April 14, 2011

We have been railing against the misdeeds, faulty paperwork, and wrongful actions of MERS for now going on four (4) years. Although most Judges have seen the truth and have ruled accordingly against MERS, there are certain holdouts who continue to (wrongfully) equate MERS “solely a nominee” with MERS “as an agent” and have otherwise approved MERS’ faulty practices. Fortunately for all of us, the United States Department of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have found, apparently after an exhaustive investigation, that MERS and MERSCORP have committed a series of serious failures with respect to their operations and management in connection with services provided to Examined Members related to initiating foreclosures, including the following (from page 5, paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Consent Order as to MERS):

     (a)  have failed to exercise appropriate oversight, management supervision and corporate governance, and have failed to devote adequate financial, staffing, training, and legal resources to ensure proper administration and delivery of services to Examined Members (e.g. mortgage lenders and servicers); and

     (b)  have failed to establish and maintain adequate internal controls, policies, and procedures, compliance risk management, and internal audit and reporting requirements with respect to the administration and delivery of services to Examined Members; and

     (5) by reason of the conduct set forth above, MERS and MERSCORP engaged in unsafe or unsound practices that expose them and Examined Members to unacceptable operational, compliance, legal, and reputational risks. (empasis added).

     Shazam!!! A series of findings by multiple Federal agencies (which MERS and MERSCORP do not admit or deny) that MERS and its parent corporation engaged in unsafe or unsound practices in connection with initiating foreclosures which expose them and the lenders, “trustee” banks, and servicers to UNACCEPTABLE legal risks!

     About time. Those of us who live in this world are more than aware of the never-ending parade of fraudulent acts undertaken by MERS on almost a daily basis; MERS’ consistent violations of its own self-imposed regulations and limitations; and MERS’ violations of trusts documents, trust law, and regulations and contract requirements applicable to securitized mortgage loan trusts. These findings should prompt every Judge who has a case with MERS issues being litigated to take a serious step back and put the brakes on any foreclosure until ALL of the actions of MERS are fully analyzed against MERS’ own Terms and Conditions, any trust documents, and applicable law. The various Federal agencies have recognized and confirmed the misconduct, so it is time for the Courts to do likewise.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefensenationwide.com