Crime Scene
Do Not Cross!

By Brenda Reed

My name is Brenda Reed. I am an Oakland homeowner in foreclosure, a concerned citizen and a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and the Home Defenders League. We are here to stand and fight for social and economic justice.

We are here today because Chase Bank’s home ownership center is really a home foreclosure center. This is a crime scene. That is why we have covered the bank with yellow tape saying “Crime Scene – Do Not Cross!

Chase and other so-called “too big to fail banks” engaged in nationalized fraud that was carefully engineered and that is destroying our economy, our neighborhoods, our city and state. They engaged in predatory lending practices. They made risky loans and targeted communities and homeowners across the state and country.

Our mortgages were sliced and diced and sold over and over again as many as 15 times as mortgage-backed securities – from which the banks reaped billions in profits. These profits have paid off my house loan many times over. Chase is now trying to get my home for free.

Chase and other big banks are stealing our homes through fraud, forged and robo-signed documents. The banks do not comply with California foreclosure laws. Homeowners don’t even know the identity of their real lender, since their loans have been sold so often.

Since 2008, over 28,000 homes have been foreclosed in Oakland. This means $76 million in lost property tax. It costs over $19,000 to foreclose on a home. Foreclosures harm the value of every house in the neighborhood.

I am a Vietnam War widow whose husband was a true American hero. My home was destroyed in the Oakland firestorm 29 years ago today. I rebuilt. On November 21, the Monday before Thanksgiving, Chase plans to auction my home of 38 years on the Alameda County Courthouse steps, rendering me homeless by Christmas. Mine is a story of “nationalized fraud”.

In 2007, I refinanced my home with Washington Mutual. In 2008 FDIC seized WAMU and sold it to Chase who claims to own the loan and the servicing rights – yet they have consistently refused to provide and proof. Under oath, they claim they are not WAMU’s successor in interest. They have no standing or right to foreclose. No one knows who actually made the loan or who owns it today.

I successfully made five trial payments. On the anniversary of my husband’s death, the bank called me to say that I was being turned down for a permanent loan modification. They did not notify the credit bureau of my payments and did not have a proper accounting. Chase had me on a dual track: paying for a modification and foreclosure at the same time!

Wall street must stop preventable foreclosures. Make the banks pay!