Thank You for Your Service – You’re Evicted

By Mary Malone

Note: Petty Officer Joseph Worrell contacted me months ago – through the “Who’s Your Lender” thread posted on The Burning Platform. PO Worrell has very capable counsel and objected to each unlawful act committed by Emigrant Bank. Yet, Emigrant Bank was allowed to trample all over his rights and unlawfully seize his home.

PO Worrell and I came to the conclusion that the only strategy left – was to go national with the story. True to PO Worrell’s love of country and dedication to service, PO Worrell postponed the PR campaign until his return from deployment.

In his absence, while PO Worrell was serving his country, Emigrant Bank unlawfully evicted the Worrell’s from their home – violating a court ordered stay that was in place while the appeal was pending in federal court.

Emigrant Bank must be stopped. The madness must end. Please circulate this post and contact Eric Cantor and your members of congress and demand that they put an end to Emigrant Bank’s unlawful acts in violation of the SCRA.

Emigrant Bank Violates SCRA and unlawfully seizes active military home while he is deployed on missions in Afghanistan.

Petty Officer Worrell is a Reservist Navy SeaBee and combat veteran living in West Palm Beach who has served honorably for about 12 years. In 2009 he was deployed in the Persian Gulf when the home he built in Palm Beach Gardens was sold by the bank even though federal law (the SCRA) provides military members special protection from foreclosure. Unaware initially Emigrant Bank had in fact sold his house to themselves,  he returned home and continued to live in the home, and with help from a local attorney and military legal aid he started fighting to get the illegal sale overturned.

The Service members Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”, successor to the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act) accords certain protections and rights to individuals who are either on active military duty or recently retired. The purpose of the Act is to allow the service members to perform their valuable duties without the worry of civil prosecution, foreclosure or eviction under most circumstances.

Before a court will permit such actions, the court will require certification that a military search has been conducted to confirm that the individual is not entitled to the protections of the Act. The proof may be required again later in the proceedings before certain collections or enforcement action is sought.  Proof of that verification is usually in the form of an affidavit which may be called a “military affidavit”, “non-military affidavit”, “nonmilitary affidavit”, “Active Duty Verification Affidavit”.
Petty Officer Worrell complied with all requirements under the SCRA. The Florida judiciary – in both state and Federal Bankruptcy Court ignored the law – and allowed Emigrant Bank to unlawfully foreclose on the property, vacate the bankruptcy stay and now violate a stay halting the sale of the home while the case is under appeal in the Federal Courts.PO Worrell was recently recalled to active duty and left his wife living in the home a PBSO agent showed up Monday May 6, 2013 and taped a 24 hour eviction notice to their front door. Worrell’s attorney filed an emergency motion requesting the court stop the eviction because Worrell was outside Florida on active duty, and the case was on appeal. But on Wednesday May 8, 2013, despite receiving via fax a court order halting the eviction, several PBSO agents and representatives of the bank, still showed up at the home in Palm Beach Gardens, broke the lock, and installed a new one. Mrs. Worrell had to flee their home and leave behind nearly all they own.
A local CBS affiliate produced a story on Emigrant Bank’s unlawful foreclosure and violations of the SCRA which aired last night over Memorial Day – link to segment here:

http://cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/navy-reservist-evicted-home-while-active-duty-7683.shtml

The Worrell’s say the bank involved, Emigrant Bank based in New York, is a predatory lender with a ton of political capital. Apparently Congressman Eric Cantor’s wife headed up one of their units, and he allegedly pressured Congressman Michael Grimm of Staten Island into introducing a banking bill that solely benefits Emigrant Bank to the tune of $300 million. See H.R.3128.

Worrell says: “It is very strange because we believe our courts are supposed to protect our rights, not just help banks step on them. Before I can even put down my seabag or checking at my local command – far less pack up and move out, here they come to taking our home to profit unfairly from all our sweat and hard work. We believe some local officials have bent over backwards so this bank can skirt important federal law – and it just wrong”.

Please send this story to everyone on your contact list. We need PO Worrell’s story to go national to embarrass members of Congress into intervening and calling Emigrant Bank off. I’m sending the post to contacts at the American Legion in the hope that retired military will rally behind the Worrell’s and exert their influence on a corrupt Congress.

Contact Congressman Eric Cantor and tell him you want his wife’s employer, Emigrant Bank to comply with the SCRA, follow the law and respect the stay a FL judge has placed on the sale of Worrell’s home.

The law needs to be followed – even by banks connected to his office. Congressman Cantor’s contact info:

Phone: (202) 225-2815
Fax: (202) 225-0011

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Mary Malone

I just created the petition for PO Worrell on change.org Pretty Slick.

I emailed the petition and letter to all members of the US Senate, US House, Pres. Obama, Florida Governor, Florida State legislators.

Here’s the link – please sign and circulate with abandon!
https://www.change.org/petitions/stop-emigrant-bank-s-violations-of-the-scra-help-po-joseph-worrell-save-his-home

Thank you JS!

J. S.
J. S.

Mary – Can’t believe this is really happening here in the USA to a military veteran no less. Unbelievable!!!

TBP should bring in a couple million signatures in a few weeks Zero Hedge and others more.

Thanks for all the Good Work you are Doing. J. S.

joworr
joworr

To MM: U already know how important & appreciated ur work & support has been for me & my family during this nightmare come true!
To TBP community: Each 1 of ur comments, whether for or against, is important & much appreciated by me & my family. U all deserve FULL honesty so here it is –

1. During this nightmare my views of the state of our country 2day has evolved. Are we really trying to make it better or worst for our kids & americans yet unborn. Now i see the true strength of this country is not its wealth, military power, or even our constitution! Our nightmare has shown & reminded me that america remains great simply cos its common people ARE.
For example, the VA and other well funded agencies know all about our situation and even show some outrage over the actions of Emiigrant & local retired circuit judge Roger Colton obvious violations of the law. But at the end of the the day, most of the help promised by the VA turned out EMPTY. If not for a couple local folks & true friends ALL our stuff would have been seized & thrown out by emigrant bank, and our family would be one more homeless florida family created by improper foreclosures. But it is common american folk, real decent fellow human beings who helped us move and opened their home to us, not the VA or any other heavily funded US government agentcy. So we are reminded it is each individual american who makes this country great, NOT our governments or anything else! so i thank God for peope like MM, our 3 friends here sharing their home, car, food and everything, and for everyone in TBP for sharing your time, knowledge, & yourselves.

2 Next steps: I personally.think it unlikely that any judges here in Florida will finally or suddenly start trying to follow the law, state or federal. So the legal appeal – sound & simple as it, is exspected to fail; hence the bank’s unwilliness to STAY during appeal. If the system works as designed, our home is gone forever, Emigrant bank profits, and the cycle renews with a set of new suckers- oops, i meant families. Apparently the so called state laws, rules, & federal protections – including the SCRA is really window dressing for show so we might at least claim somethig exist to protect the people, unlike say China or elsewhere. So if the violations continue to happen under cover of darkness, as up until now, my case will only only be another drop in the bucket, military family or not.

3
a. This much i take away from this nightmare: If federal law says a bank MUST reduce your interest to no more than 6% during actiive duty service or whatever, and if they decide not to comply with the legal mandate, they can ultimately summararly foreclose and take your home without ever once disclosing any payment history or proper accounting for payments recieved.
And this is especially true if like in here in Florida the state assigns $6 million to pay retired (senior) unelected judges to simply close out its backlog of foreclosure cases. Cos, these retire judges, like Roger Colton and others in my case, really dont care about serving justice or obeying state or federal laws; the goal is to issue FINAL ORDERS, period.

b. If the bank (loan servicer) wants your home (equity stripping) and it decides to foreclose, it will not accept any payments you make yourself or via a trustee because it sees accepting payments as helping your case and apossible defense against their illegal foreclosure action. They would prefer to say that you have not paid them anything since they filed foreclosure – that argument strengthens their illegal foreclosue action.

c. A federal court may not want to reach down and intervene even where important federal law is at issue sometimes, until every possible remedy “available” within the state is exhausted! Or in otherwords, there may be no rescue available UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN KILLED.

Again i am reminded, America is, and can be, great & strong solely because of the strength & character resident in her commor people -” We The People…”.

God Bless. Thank you all.

Kill Bill
Kill Bill

Mary, I think you are a really good person. More like you needed.

Thanks, BRS

Novista

Funny how that IRS post went down a few minutes ago …

Mary Malone

@Joseph Yes, I agree. Many Americans are good. And they are rallying around you.

Your story is being picked up – thanks to Admin for featuring it on the front page of The Burning Platform all week. The exposure, along with our friends posting it on other sites is helping to get your story out in the blogosphere.

Matt Weidner, a prominent FL foreclosure defense attorney – posted your story on his site, along with the link to the change.org petition.
http://mattweidnerlaw.com/blog/2013/06/united-states-marine-thrown-into-the-street-by-emigrant-bank-courts-refuse-to-recognize-servicemembers-relief-act/

Our goal is 300,000 signatures. Let’s get this done guys!

Rich
Rich

You missed a zero Malone. Honest mistake I know. I wonder if our “leaders” recognize the folly in screwing the military. The arrogance and stupidity again shines by the dawn’s early light. J W says it best – America is her common people. The vast majority of our military would be populated by???…….

Rich
Rich

DOES ANYONE HAVE COPY OF THE JUDICIAL ORDER (HAVE TO BELIEVE IT IS A CEASE AND DESIST) STOPPING THE PETITION?? dOES THE FIRST AMMENDMENT FALL SHORT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION? i BELIEVE EMIGRANT’S FLAGRANT DISREGARD FOR A COUR….EXCUSE ME TWO COURT ORDERED STAYS WAS THE CATALYST HERE.

Linda
Linda

Mary,

I have also been wrongfully foreclosed on by the same bank — I live in the northeast. It has been a year and we are still in our home — fighting Emigrant in Superior court to void the foreclosure. I would like to get in touch with Joseph Worrell for an update — I am politically connected and will pursue it. Can you please supply me with his email or phone number with his permission or give him my email address.

Thanks,
Linda

joworr

Thx Linda, We will be happy to talk with you further about our case against Emigrant (EMC)…
[email protected]

Joseph
Joseph

Update: As of todate, Emigrant Bank has left the home unkept, unsecure, abandoned, and vandalized…a community eyersore. BTW, the miitary pro bono local attorney – Adam I. Skolnik has proved to be the waekest link and a “turncoat”; just as my wife always suspected. Gooqle and Florida Bar confirms this is his SOP and low ethics. We feel completely BETRAYED!

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