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FBI, IRS' Criminal Investigations division, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). According to the indictment, defendant Andrea Ramirez and several of her employ- ees operated a loan mod scheme out of 21st Century Real Estate Investment Corporation and several other businesses, which targeted distressed homeowners and made false promises and guarantees about their abilities to negotiate loan modifications. The indictment also alleges that 21st Century falsely represented that it was operating a government-sponsored loan mod program and instructed homeowners to cease communicating with or paying their mortgage lenders. Ramirez and her co-defendants are also charged with taking money from homeowners, saying it would be used to help make mortgage payments. They allegedly kept the money. As a result of the scheme, more than Veros Rolls Out Enhancements to VeroSCORE Appraisal Analysis Estate Solutions announced in late September a major upgrade to VeroSCORE, the company's appraisal report analysis product. The new VeroSCORE features an Santa Ana, California-based Veros Real enhanced user interface that can be accessed via the Web. It also emphasizes validation of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) along with an included pre-check of each appraisal against known requirements prior to submission via the Uniform Collateral Delivery Portal (UCDP), an industry standard technology built by Veros. VeroSCORE now also includes additional 4,000 financially distressed homeowners lost at least $7 million in fees paid to the company. In addition, many homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure. All 11 defendants are charged with nine felony counts—five counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy. Each count carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Andrew Birotte Jr. rules to test the credibility of appraisals. It provides individual numeric scores based on the "three Cs" of appraisal quality: complete- ness, compliance, and credibility. These scores are presented with an overall VeroSCORE ranging from 0-1,000, along with suggested routing. Veros' director of valuation services, Bill their mortgage must have been serviced by one of the five servicers participating in the settlement—Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Payment checks will be mailed in mid-2013, according to the attorney general's office. Those who are eligible and receive claim forms must return the form by the deadline, January 18, 2013, or file the claim form online at NationalMortgageSettlement.com. Eligible borrowers do not need to prove financial harm to receive a payment and can still pursue a lawsuit against their mortgage servicer or participate in the separate Independent Foreclosure Review process. Attorney General Kamala Harris warned borrowers of potential scams, asking for personal information or money for settle- ment-related assistance. Borrowers who need assistance with filing a claim or who believe they should have received a claim form but did not are instructed to contact the settle- ment administrator. commented, "The housing crisis provided fraud artists a new avenue to exploit people in financial distress. Many of the victims in this alleged scheme were in desperate financial straits, and shameless financial predators promised relief they could not deliver. As a result, many homeowners went into foreclosure and now have to deal with the ramifications of losing their homes." STAT INSIGHT Number of days (estimated) to obtain a marketable title on a California property 300 from the time a notice of default is filed. Source: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 78 King, said, "VeroSCORE is of tremendous help for lenders desiring to test and improve quality on their incoming appraisals. It also allows AMCs to provide third-party valida- tion on appraisals prior to going to their cli- ents, and is an essential due diligence tool for mortgage investors when buying loan pools. The new VeroSCORE incorporates a number of analytic and reporting enhancements that reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enable easier compliance." More than 400K Borrowers to Receive Settlement Claim Forms says claim forms will be sent out to borrowers who may be eligible for settlement funds after losing their homes to foreclosure. The funds are made available through the $25 billion na- tional mortgage servicing settlement, which set aside $1.5 billion in payments for 2 million qualifying borrowers nationwide. About 432,584 California borrowers will The California Attorney General's Office receive claim forms. To be eligible, borrowers must have experienced a foreclosure between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011, and Prospect Mortgage Finances HomePath REOs, Opens Correspondent Unit for Renovation Loans Mortgage, a national lender based in Sherman Oaks, California, as a new financing partner for its HomePath Mortgage program, which makes loans to buyers of Fannie Mae's REO homes. The HomePath Mortgage program al- Fannie Mae has selected Prospect lows buyers to purchase Fannie Mae-owned properties with no lender-requested appraisal and no mortgage insurance. The program is available to owner-occupants and investors, and Fannie Mae just recently raised the limit on the number of properties investors can finance. Qualified investors can now secure HomePath Mortgage funding for up to 20 properties; previously, the limit was 10 non- owner occupied properties. Funding can be used to purchase one- to four-unit residential properties with conforming loan amounts or high-balance loans. "We're delighted to have been selected by Fannie Mae as the inaugural financing partner for the expanded HomePath investor loan program," said Doug Long, president of Prospect Mortgage Retail and Correspondent Lending. "Prospect

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