Appraiser Identity Theft

[Alexandra Kanakis]

This past Wednesday I discovered that my appraisal identity had been used by an unlicensed person submitting appraisals to lenders including FHA to Flagsar Bank. Since then I have discovered two other appraiser who have also been victims of this person. I'm filing reports with the state, city police, FBI, and any other entity that is appropriate. Flagstar is also filing reports with the same.
I'm posting this notice to ask if anyone else has been victim of identity theft from this person or what appears to be his co-hort, an unlicensed loan officer working from a cell and a car then taking the loan packge including the fraudulent appraisal around to various loan brokers shopping for a deal.
The person who stole my identity is Carlo Hogan from Detroit.
His co-hort is Charles (Chuck) Ayler from Detroit.
Flagstar is sending me the three fraudulent FHA appraisals on Monday and I will have the names of the mortgage brokerages who submitted them. They will also be on my complaints.
Needless to say I am VERY mad and VERY scarred. We are working in very challenging times and to have someone steal my good name and reputation is almost beyond my ability to keep going forward. I will, but this is an extremely hard burden to carry.
If you have been a victim of these people or know others who have, please have them contact me. The more voices of victims the better to force the state and others into doing something about it.
FYI, I am not very optimistic about the state or the police doing anything. But that's a different thread. Time will tell. The only good thing about this is that I have an ally with Flagstar in the reports that will be given to the state and FBI.
Also FYI, working with Flagstar is a two edged sword: I alerted them to the fraud which is good but now they have suspended me due to the fraud. The quicker this can be resolved and all parties involved brought to penalty, hopefully jail and restitution, the better it will be for me. I am working with the Chief Appraiser for Flagstar and he is sensitive to the fact that I did the right thing. Whether that will save my standing with Flagstar will be seen.
Please pass on my email address to any person who has been victimized by these people: akanakis4@comcast.net.
Your help is appreciated.
Also, if you have been a victim of appraisal identity theft and have constructive advice to give, please do so.
Thanks.

 

[Kali the Boston Terrier]

Alexandra:

Although I have not been victimized by those individuals, I've had my identity stolen twice. I currently have a claim and a lawsuit against one of them with the State. Make a good file, and start talking to a lawyer about suing the mortgage brokers.

Good luck if you need to talk bkirksey@kresinc.com

 

[Chris Hauck]

Have you found out how they got your license? Did they copy your signature? Does this guy have a limited license?

 

[Alexandra Kanakis]

I did a rehab appraisal for Carlo Hogan in 03/2007. The company he got the loan from gave him a copy of my appraisal. This is how he got my information including my signature. When Flagstar sends me those appraisals tomorrow I will know about the signature. Wintotal assures me that my signature cannot be removed or copied from the reports, but it can be scanned and computer manipulated. Or he may have just signed a name using good old forgery. Like I said, tomorrow will tell.
He had a limited license for about two years then let it lapse 07/2007. He's still doing appraisals.

 

[Chris Hauck]

That is very scary. It seems so hard to be able to protect yourself against something like this. Scanning a signature is not hard at all. Our good name is all we have. WinTotal was going to come up with something to protect against identity theft but they charge for it I think. Good luck.

 

[Kali the Boston Terrier]

We are pretty mch sitting ducks...all or pertinent info is already on the state website. As well as FHA approval info (HUD.gov)...it's not hard and it happens all the time. The FBI told me when it happened to me, that this so common they are only going after the big fish....millions of dollars lost. That's how common it is, only the really big stuff gets investigated. meanwhile you are on a blacklist somewhere, and nobody bothers to tell you.

 

[redfish]

ACI was trying to implement a watermark feature that was signature specfic. I haven't seen anything on it yet. These "blacklists" should be made public.

 

[Alexandra Kanakis]

UPDATE:
Thanks to all who responded and shared information. It was helpful.
After floundering around on the state's website, finally found someone in Finance & Insurance Agency. She gave me great advise which I am following. The best thing she said is "write the Academy Award's of complaints". Here's the agencies she recommended I file with: state appraisal licensing agency, state agency on finance & insurance, state Attorney General, state police, local police, FBI. I have copies of 3 appraisals that were fraudulently written so that helps me in my documentation. I also have the appraisal that was rejected from the lender that first identified the thief, then my appraisal of the same house from which he stole my name, office info, and signature. I also have two other appraisers who were victims of the thief who are willing to do the work to get him stopped. In my research I also found threads of what could be mortgage fraud by the mortgage broker. To be honest, I don't have much hope in the state licensing agency or local police to do anything. But by involving all the others maybe I can get some justice and reclaim my good name. I'm sure this has affected my business. Who knows how many reports this thief has written with my name, where they were submitted to and what affect they've had on me. As I receive responses or action, I will update in this forum as I believe it's important for every licensed appraiser to know how easy it is to have your professional identity stolen, what to do and what to expect. Mortgage fraud is a hot topic right now so that may work in my favor. The biggest suggestion I can give anyone is to keep reiterating "mortgage fraud" in all your correspondence and conversations. Use the hot button to your advantage.

 

[Ruben Ramon]

Unfortunately, its super easy to do. Wintotal and ACI cannot do anything. With the free Acrobat reader and the windows paint program, you can steal any signature from a locked pdf or not. I was the victim of it last year, and I currently know an appraiser that was the victim of identity fraud. The appraisal had a cursive font on it for the signature! The idiots accepted it. You don't even need the real signature.

 

[David Molenaar]

I have seen several cases with the State of Michigan about this matter. It amazes me how many appraisers have their license, E & O Insurance Policy and resume on their web site. All you need to do is copy & paste into an appraisal report and you can become that person. Who checks signatures? Think about it, does the bank check every signature on a check written thru their bank.