Complaint Review: Ameriquest

my Area Manager and he used to come into our office and do coke in the kitchen with our branch manager. Corey Scandin wasn't all that bad though. I think it was just the drug problem that took hold of him.

my Area Manager and he used to come into our office and do coke in the kitchen with our branch manager. Corey Scandin wasn't all that bad though. I think it was just the drug problem that took hold of him.

my Area Manager and he used to come into our office and do coke in the kitchen with our branch manager. Corey Scandin wasn't all that bad though. I think it was just the drug problem that took hold of him.

my Area Manager and he used to come into our office and do coke in the kitchen with our branch manager. Corey Scandin wasn't all that bad though. I think it was just the drug problem that took hold of him.

FROM: CNN.COM

FBI warns of mortgage fraud 'epidemic'
Seeks to head off 'next S&L crisis'
From Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau
Friday, September 17, 2004 Posted: 5:44 PM EDT (2144 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rampant fraud in the mortgage industry has increased so sharply that the FBI warned Friday of an "epidemic" of financial crimes which, if not curtailed, could become "the next S&L crisis."

Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker said the booming mortgage market, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, has attracted unscrupulous professionals and criminal groups whose fraudulent activities could cause multibillion-dollar losses to financial institutions.

"It has the potential to be an epidemic," said Swecker, who heads the Criminal Division at FBI headquarters in Washington. "We think we can prevent a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis," he said.

In the 1980s, many Savings and Loans failed because of poor management, risky loans and investments, and in some cases, fraud. Taxpayers were left with a $132 billion tab to cover federal guarantees to S&L customers.

The FBI has dispatched undercover teams across the country in an urgent investigation into dealings by suspect mortgage brokers, appraisers, short-term investors, and loan officers, Swecker, flanked by FBI executives and Justice Department prosecutors, revealed.

In one operation, six individuals were arrested Thursday in Charlotte, charged with bank fraud for their roles in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud, officials said. The two-year investigation found fraudulent loans that exposed financial institutions and mortgage companies to $130 million in potential losses, they said.

Also Thursday, federal agents in Jacksonville arrested two people and executed seven search warrants in connection with an alleged scheme designed to defraud banks of $22 million, officials said.

The number of open FBI mortgage fraud investigations has increased more than five-fold in the past three years, from 102 probes in 2001 to 533 as of June 30 this year, the FBI said. The potential losses are staggering, and many financial institutions are cooperating with investigators.

Officials noted mortgage industry sources have reported more than 12,000 cases of suspicious activity in the past nine months, three times the number reported in all of 2001.

While the FBI described mortgage-related fraud as a nationwide problem, it said the levels of illegal activity are worse in some locations than in others.

States identified as the top 10 "hot spots" for mortgage fraud are Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

"It's bad in Georgia, the Atlanta area," said John Gillies, chief of the FBI's Financial Institutions Fraud Unit. "It was bad in the Charlotte area, but we've had a lot of undercover activity there that's helped push the problem into South Carolina."

Josh Hochberg, head of the Justice Department's Fraud Section, said some organized ethnic groups are becoming involved in mortgage fraud schemes, but he declined to identify the groups.

Officials said mortgage fraud is one prominent aspect of a wider problem of fraud aimed at financial institutions. The FBI said action has been taken against 205 individuals in the past month in what it described as the "largest nationwide enforcement operation in FBI history directed at organized groups and individuals engaged in financial institution fraud."

In addition to mortgage fraud, "Operation Continued Action" also targeted loan fraud, check kiting, and identity theft as major problems.

In one check-kiting scheme in Binghamton, New York, the operator of a recycling business wrote in excess of $1 billion in worthless checks over a 14-month period, officials said. Not all of the checks were cashed.

The FBI said last week the businessman, Adam Weitsman, was sentenced to one year in prison and forfeited $1 million in assets.

FROM: CNN.COM

FBI warns of mortgage fraud 'epidemic'
Seeks to head off 'next S&L crisis'
From Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau
Friday, September 17, 2004 Posted: 5:44 PM EDT (2144 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rampant fraud in the mortgage industry has increased so sharply that the FBI warned Friday of an "epidemic" of financial crimes which, if not curtailed, could become "the next S&L crisis."

Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker said the booming mortgage market, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, has attracted unscrupulous professionals and criminal groups whose fraudulent activities could cause multibillion-dollar losses to financial institutions.

"It has the potential to be an epidemic," said Swecker, who heads the Criminal Division at FBI headquarters in Washington. "We think we can prevent a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis," he said.

In the 1980s, many Savings and Loans failed because of poor management, risky loans and investments, and in some cases, fraud. Taxpayers were left with a $132 billion tab to cover federal guarantees to S&L customers.

The FBI has dispatched undercover teams across the country in an urgent investigation into dealings by suspect mortgage brokers, appraisers, short-term investors, and loan officers, Swecker, flanked by FBI executives and Justice Department prosecutors, revealed.

In one operation, six individuals were arrested Thursday in Charlotte, charged with bank fraud for their roles in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud, officials said. The two-year investigation found fraudulent loans that exposed financial institutions and mortgage companies to $130 million in potential losses, they said.

Also Thursday, federal agents in Jacksonville arrested two people and executed seven search warrants in connection with an alleged scheme designed to defraud banks of $22 million, officials said.

The number of open FBI mortgage fraud investigations has increased more than five-fold in the past three years, from 102 probes in 2001 to 533 as of June 30 this year, the FBI said. The potential losses are staggering, and many financial institutions are cooperating with investigators.

Officials noted mortgage industry sources have reported more than 12,000 cases of suspicious activity in the past nine months, three times the number reported in all of 2001.

While the FBI described mortgage-related fraud as a nationwide problem, it said the levels of illegal activity are worse in some locations than in others.

States identified as the top 10 "hot spots" for mortgage fraud are Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

"It's bad in Georgia, the Atlanta area," said John Gillies, chief of the FBI's Financial Institutions Fraud Unit. "It was bad in the Charlotte area, but we've had a lot of undercover activity there that's helped push the problem into South Carolina."

Josh Hochberg, head of the Justice Department's Fraud Section, said some organized ethnic groups are becoming involved in mortgage fraud schemes, but he declined to identify the groups.

Officials said mortgage fraud is one prominent aspect of a wider problem of fraud aimed at financial institutions. The FBI said action has been taken against 205 individuals in the past month in what it described as the "largest nationwide enforcement operation in FBI history directed at organized groups and individuals engaged in financial institution fraud."

In addition to mortgage fraud, "Operation Continued Action" also targeted loan fraud, check kiting, and identity theft as major problems.

In one check-kiting scheme in Binghamton, New York, the operator of a recycling business wrote in excess of $1 billion in worthless checks over a 14-month period, officials said. Not all of the checks were cashed.

The FBI said last week the businessman, Adam Weitsman, was sentenced to one year in prison and forfeited $1 million in assets.

Mark can specultate about who I am all day long.

Let me ask you Mark: Who have you asked about me?

I am cetain that Mark is well trained in the art of fraud by his superiors.

You can report all fraud to:

Financial Institutions Bureau 333 South Capitol Avenue, Suite A, Lansing, MI.
P.O. Box 30224
Lansing, MI 48909
Main Telephone (517) 373-3460; FAX (517) 335-0908

John,

Just a quick question. Have you moved out of your parents yet. Please let me know. :-)

Mark does not know the difference between you're and your.

He is a a typical Ameriquest dolt on the other end of the phone folks. Not much brain power here.

You have two types of Loan Officers at AQ:

1) Uneducated idiots like Mark.

2) Double Dealing Connivers.

I bet Mark wears his basball hat sideways, and he probably ate Ramen Noodles out of an upside-down frisbee before an Ameriquest Area Manager specifically targeted him for his empty-headedness.

Mark,

You are obviously too retarded for words and I will attempt to dignify that mindless jabbering with a reply. You are the prototype dumbass that Ameriquest seeks out when it searches for new young, dumb and eager employees that are easily fooled and exploited. Face it moron, you work in a glorified sweatshop. You are nothing more than an insect, entirely expendable. The lowest of the low. You prey on the poor and the helpless for a living. How does that feel? Do you honestly believe that your beloved company will go to bat for you when you are personally charged and held legally liable for the crimes that you perpetrate on a daily basis? You mean less than s**t to management and the sooner you pull your head out of your silly a*s and realize that the better off you will be. But whatever, keep booking more bad loans chump, you will burn out soon enough and they will easily replace you with some other used car salesman. Some people just have to learn the hard way.

P.S. Michigan is a toilet....there are more homeless people, more unemployed and more trailer parks per square mile in Michigan than in ANY OTHER STATE ...look it up :) And for the record...that wasn't my sister Mark..it was your's....but don't worry little buddy...she says that you will always be her favorite

Mariano still retains Scandin in PA/NJ/DE. Scandin has fired 3 Branch Managers this year. Since Scandin and upper management at Ameriquest trained them how to be criminals, they will go on be snakes elsewhere:

The Same Shenanigans in PA/NJ/DE: Corey Scandin at the Helm

Since I have already articulated my case in other blogs, I will copy and paste them here:

The Shenanigans are not isolated to One Branch

All you have to do is read the employee entries on here to see that the pattern is the same throughout the company.

Allow me to copy and paste my own here:

Corey Scandin Hedges his Bets

I heard they fired the manager in Egg Harbor who was a little wet-behind-the-ears punk. You see, Corey Scandin wants young naive managers at most of his branches because they don't fully understand the consequences of their actions.

Once they have a short run as the branch manager, they are fired. Then Ameriquest conducts their own internal audit and they then pin all of the fraud on the manager. Since they sell 25% of their loans on the secondary market, they probably keep the fraudulent loans and sell the more legitimate loans to investors.

Ameriquest just hired a bunch of new employees in Area 49 and Scandin will be watching all of them. If you are a new employee - watch out! Scandin speaks with a forked tongue, and if he ascertains that you think critically you will be fired.

I was hired in December, and there are only 2 people left from my initial training group. One is young and dumber than a rock, and the other made every effort to ingratiate himself with Scandin and every scumbag in upper management.

When Scandin decides who his favorites are, they are given workable leads. All of the other poor schmucks will be given the same recycled leads from Snap along with the outbound leads. It is virtually impossible to convert those leads because it is literally like opening up the phone book. Once you sit there and make 250 calls a day for 3-4 months and can't close 7 loans a month, you will be given a 30 day notice - talk about blatant favoritism!!!!!!!!

As you can see, Corey Scandin is the principle architect of area 49. Watch his body language, it speaks volumes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rebuttal REBUTTAL employee
Submitted: 4/26/2005 8:55:04 PM Modified: 4/26/2005 8:55:04 PM

Corey Scandin Follows the Same Pattern as other Ameriquest Area Managers

To all the new employees who were hired recently by Ameriquest for Area 49: Get out while you can!

If you are skeptical about what you are reading on here it is mainly due to the fact that Scandin and his cohorts have you hyped up about the pie in the sky numbers that they gave you in the interview. But, the fact remains that unless you are ready to have a brown nose, if you are dumber than a rock or if you are a double-dealing conniver, you will not last more than 4 months.

Let's look at some excerpts from other Ameriquest employees who have shared their thoughts with us.

-------------------------------------
Quinton
Greenbelt, Maryland:

I worked for Lloyd Grant, the "golden boy" of the Maryland area. This guy was promoted to run a branch after being with the company for less than 6 months. Do you want to know why, because he closed 36 loans in one month, that's right, 36!!! He always brags in our office how he closed those loans, through his "girls" that he has in other company's feeding him leads illegally!!!

That's just the tip of the iceberg, as soon as this guy walked into the office with his "ghetto" attitude, it's been nothing but fraud ever since. I've witnessed him on the phone with our title company begging them to remove liens from title just so we can close a loan. Or to put someone else on the title that didn't belong there in the first placed, just so we could do the loan as a refi instead of a purchase, this guy is crooked!

And this goes all the way to the top, the area manager, Cory Lenard, knows that all this goes on but just turns a blind eye. He never even comes into our office, and when he does, him and Lloyd just joke about all the money they are making and the girls that they hooked up with during the weekend. The area manager frequently goes out with the salespeople, but only a few certain salespeople, his "crew".
-------------------------------


This is exactly how the new office in Berwyn was run from what I have heard. The manager, who was also a 7-month rookie, carried himself the same way and engaged in the exact type of fraudulent activity that took place in Maryland. That particular manager was fired. Ameriquest conducted their own internal audit and pinned everything on him. They also had to hire a security guard because he threatened to kill Scandin. This was mainly due to the fact that Scandin befriended him outside of the office - Scandin does this with all of his flunky managers and potential flunky managers.

-----------------------------
Mariano
Mirimar, Florida:

AE's are forced to work 70 hr weeks and are threatened to be fired on an almost daily basis. Fraud is rampant and I have not only seen this first hand (fake signatures, cut and paste of almost every type of doc from W2's to insurance) but from speaking to other AEs in different areas, the stories are almost identical. The branches that are doing over 12 million in rev a month are ALL dirty. It is impossible for an AE trying to do things honestly to compete with dirt bags who lie, cheat and steal their way to Hawaii trips & $200,000 plus salaries. All one has to do to see this first hand is go into a branch, you will find an unqualified manager barking at a group of even less qualified account execs about why there isn't more gain on the board. You will see a group of 10-15 males all under 30 years old, throwing soccer balls around like monkeys and bragging out loud about the "last poor dumb b*****d that I bent over". All of these posts on this site are true.

THE APPRAISERS ARE ALL ON THE PAYROLL.The closing agents are taught to use the HUD arm, an old trick where the schedule of disbursements is covered by the notaries arm during signing so that the customer doesn't see the sick enormous fees and the pre-pay that are being charged to them. I myself have done countless loans where there was very little or no benefit to the customer...but they were done anyway because it meant $$ for the manager and the processors, and they threaten your job and pressure the AE's into signing them. I have also signed countless deals where I checked the final numbers after signing, only to find that the rate and the fees had been dramatically changed.

This company is SO greedy that it not only screws the customer, but after the loan signs, the corporate offices give seven days for the loan to fund, or else you as an AE get half of the revenue that was rightfully yours. They wait until the fourth day in and then sock you with a list of stips to collect that are so long that they KNOW you will never clear them in time. Hence, they take half of your money. Where does that money go? Who knows. Bottom line is, this company is about one thing, and that is the bottom line. Greed, Greed, Greed. I feel like I lost a piece of my soul working there, and I regret all of the bad loans that I have done.

-------------------------------------

This is exactly how Scandin's branches are run in Egg Harbor, Cherry Hill, King of Prussia, Berwyn, Bensalem and several others.

Scandin has been told by Account Executives at his branches that the fraudulent activity is not isolated to the Branch Manager. He has also been informed that appraisers ask for kickbacks to inflate the appraisals and he turns a blind eye to it.

Fact: Two of Scandin's Branch Managers have been fired this year, in Egg harbor and Berwyn. Both were rookie Account Executives with less than a year's experience, both were under 30 and both carried themselves like the thugs. Does anyone really think that Scandin does not know what kind of people he is appointing to his branches?

Scandin is following the same pattern that all of the other Area Managers are.

I would like to challenge every Account Executive who is fired or given a 30-day notice to send a copy of this report to Corey Scandin.

John - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.

I think T should look up the word diatribe in the dictionary.

It is obvious that Ameriquest keeps employees like T because they want uneducated Account Executives at most of their branches. Clearly, they do not want anyone intelligent or savvy enough to understand how the Secondary Market works.

The training program at Ameriquest teaches next to nothing about traditional mortgages. The only thing taught is the unique underwriting guidelines that enable the AE's to rush customers to the closing table. A proper refinance loan takes at least 3 weeks to originate process and underwrite for closing.

As for the Secondary Market, 25% of Ameriquest's loans are sold to investors. It is obvious that Ameriquest allows fraud to take place at most of their branches, then they pin all of the fraud on the Branch Manager or Account Executive and then go on to conduct their own internal audit. At that point, Ameriquest keeps the fraudulent loans for their own portfolio. The more legitimate loans are sold to investors.

You do not have to be Sherlock Holmes or Perry Mason to deduce that there is an obvious pattern at Ameriquest branches throughout the country.

Look Hillbilly, just because you say you worked here and know the name of a executive in this company doesn't make it so. If your this big insider as you say post your name and identify the misdeeds and dates,not your initials, or is that because it stands for Just Dumb. Head back out to the hills with your sister Coward.

Mark in Michigan......why don't you stop trying to downplay the fraud and the absolute disgusting crookedness that the company you love so dearly and work for represents. This isn't 1999 my friend, the public slowly but surely has become fully aware of your reputation as the absolute scum of the earth when it comes to mortgages and predatory lending. There are literally thousands of people across this country who are getting the word out and pulling your covers. Ameriquest has screwed so many people over that it will soon meet it's own demise due to it's own greed. And Mark...don't forget...there are hundreds...even thousands of ex employees out there who know how your game is played...and many of them are coming forward with information and getting ready to testify and spill the beans on this whole circus. I worked for Ameriquest for almost three years in the infamous region 6 that was headed by Mariano Demarin, who is now VP of sales and the KING of the lying cockroaches. He couldn't take the heat that is about to come down on South Florida and ran like a scared little girl. I have been privy to things and seen things Mark that you haven't, I know how this company works from top to bottom and it is 100% crooked. You seem like a new fish...all excitable and bent up to defend this "great" company...so let me tell you Mark either you have fallen victim to their brainwashing techniques, or you yourself are knee deep in fraud like everyone else...or you are blind and have your head up your a*s to not see what goes on around you. Personally I think it is #2, but whatever, thats for a grand jury to decide. You can lie to these people on this site Mark..but you know and I know what is really going down. Just know that the heat is on and the FBI and the state department know what is happening. Soon Roland Arnall will be the ambassador...but not to the Neatherlands...but maybe to San Quintin....maybe he and Mr. Demarin can share a cell and play drop the soap. That is if they aren't carried off and beaten to death by an angry mob of Ameriquest victims. Proud sponsor of the American nightmare :)

You state that, "Were Notaries, commissioned by the state to do what is right.", and then launch into a diatribe of all of this fraud you alledgedly witnessed firsthand and are now supposedly "going public" because you were not paid redefines the word chutzpah. You then state that you supposedly changed and manipulated terms and conditions in direct violation of your sworn oath to the state of Florida that you took when you became licensed notaries is enough to give me pause at your shamelessness. Please post your names so that I can help report you to the state of Florida myself for perjury. Your not some sort of heroes,your scumbags.

Your comments about Ameriquest's business practices and the activities of its Clearwater, Florida office, in particular, have not gone unnoticed. Even the most cursory research of Ameriquest reveals that it embraces wholesale its very own brand of predatory lending while ruthlessly exploiting the poor and the elderly. Indeed, from what I can tell, Ameriquest, drunk with power legitimized by Madison Avenue advertising, gives sleaziness a whole new meaning.

Just recently I had my own dealings with that very office, speaking with them on behalf of my 88 year old mother. As one who was a real estate professional in New York City for more than 25 years, I can only say that the degree of incompetence, deliberate misrepresentation, and amateurism that I have observed first hand at the Clearwater office of Ameriquest is absolutley astounding. In all my years in real estate I cannot recall having encountered anything like it with any reputable mortgage broker. Perhaps one of the most important things every consumer should know is that, at the very cornerstone of every branch of the real estate industry is "accuracy in representation"; fail to be accountable for what you say and represent to the consumer, and you stand to lose your license, pay enormous fines, or go to jail. There are no second chances. That's the law.

Let me preface what I am about to offer and suggest with a few facts: though I enjoyed it and was exceptionally successful, I am no longer in the real estate business. Real estate was essentially my "day job" en route to making my mark in those far more esoteric pursuits that I had cultivated and been trained for professionally since childhood both in the USA and abroad: classical music. I am one of the lucky ones; my dream came true. I am now a minor public figure, of sorts: a concert pianist, a recording artist for prestigious labels, and an established critic and columnist for many major newspapers and magazines, including the St Petersburg Times.

That said, I have of late been turning my attention as a critic to issues outside of the arts, especially those which affect consumers. Of special interest for me is the medical profession in Florida, which is nothing less than a largely incomptent aborhation endorsed and even supported by the state, the drug companies, and others who could care less about the health of individuals so long as there is a buck to be made.

In any event, your comments about Ameriquest interest me greatly, and appeal to my journalist's curiousity and determination to reveal the truth publicly. I would be most interested in talking with you at length about your experience with a view towards writing an investigative piece about Ameriquest (and like-minded predatory lending practioners), for the St Petersburg Times and other publications. Keep in mind that I am deeply embedded for many years in the major media. I have collaborated frequently, for example, with Hugh Downs (former co-host, with Barbara Walters, of ABC TV's newsmagazine, 20/20 ) and other prominent citizens and opinion makers. In my strange life, there has never been six degrees of separation from the movers and shakers who run things on this planet, and usually not even one. In other words, I have unusual access.

Should you need any help in consolidating your stories about Ameriquest, perhaps I can help. At least I can bring your experiences into expressive focus from a critical perspective that would mskrfor a most compelling read. I should add that, in talking with the Clearwater office (in particular with someone you mention in your comments ), I freely disclosed my involvement with in the fourth estate; that I know real estate law inside and out, probably long before most in that office were even in diapers; and that I would continue to keep a very close journalist's eye on the lot of them should they try anything unethical. I advised them to abandon the ill-advised route they had embarked upon as what is evidentlyi the fundamental measure of their business philosophy: deception and duplicity at the expense of their own customers in order to line their own pockets. (Indeed, to that end I caught the agent/broker that had been assigned to my mother's case no fewer than eight major misrepresentations - some would simply say lies --in the course of just a few days.) Finally I left them to contemplate a single word: ENRON. Who among them would really like to give up their freedom just to make anotehr lousy commission, only to spend the next 20 years behind bars?

Given my public position, and ability to reach it at will is a huge advantage not available to the average consumer who is condemned to deal with such huge conglomerates on his own, and often without a powerful, far-reaching voice of his own. I refer to those hard-working, tax paying citizens who remain frustrated by the indifferent corporate-speak that greets them on the other end of a phone, or in the form letter from some unnamed or careless corporate functionary. Even the most determined and energetic consumers, having been betrayed by such a grotesque distortion of the American dream as Ameriquest represents, are obliged to go through extraordinary hoops simply to get the press -- itself a monlithic, though on the whole a more ethical institution than others -- to pay attention to their thoughtful and wholly legitimate complaints. And there is no guarantee that the press will pay any attention at all.

Fortunatly, this kind of resistance, dismissal and indifference from corporate megapowers is something I do not have to put up with. I have resources to deal with it. To be sure, I can *do* something about it by virtue of my public position and the breadth of my journalistic reach. Not one of these guys and the dollars-rich companies which support them want bad publicity in the mainstream press, to which I can personally add an especially alluring additonal means, thanks to my work and connections, for airing their dirty laundry: Hollywood.

Keep this in mind, and caveat emptor: Ameriquest tells you only what you want to hear, not what you need to know! That's the oldest con in the book.