AMC Rules, Oversight, Regulations, Appraiser Vetting, How To Complain

[Meandering]

Navigating the Real Estate Valuation Process
Effective collateral valuation policies and practices are critical to the success of any real estate lending program. A prudent valuation process can help an institution fully understand its real estate collateral position and minimize losses when the collateral becomes the primary repayment source. To clarify supervisory expectations for prudent real estate appraisals and evaluations, the federal financial institution regulatory agencies1 issued the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (Guidelines)2 on December 2, 2010. Banks have implemented the various provisions of the Guidelines to strengthen their overall real estate valuation program, but continue to seek feedback from their regulators about several issues discussed in this article.

https://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/siwin11/navigating.html

The IAEG has been used by AMCs as a claim laid to expanding their powers over AMCs.

Here is the rule for appraisers that was/is in effect since 2011
https://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/siwin11/siwin11.pdf

Within this rule concerning Appraisers, it states Customary & Reasonable Fees were in effect as of 4/1/2011.

Now with the new AMC final rule, states are not forced to implement it for 3 years.

But these Agency rules where in effect since 2011.

To report violations of the agency rules by AMCs to the FDIC the link is here:

https://www.FDIC.gov/consumers/questions/consumer/complaint.html

 

[Riick]

Hi Marion..
FYI spoke to a friend who's been working as a reviewer for an AMC. (Horrible job, but he needs the $$)
He tells me that he's frequently seen appraisal orders *from Loan Officers* of various Banks
and notations on the orders not to use Appraiser X, Y or Z, or to use appraiser ZZ or the appraiser who did property last time.
So much for AMCs as a firewall between Loan Officrs and Appraisers.

 

[Meandering]

Too bad your friend doesn't want to go whistle blower with the FDIC.

Top Whistleblower Settlements of 2013
1. Ranbaxy USA Inc. ($500 Million)
2. C.R. Bard Inc. ($48.26 Million)
3. Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. ($45 million)
4. Dr. Steven J. Wasserman ($26.1 Million)
5. CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. ($18.5 Million)
6. American Sleep Medicine LLC ($15.3 Million)
7. Adventist Health System & White Memorial Medical Center ($14.1 Million)
8. Cooper Health System ($12.6 Million)
9. Hospice of Arizona ($12 Million)
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/top-whistleblower-settlements-2013-to-date

Our most crucial advice, furthermore, we give for free: Watch the clock. A wide range of whistleblower laws may protect you — whether you’re a hospital technician or a nuclear engineer, a truck driver or a government statistician — but all of these statutes have strict filing deadlines, some of them quite short. Wait too long to understand your rights, and you may lose them.

If you’d like to consult with our attorneys, please contact us. To each consultation client we offer the following:

• A sympathetic ear
• A serious consideration of the facts
• A deep understanding of the law
• A clear-eyed assessment of your claims

If we can help you, we will propose some next steps. If not, we will point you in a better direction.

As a whistleblower, you have legal rights. Let our firm’s experience guide you: We have asserted these rights on behalf of many employees before you — in many cases, employees who already had been punished, demoted, or fired by their company.

Some whistleblowers also may claim rewards; we’ve helped many people do that, too.


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[Riick]

Did suggest he start collecting copies of these items... whether he'll do anything - that's another story.
He'll huff & puffs about things, but stops very short of doing anything.

 

[Meandering]

A few million in settlement is a nifty incentive,

Especially when it costs nothing to call and get some legal advice.

 

[Meandering]

Appraiser Is the Whistleblower in HCA’s $16M Settlement Over Lease Payments

September 24, 2012Volume 21Issue 34

In the first false claims case where a real estate appraiser is the whistleblower, HCA agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle allegations that it overpaid a physician group for office space. HCA, a Nashville-based for-profit hospital chain, also allegedly freed the physicians from a separate lease obligation, according to the Department of Justice, which announced the settlement on Sept. 19.
https://aishealth.com/archive/rmc092412-02

Bank Appraiser Does Better as Whistle-Blower
Robert Madsen, then a real estate appraiser who worked at LandSafe, a subsidiary of Bank of America
Madsen's lawsuit against Bank of America for mortgage fraud. Each of these defects that he found was, in Madsen's telling, covered up by his bosses so that Bank of America could keep issuing mortgages and keep the mortgage machine running, at the expense of deceived federal mortgage guarantors. Madsen styled himself "Relator," rather than the less hoity-toity "Plaintiff," because he didn't just sue Bank of America on his own behalf. He sued on behalf of the United States of America, and the United States won. And so did he:

Mr. Madsen said federal prosecutors would pay him $56 million
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-19/bank-appraiser-does-better-as-whistleblower

A Second Bank of America Whistle-Blower Is Set to Get $56 Million
Robert Madsen, one of four whistle-blowers in the federal government’s $16.65 billion civil settlement with Bank of America, said keeping secret his cooperation with federal prosecutors for nearly four years had not been easy.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/12...of-america-case-set-to-collect-millions/?_r=0

 

[Meandering]

Whistleblower Program
Background: Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provides that the Commission shall pay awards to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provides the SEC with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action yielding monetary sanctions of over $1 million. The award amount is required to be between 10 percent and 30 percent of the total monetary sanctions collected in the Commission’s action or any related action such as in a criminal case. A whistleblower may be eligible to receive an award for original information provided to the Commission on or after July 22, 2010, but before the whistleblower rules become effective, so long as the whistleblower complies with all such rules once effective.

The Dodd-Frank Act also expressly prohibits retaliation by employers against whistleblowers and provides them with a private cause of action in the event that they are discharged or discriminated against by their employers in violation of the Act.

Implementation: Final rules implementing the Whistleblower Program were approved by the Commission on May 25, 2011. These final rules took effect August 12, 2011. Compliance with these rules is required to qualify for an award. Please visit the Office of the Whistleblower web page for additional information about the program, the Dodd-Frank statute, the final rules, how to submit a tip, complaint, or referral, and how to apply for an award.

• Office of the Whistleblower Website
  
• Final Rule: Implementation of the Whistleblower Provisions of Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (May 25, 2011)
  See also: Proposed Rule Release No. 34-63237
  

http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/dodd-frank/whistleblower.shtml
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