When NAMFS member Vicki Boser, former owner of InsuranceTek, was convicted of insurance fraud, NAMFS Executive Director Eric Miller attempted to bury the story. Boser sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent insurance policies throughout the Industry. In fact, so concerned was Miller about Foreclosurepedia’s reporting on the matter that Brian Carney, the then Executive Vice President of the Cochrane Agency and former NAMFS member began tracking our email communications, without consent. The scheme was beautiful in that as they wound down InsuranceTek, they brought in the Cochrane Agency in an attempt to take over policies and keep the matter quiet. That didn’t work out too well and Boser pulled a two year hitch in a federal penitentiary and was ordered to pay restitution of $273,137 to 8 different companies or insurance brokers who she defrauded.
For years, there has been a shadow insurance domination over the Industry that only pays claims to Prime Vendors as a money laundering operation. The NAMFS Big 3 insurance providers have now all, but in name, become Ponzi operators in our Industry. And this is not a new claim. It is predated by the first whistleblower lawsuit brought against Five Brothers and US Bank over a decade ago.
Earlier this week, a new angle on the insurance and litigation scams hit our Industry. With volumes at all time lows and ironically pricing to Prime Vendors from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD at all time highs any impact upon the status quo may tip the balance from simply breaking even to bankruptcy. And as usual, Prime Vendors are laying their costs directly upon Labor. Take Jennifer — the name has been changed due to fear of losing what little work the company has — for example. Things were hard enough for her anyway as she watched firms around her receiving higher pay as the demands on her production continued to be increased daily. The Prime Vendor had worked with her, for years, without issue; however, the cliquish vendor managers whom were given free rein to change her contract with the simple email at will was beginning to concern her. Requests for clarification were going unanswered from the Prime Vendor’s C Suite staff. In conjunction with the latest demands on timelines and the off loading of the contracts to AffirmData by the Prime Vendor, she thought that it was as bad as it could get. Jennifer was wrong.
For months, Jennifer’s inspectors had been reporting that a residential asset had been occupied. And for months the Prime Vendor was pushing back on the reporting. We know that at least as high up as the Prime Vendor’s Director of Vendor Management was aware of the new push by the institutional owners of the Prime Vendor for higher returns. When taken in conjunction with the motivation for bonuses that the Prime Vendor’s staff gained from the assets, once in foreclosure, the guardrails of homeowner protection evaporated.
The problem with C Suite staff no longer controlling their employees and further outsourcing virtually all operations to AffirmData — foreign nationals — without creating the contractual ability to challenge the decisions ongoing overseas is that you have an enormous rate of attrition when it comes to Labor. When you are owned by an institutional firm, it doesn’t matter. In fact, when the need to produce to support your own company is removed, the hiring based upon bra size becomes the norm. Profits Before People became the mantra in the Prime Vendor’s pit where Jennifer’s fate was held. Vender Managers had become upset with the continued occupation of the asset her inspectors continued to report. So, the Vendor Managers decided to put one of their own in play to get the results that they wanted.
Under the Prime Vendor’s owners careful and watchful eyes the asset was ruled unoccupied after months of steadily being reported as occupied. And while the ownership denies their active role, at the end of the day it is their reporting upon the 10Q and 10K reports that holds the most weight. And whether sexually motivated, as suggested by many former employees, or simply greed the actions of the Prime Vendor was countered by a massive lawsuit against the Prime Vendor.
The facts were clear: For but the actions of the Prime Vendor, Jennifer would have never been sued. Even more horrific was the thousands of dollars that had to be shelled out because one if not both of the Prime Vendor’s owners could not keep their proverbial dicks in their pants. It is not the first time nor will it be the last time. With that said, though, many are asking why someone doesn’t simply drop the evidence into an envelope and send it anonymously to the unknowing spouses? Sounds like a damn good idea to me.
Lawyers from multiple Plaintiffs have already reached out to Foreclosurepedia requesting information on this and similar matters including employee misclassification. While we take each request seriously, we take our responsibility to our Sources more so. Provided that we are capable of delivering information that does not violate our Source’s identity, we are always more than willing to oblige.
So, here Jennifer sits today pondering why others are being paid more for inspections than she. In fact, she sent that same question to the International Association of Field Service Technicians (IAFST) as she is a Member of the Association. What their response will be, is unknown. What Foreclosurepedia’s response is that the Prime Vendor needs to pay the expenses of their lawyer based upon the Prime Vendor’s wreckless disregard for Industry standards. Moreover, though, an increase in pay for all should be the norm not simply for the few. And the end of the reduction in volume from those whom have received pay increases. Finally, and end must come to the use of emails from the Big Bra Club attempting to circumvent contractual law and issue changes to binding Master Services Agreements.
And like all things NAMFS, the very same fraudulent insurance that was sold by Boser is what exists in the Industry, today. Problem was that the current fraudulent insurance in our Industry refused to protect Jennifer in any way, shape, or form. It begs the question of why insurance is paid for in this Industry, at all.
This is the first in a series of FI: Foreclosurepedia Investigates. If you have a topic you would like to discuss, feel free to click the News Tip / Op Ed at the top of our Main Page or located here. Later this week, our next FI will cover a handful of contractors whom are pushing forward with employee misclassification against a former HUD M&M FSM Awardee.
