Stockton, Ca #1

[don]

Stockton won the gold on Forbes Most Miserable Cities To Live In list. FIRE did what it could to help . . .

California Real Estate Executive Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A real estate executive pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, California, Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, announced.

Richard W. Northcutt pleaded guilty to conspiring with a group of real estate speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County. The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and to obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices, the department said in court papers.

According to the court documents, after the conspirators' designated bidder bought a property at a public auction, they would hold a second, private auction, at which each participating conspirator would bid the amount above the public auction price he or she was willing to pay. The conspirator who bid the highest amount at the end of the private auction won the property. The difference between the price at the public auction and that at the second auction was the group's illicit profit, and it was divided among the conspirators in payoffs. According to his plea agreement, Northcutt participated in the scheme from September 2008 until October 2009.

Home buys exceeded $10 million in the scheme, a significant amount for Stockton.

Northcutt pleaded guilty to bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Northcutt also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Under a plea agreement, Northcutt will serve no more than 37 months and his fine cannot exceed $20,000. The government recommends Northcutt offer restitution of $349,260 to those swindled.


http://sacramento.fbi.gov/dojpressre...1/sc020411.htm

[thunderdownunder]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Don you have a certain way of raising my blood pressure - Plea Bargain my ass. The Law certainly is
And he is only one of many who have not yet been caught with their hands in this cookie jar - Talk about a moral hazard

[don]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Don you have a certain way of raising my blood pressure - Plea Bargain my ass. The Law certainly is
And he is only one of many who have not yet been caught with their hands in this cookie jar - Talk about a moral hazard

It's the least I can do. I mean that in the best possible way. (See Time for a Schism or Two?)

[lektrode]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Don you have a certain way of raising my blood pressure - Plea Bargain my ass. The Law certainly is
And he is only one of many who have not yet been caught with their hands in this cookie jar - Talk about a moral hazard

It's the least I can do. I mean that in the best possible way. (See Time for a Schism or Two?)

oh hell, thats nuthin - the real action today is just gettin goin over at:
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthr...Now-a-Lobbyist

where 'the pinkos' have just gotten into it with the 'mccarthyites' ;)

[coloradorockies]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

This is one guy.
A one-maned operation that is no doubt illegal.

What is this Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force? The biggest fraud perpetrated in the US history has no task force assigned to investigate it. Why is that? Oh yeah, Greed. The holders of the Gold who make the rules.

The root of the problem: foreclosures. This is an investors dream to buy real estate at a discount, or is it? When that investor buys the property at the foreclosure sale, how will he be able to get clear title? If the loan was one that was securitized, well,.... good luck with that.

If the consumer protection bill would have eliminated the securitization of home loans, we might well be on our way to recovery. The future of real estate has changed incredibly and we are in a world of hurt without the ability to buy real property free and clear.

How about this task force be charged with the responsibility of investigation the real fraud: fraudulent foreclosures.

[lektrode]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

This is one guy.
A one-maned operation that is no doubt illegal.

What is this Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force? The biggest fraud perpetrated in the US history has no task force assigned to investigate it. Why is that? Oh yeah, Greed. The holders of the Gold who make the rules.

uhh... not exactly... nears eye can tell, its the guys who are holding The Paper(CDO's,CMBS,MBS's,CDS's *WTFIATS's) who are 'making the rules' ?

(* what the f___ is all that s___'s ?)

The root of the problem: foreclosures. This is an investors dream to buy real estate at a discount, or is it? When that investor buys the property at the foreclosure sale, how will he be able to get clear title? If the loan was one that was securitized, well,.... good luck with that.

uh huh.... never mind trying to work out what MERS has 'created'

If the consumer protection bill would have eliminated the securitization of home loans, we might well be on our way to recovery. The future of real estate has changed incredibly and we are in a world of hurt without the ability to buy real property free and clear.

How about this task force be charged with the responsibility of investigation the real fraud: fraudulent foreclosures.

or better yet: fraudulant legislation that enabled the rest of it - some of The Worst, of which, has just has recently passed thru congress and so on...

Hello form Colorado

howzit lookin at: http://arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/snow...s/default.aspx
any sign of global warming?
;)

[coloradorockies]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

any sign of global warming?
;)

No just sign of freezing in Colorado

[Shakespear]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

purpose of the conspiracy

WHAT !!!!! A "conspiracy" !!!! Shakespear thought that this word was a instant flag that "Your Nuts Buddy if you think ...." in the USA.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Forbes' America's 20 Most Miserable Cities

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/sto...ies_slide.html

#2 Miami
#16 Washington DC
#19 Jacksonville

Forbes' 10 Happiest Cities To Work In America

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/hap...?partner=yahoo

#3 Jacksonville
#4 Miami
#5 Washington DC

[flintlock]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Forbes' America's 20 Most Miserable Cities

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/sto...ies_slide.html

#2 Miami
#16 Washington DC
#19 Jacksonville

Forbes' 10 Happiest Cities To Work In America

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/hap...?partner=yahoo

#3 Jacksonville
#4 Miami
#5 Washington DC

They're bipolar cities!

[c1ue]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Forbes' America's 20 Most Miserable Cities

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/sto...ies_slide.html

#2 Miami
#16 Washington DC
#19 Jacksonville

Forbes' 10 Happiest Cities To Work In America

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/hap...?partner=yahoo

#3 Jacksonville
#4 Miami
#5 Washington DC

Actually this is quite consistent - those without jobs (many) suffer and are miserable.

The more jobless, the more thankful (Think Potemkin village) the remaining employed are...

[aaron]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

People who work in D.C. do not live in D.C. if they can avoid it. They live in Northern Virginia and Maryland where the schools are good, etc.

[flintlock]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

People who work in D.C. do not live in D.C. if they can avoid it. They live in Northern Virginia and Maryland where the schools are good, etc.

Thats a good point. There are places I am happy to work in where I would not want to live.

[goodrich4bk]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

Stockton won the gold on Forbes Most Miserable Cities To Live In list. FIRE did what it could to help . . .

Home buys exceeded $10 million in the scheme, a significant amount for Stockton.


Under a plea agreement, Northcutt will serve no more than 37 months and his fine cannot exceed $20,000. The government recommends Northcutt offer restitution of $349,260 to those swindled.


http://sacramento.fbi.gov/dojpressre...1/sc020411.htm

I can tell you this scam has been around for years if not longer. I had a client in 1992 engage in this "round robin" and I told him it was illegal and that he should stop. I didn't hear from him again.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Re: Stockton, Ca #1

They're bipolar cities!

Funny. And there's a pill for that now. Such articles remind me of talk shows where the guest mentions a city and the audiance applauds it. I don't put as much stock in these than that.

Actually this is quite consistent - those without jobs (many) suffer and are miserable.

The more jobless, the more thankful (Think Potemkin village) the remaining employed are...

Your dark side is showing.

They captioned for Jax's misery: "pro sports...The NFL's Jaguars have just one playoff win the past decade...Wayne Weaver...announced that coach Jack Del Rio would be back in 2011.

Life is hard.

People who work in D.C. do not live in D.C. if they can avoid it. They live in Northern Virginia and Maryland where the schools are good, etc.

People without children are people too.

I've a childless cousin in a townhouse on Capitol Hill. Totally a great place to live.

As to the criteria for selecting the Happiest Cities to Work (from the article):

"... Here, the top 10 cities, their average salaries and a sneak peek at how they scored on two key issues: job security and work-life balance ratings (all scored out of five points)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-life_balance

"Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work"... on one hand and "life" (Health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other."

So it looks like that article considers living where one works, but I don't know to presume either way.

If I get a chance I'll compare commute times between the bipolar cities and their chemically balanced counterparts to see if that indicates validation that more people commute to miserable cities to be happy at work than commute to happy cities where they are sadly employed, or whatever anyone might care to extrapolate.