Property changed hands 3 times as son of owner sat dead inside

[FourScore]

The new buyers of a rundown graystone on the South Side showed up Jan. 9 to look at the house they won at a foreclosure auction. They took the plywood off the front door and went inside to make sure the utilities had been shut off. Then they called the police.

Sitting upright in the corner of a bedroom off the kitchen was a human skeleton in a red tracksuit. Next to him lay a dead dog. Neighbors told police the corpse was almost certainly Randy Johnson, a middle-age man who lived alone in the North Kenwood house.

The cause of Johnson's death has not yet been determined, but it is just one of the mysteries about 4578 S. Oakenwald Ave. Somehow, Johnson's house was transferred three times to new owners without anyone noticing he was inside. It's a story involving forged deeds, a corrupt title company and a South Side family that has been under investigation for mortgage fraud.

Left holding the bag is Countrywide Home Loans, the nation's largest mortgage lender and a company whose practices are being scrutinized by the Illinois attorney general's office. Countrywide made mortgages of $450,000 on the property. Now it is likely to lose it all because it financed the sale of a home whose rightful owner was in no condition to sell.

The intrigue surrounding the Oakenwald house offers a glimpse into the strange and murky world of mortgage fraud. Lenders duped into making loans have every incentive to unload the properties, and almost none to blow the whistle on wrongdoers. If borrowers or government watchdogs fail to cry foul, the same home can change hands again and again before anyone is the wiser.

"They foreclose. They don't care. They just foreclose," said Daniel Lindsey, a supervisory attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Most of the time, he said, the foreclosures go through because no one with an interest has the legal firepower to stop them...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-sun_fraud_0224feb24,0,5031285.story

[idovoodoo]

1. Like the commercial says: "Nobody can do what Countrywide does!"

:shrug:

[Mojorabbit]

2. What an eye opener of a story

I had no idea this type of thing has been going on,ie mortgage fraud. I guess I just don't have a criminal mindset. If this is a common thing, it will take years to sort it all out.

[aquart]

4. Criminal? White collar crime? Why, how can you say so?

Think of the minimal sentences handed out for these "crimes."

[superkia]

8. Its happening in every kind of business you can think of. Some...

of the General managers and District managers had a "good" relationship with the corporations build team and all had free decks built onto their homes and just tied the cost into the build of new opening stores. There were other things with cash handling and trading of company property for just about everything imaginable. The companies they were doing it with, were doing the same thing in return. After trying to make it known and nothing was done, I quit the company shortly after.

[saracat]

3. Seems like Chicago is rife with real esate scandal! And why isn't poverty more of an issue?

[progressoid]

5. "whose rightful owner was in no condition to sell"

no kidding?

[FourScore]

22. That's a real "No shit, Sherlock" statement, isn't it? n/t

[orleans]

6. bizarre story. a house. a foreclosure. a body. and a dog. (ex dog i suppose)

on edit (i was close...)
"Corruption, foreclosure, a dead dog and a skeleton"
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/02/corruption-fore.html

[leftofthedial]

7. If they don't make a movie about this,

I think I'll just have to move to a country with a clue

[aikoaiko]

9. Somone's been watching Chris and Snoop on "The Wire".

:scared:

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Sorry. I Don't Get That Reference

Could you explain what you mean? Your frowny face makes me think you have some concern about the truth of this story.
The Professor

[aikoaiko]

11. That's my scared face....

The Wire is an HBO series depicting some brutal realities of drug crime and murders, cops, and politics in Baltimore.

Chris and Snoop are two characters in "The Wire" who are particularly cutt-throat "hitmen" for a drug organization who would shoot their victims and then seal them in abandoned buildings where no one would find the bodies until they had wasted away.

My frowny face is really a scared face (see it quiver in fear) thinking about someone copying Chris and Snoop.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Geez, I Need To Get Out More

I've had HBO since 1979 and i was unaware of the show. Guess i need to be pay more attention.

Thank you.
GAC

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. It is probably the best crime drama I have ever followed on TV

Absolutely outstanding show. If you have HBO, check it out.

A few of the characters are actually people who live in Baltimore and were recruited by the producers to appear in the show. They aren't even actors.

It's just a terrific show with only 2 episodes left of a 5 year run. I am sad to see it over but anxious to see how they end it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. And it's available on DVD from Netflix

:-)

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Awesome

I want to buy every single episode.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. LOL Good connection!!

Have you seen next Sunday'e episode yet? We are watching it a week early on our OnDemand channel.

WOW. One more episode after this and it is ending with a bang!

I love that show. Has there ever been a TV show that is more well written than The Wire?

[aikoaiko]

15. it is one of the best shows ever

I'm haven't seen next week's show yet via On Demand.

A bunch of my friends didn't appreciate it at first because it wasn't as accessible as the Sopranos or even 6 Feet Under, but they've come around now and started re-watching all the seasons.

I am very saddened by the death of my favorite anti-hero (I'm sure you know who I mean). But that is how it goes.

I'm really hoping for a great ending to a great show. Hopefully none of the writers involved with the last season of the Sopranos are involved with The Wire.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Oh no it will be better than how they ended The Sopranos

Remember I am one episode ahead of you :)

It's such a fascinating show, you almost have to watch each episode a couple times before you get it. Some of the technical stuff is just brilliant but takes me forever to figure out.

Have you seen the scene when McNulty meets with the FBI profiler about his serial killer? :wow:

[uppityperson]

16. Good reason to get an inspection before you buy. What a sad story.

[dysfunctional press]

20. someone didn't edit this story very well...

"Neighbors told police the corpse was almost certainly Randy Johnson, a middle-age man who lived alone in the North Kenwood house."

but the address of the house is 4578 S. Oakenwald Ave...North Kenwood is miles away, on the other side of town- what does it have to do with this story...? :shrug:

[flvegan]

21. It's the title underwriter's problem.

If they got a Lenders Policy, they'll get paid. Case closed.

[Blue_Tires]

23. brilliant....THIS is the america we live in today.....