riddle & Gianna. "That's why we established this service with Interthinx to provide content analysis for lenders." In addition to offering the combined services of Interthinx and MRG Document Technologies, Interthinx also announced the release of FraudGUARD Evolution. FraudGUARD is a customizable Web- California, was arrested at his home in late September on a complaint charging him with mail fraud for running a multi-state foreclosure rescue scheme that bilked homeowners out of more than $3.1 million. It is alleged he scammed more than 1,000 homeowners. According to court documents, Tikal oper- Alan David Tikal of Brentwood, Wells Fargo's Lobbying Efforts Cost Millions ated a large-scale mortgage rescue scam that began in January 2010 and continued until he was arrested. He allegedly convinced home- owners that he could work out their mortgage debt by replacing it with a loan for a lower amount from his company, KATN Trust. He instructed the homeowners to ignore all correspondence from their original lenders, while they paid thousands of dollars in upfront fees and regular payments on their new loans. If convicted, Tikal faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) reported, "as alleged, Tikal's operation duped victims with false claims of drastically lowering their mortgage debt in exchange for advance fees. As a result of his alleged deceit, homeowners' financial conditions worsened, and for some, the opportunity to participate in legitimate loan modification programs such as the government-sponsored Home Affordable Modification Program was lost." The case is the product of a combined finance, facing increased scrutiny from the government, Wells Fargo has ramped up its lobbying activities over the past several years. After spending a mere $620,000 on lobbying in 2002, the Center for Responsive Politics reports that a decade later the California- based bank's spending is in the millions. In 2011, Wells Fargo spent nearly $8 million on government lobbying. This year, according to the Center, the bank has invested approxi- mately $3.8 million in lobbying. With its increase in spending, Wells With banking, and particularly housing Fargo has also increased the number of lobbyists registered in various states. A Charlotte Observer reporter stated that 150 lobbyists are working in 31 state capitals on behalf of Wells Fargo, while five years ago, only 47 lobbyists were working in 10 states. The increase in the number of registered lobbyists is attributed to changing rules regarding government contracts. One such change in some states requires individuals vying for government contracts to register as lobbyists, even though they may not be functioning in that capacity. A Wells Fargo spokesperson told the Observer "There's been an increase in procure- ment lobbying laws over the past few years, and Wells Fargo strives to comply with applicable laws and regulations." However, according to the Observer, Wells Fargo "has put legislative lobbyists in state capitals where none had been before." Wells Fargo's top-lobbied bill was the Hous- based tool that identifies risk and potential fraud in loans using a combination of public and private data. According to a company release, the enhancements to FraudGUARD will increase operational speed, further workflow efficiency, and improve usability for mortgage lenders and investors. Jim Portner, VP of product for investigation by SIGTARP, IRS' Criminal Investigation division, the California Department of Justice, and the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. It is a joint prosecution by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California and the California Attorney General's Office. "As the foreclosure crisis continues, we are origination solutions at Interthinx, said, "The FraudGUARD Evolution release complements the comprehensive Interthinx system by delivering features designed to eliminate seeing a rise in scams that target struggling homeowners," said California Attorney General Kamala Harris. "These predators rob innocent families of their life savings and their piece of the American dream. I am thankful for the fine work of the California Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and of our U.S. Department of Justice colleagues in cracking this case." ing Finance Reform Act of 2011. The company mentioned the bill in four issues reports in 2011. Increasing the number of lobbyists is not all that surprising, according to the Center for Re- sponsive Politics, noting that "a special interest's lobbying activity may go up or down over time, depending on how much attention the federal government is giving their issues." Eleven Indicted in California Mortgage Mod Scam worked at a Rancho Cucamonga, California- based business accused of offering false loan modification programs to homeowners. The federal indictment is the result of a joint investigation of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Federal agents arrested 10 defendants who 77

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