E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
© Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters / REUTERS
Ana Casas Wilson, who has cerebral palsy, sits in the living room of her South Gate, Calif. in December 2011. Wells Fargo has completed foreclosure on the home and eviction could be imminent, but Wilson refuses to leave, and argues that the foreclosure was unecessary.
A woman engaged in a bitter battle with Wells Fargo over foreclosure of her southern California home was arrested late Thursday at the tony residence of the bank's CFO in San Marino, where she and dozens of supporters were protesting.
Ana Casas Wilson, 49, who lives in the working-class neighborhood of South Gate, faces eviction from her childhood home. Like many people who have been through foreclosure, she says that the bank wrongly denied her a loan modification and moved to foreclose even when she was able to catch up.
In an action that is becoming increasingly common, Wilson has taken her complaint public and her protest directly to bank officials. In Thursday’s protest, with at least 80 supporters, she attempted to deliver her mortgage payment directly to Tim Sloan, the top financial officer for Wells Fargo. In addition to protesting the foreclosure, the group was challenging an ordinance created last year making it harder to picket in this wealthy enclave.
"People are deciding to take this stand that was previously a little unthinkable," said Peter Kuhns, with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, which helped organize this and other "home defense" actions. "They are risking arrest, refusing to leave, getting their families involved and putting themselves out there."
Many people are shedding the sense of shame of foreclosure, which kept most people silent in the past, even if they didn’t think they had done anything wrong, he said.
"More and more people are standing up and willing to go public because there is no other remedy and putting public pressure on the bank," said Kuhns.
Wells Fargo did not respond directly to Wilson's situation, but provided a statement in response to queries about her.
"Wells Fargo works very hard to keep customers in their homes whenever possible," said the statement, sent by Jennifer Langan in corporate communications. "We review our customers for a variety of modification options, from HAMP, HARP, HAFA and through our own proprietary programs. Despite these efforts, if a customer is 16 or more months delinquent, it can be extremely difficult to recover."
Some homeowners who have taken this high-profile approach in their fight against foreclosure, enlisting the support of protesters from the Occupy movement and housing activists, are finding success at it.
Occupy movement targets Wells Fargo shareholder meeting
The case of Rose Gudiel, reported by msnbc.com last year, is one example. In October, Gudiel was hunkered down in her home, surrounded by supporters, awaiting eviction. But at the eleventh hour, lender Fanny Mae canceled the eviction notice and offered her a loan modification, enabling her to keep the home.
Peter Kuhns, ACCE
Ana Casas Wilson, sitting, and supporter Rose Gudiel demonstrating in front of the home of Wells Fargo CFO Tim Sloand on Thursday.
Many similar foreclosure battles are under way nationwide, with support from a movement called Occupy our Homes.
Wilson, who has cerebral palsy, lives with her husband, who works as a school janitor, her teen son and her mother, who helps care for her. She has worked as a court reporter, and as an advocate for the disabled.
The trouble covering the mortgage started when she was treated for breast cancer in 2009, and her husband’s income declined as a result of cutting hours to help take care of her. They got behind, but their income stabilized several months later. By then, the bank had moved into foreclosure proceedings and would not accept her payments or discuss ways to catch up, Kuhns said.
The implication in Wells Fargo's statement that Wilson was 16 months behind is misleading, says Kuhns, because for most of that time, the bank refused to take her payments.
Thursday’s protest was on Wilson’s behalf, and it was more generally challenging a San Marino ordinance adopted last November – just a few weeks after a protest of predatory lending practices on Sloan’s front lawn. That demonstration, involving about 100 protesters, was peaceful and ended without incident, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Under the statute, picketers must keep 150 feet from a target residence, or 75 feet from the curb adjacent to the home, whichever is farther.
"The purpose of the ordinance is not to reduce picketing, but to protect the people who are the victims of picketing," police Chief John Schaefer told the Times when it was passed. "We're a prime target. We have a lot of people who fit the profile to be the victim of this type of crime."
Video from the protest posted by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune shows protesters carrying signs and chanting "Wells Fargo, shame on you!" in the street in front of the home.
Wilson is shown crossing a police cordon in her wheelchair to deliver a check to Sloan. She knocks several times, but gets no answer.
"He's embarrassed," Wilson tells the Tribune. "That's why he won't come out. ... He knows that what they are doing is wrong."
Wilson was arrested under the anti-picketing statute, after protesters and police faced off for about two hours. She was released about an hour later and is expected to appear in court in early June.
"The leaders of Wells Fargo and the members of their family should be afforded the right to feel safe in their private residence and we encourage all organizations choosing to demonstrate at private residences to abide by the law for the safety of the general public," the Wells Fargo statement said.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Lawyer: Autistic boy's teacher didn't call him 'bastard'
- World record holder for 'longest time to live with a bullet in the head' dies
- Guess who's coming to dinner? Navy family starts unique deployment ritual
- Attorney: Zimmerman's website raised more than $200,000
- Which dress will get you barred from this prom?
Leave a Comment:
The fact that Messiah-Obama claims to be smarter than the collective intelligence of the 310 million American people should be a reason to pause. Our Government is driving us into bankruptcy, Boys and Girls.
This piece isn't about Obama jethro bob..
Sorry..
K1200RS---Yes it is. Obama has been claiming loudly that he only cares about "the little people", that he is dedicated to relieving the fincancial burdens, that he favor the people over big-business.
He gave a huge amount of our federal tax money to the banks and is current;y promoting his plans to make it easier for people to get bank loans.
It is not anyone else's fault that you are ignorant. It has been your choice to worship crooked politicians, no one has forcedyou to do so.
Cry baby liberals. It's probably Dubya's fault like everything else. Hilarious!
Lefties want a free ride from the government teat. Lazy asses!
When John Schaefer calls bank officers "crime victims" he demonstrates who he works for, and it ain't the general public. Schaefer knows the plutocracy are his masters.
While i feel sorry for her, she has no right to cross onto this mans private property since the public is not protected by public law.
So if she stays on the street and doesn't interfere with traffic or become a hazard, the let her protest 24 -7 and hope that helps!!
And if getting arrested is the risk she takes then she has to pay the price for that decision.
Since Sloan is not inclined to pay taxes maybe he could pay her mortgage instead.
"...the bank wrongly denied her a loan modification and moved to foreclose even when she was able to catch up..."
Where is barack Obama? He's busy touring the USA promoting his effort to make it easier for people to get bank loans.
He has given our tax money to the banking industry and given us a major shafting.
let us not forget under which president this mess originated. and let us not forget that the secretary of the treasury was hank paulson, former president of goldman sachs (that should ring some bells)...so you think a republican president would be better now...you haven't a clue what the facts are and i suggest you do some research before you come to any conclusions...the bail out became law under bush, and obama was obligated to carry it out when he became president.
Sorry Goldenone, but the Obama administration is even more in bed with Wall Street than Bush ever was (Obama got two-thirds of their donation money in 2008, after all.)
An the entire financial collapse was due to the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market; a market basically giving home loans to people who would not have been qualified for them under "normal" banking terms. They lacked little things like a steady job, provable income, decent credit, a down payment, etc. Not that Bush was innocent, but it was the Democrats (like Dodd and Frank, who coincidentally got nice easy loans from now-defunct Countrywide Bank) who hoisted this mess on us in the name of "fairness". (i.e., "How dare someone else own a house when I can't!")
you know whats sad, the punks at wells fargo routinely screw people and then hide behind the police like sniveling cowards, the good news is one of these days the police won't be there in time to protect them from the consequences of their sins.
I'm suprised that people have'nt started shooting bankers and bombing their homes and offices. I seems to me that it would be a reasonable response for what they have done. Since the government is'nt going to do anything a few brave people should do the deed to the so called owners of the deed.
These protesters are "endangering the safety of the general public" by picketing outside this douche bags mansion, really? I thought the protesters were part of the general public exercising their right to free speech, huh... I'm sure if Mitt worked for Wells Fargo he would surely have given her a loan modification...NOT!
Vote for Mitt and this will be the norm. Watch out , Americans. I, for one, will leave Wells Fargo and find another bank.
This is crazy! Pox on you Wells Fargo and every other predatory lender...too big to fail, nah...you creepy banks need to be broken up and all your supposed masters of the universe should spend some time in crow bar motels...and the repubs want to make certain there is less regulation for the banks!
I'm a real estate agent, and I look at the history of properties on the MLS as short sales or foreclosures every day. They fall into 2 categories: 1) buyer bought near or at the top of the market and put little or no money down; 2) owner bought long ago and at a cheap price but refi-ed and pulled out tons of cash. In #1, they had little or no money in it to begin with. In #2, what happened to all that cash they pulled out? Seems like they took their profit at the top of the market already. Now they want all that money they got to be re-structured as a gift? Since the taxpayers end up paying for it, I'm not to happy about my taxes going to cover the money somebody pulled out of their house at the top of the market. I'm renting, and they got a ton of cash AND a house with my taxes. What's fair or right about THAT?!
The problem with your statement is the banks knew what was going on and commited fraud on an gigantic level they get paid no matter what happens. I used to be a real estate agent every stated income loan was fraud thats what inflated the market the banks knew that ,thats why they bundled turned and burned the notes and now mortgage insurance pays them more than resturcting the loans. The banks profited more than anyone and destroyed home values they are the crooks. Along with the government.
Wise words from my favorite Republican of all time, Teddy Roosevelt. Political discours in the early 1900's.
I'm tire of hearing about these sob stories that are not fully disclosed. If this was her childhood home why is there still a mortgage on this home, you cannot use her medical bills because she must be covered by her husband, her employer and disability. Something just does not make sense, and this individual is not being up front with someone. I have no compassion for those who lose their home because they made the choice of taking all the equity out of the home which just made the home worth even less today. Homes are not a cash cow but a place to live and raise your family. We hear about the banks and how they are the problem, maybe its time to hear about the people that took all the equity out and spent all the money, or those who bought a home to turn a quick profit, or those who bought homes they knew they could not afford.
This guy Sloan is a SCUMBAG - he has a house worth 5.2 million and made 8.3 million
I believe in everyone making money, however, Wells Fargo made 15.8 BILLION in profits for 2011. They can't give this poor woman a break? Unbelievable.
THE HEARING FOR THE MOTION TO DISMISS WAS ON APRIL 2, 2012, 10:00 AM AT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, EASTERN DIVISION. A HISTORIC COURT RECORD HAS BEEN LEFT:
BASED ON FRAUD AND INCOMPLETE FILES, JUDGE REAL CONSPIRED WITH DEFENDANT BANK OF AMERICA N.A. AND DEPRIVED PLAINTIFF, Ken Jun Meng’ s RIGHT OF PEACEFULLY SPEAKING, THEREFORE WARS AGAINST PLAINTIFF.
UNDER JUDGE REAL’S THREAT THAT SECURITY WILL TAKE PLAINTIFF OUT OF COURT, PLAINTIFF LEFT WORDS FROM HIS HEART TO THE COURT: “I PRAY EVERY MORNING FOR GOD BLESS AMERICA.”
A RULING BASED ON TREASON IN FEDERAL COURT AGAINST AMERICAN PEOPLE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED.
Judge Real and Defendant’s Attorney, as court officers, must swore an oath to uphold and support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of California (California Constitution Art.20 Sec.3). If the judge or attorney has no oath, has an expired oath, or violated his oath by doing unconstitutional procedures and trampled the Constitution, they are imposters by law. The felony of treason is proper for the officer. Pursuant to their oaths, government officers are required to abide by that oath in the performance of the official duties. There is no Constitutional or other valid authority to defy the Constitutions, to which the officers owed their LIMITED authority, delegated to them by and through the People, and to which they swore their oath. Judge Real and Defendant’s Attorney had committed actions against Plaintiff, the People, committed acting as an agent/Officer of the Court, and in so doing, have perjured oath by violating Plaintiff's Constitutionally guaranteed Rights and all aspects of due process of law, in particular, those rights secured in the Bill of Rights, including, but not limited to, the 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th and 9th Amendment Rights and those rights guaranteed and protected in the California Constitution Declaration of Rights.
Plaintiff's property has been unlawfully and criminally sold through an unlawful foreclosure process as of 12/29/2010, and at no time in this unlawful process of "foreclosure" have Plaintiff waived any of his rights including those relevant to the National Constitution specific to the Bill of Rights Article IV "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated ", Article V "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.." and per Article VII "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 20 dollars, the right to trial by jury shall be preserved..." Yet, Defendant acted in contradiction to Plaintiff's guaranteed unalienable rights by assisting a fictional entity, under color of law, to make a theft of Plaintiff's property.
Plaintiff has not received the documents regarding the removal of the case from Riverside Superior Court to Federal Court. Not until after the Motion to Dismiss Hearing did Plaintiff received the court files from Defendant, Bank of America N.A. (BofA) (Exhibit A: Copy of the Envelope w/postmarked date: March 30, 2012). Truths were found that the Documents had been sent to Plaintiff’s evicted home, but not until after the Hearing did Defendant served the documents to the current, filed, mailing address. Because of the improper service, Plaintiff was unable to respond “timely”, therefore making the case wrongfully judged and dismissed. Defendant knew the documents were improperly served, and the judgment is based on wrong information from Defendant. Defendant had further failed to correct the judge about the mistake on the court hearing. Defendant’s lawyer, as an officer, had committed fraud and perjury to mislead the Court, therefore making the judgment void by law.
Judge Manuel L. Real has abused his oath to conspire with Defendant. He abridged Plaintiff his right of speech in court and disregarding Plaintiff’s objections. He also threatened to call security to take Plaintiff out of court, try to stop Plaintiff from peacefully speaking the truth. The judgment made to dismiss this case is by a disqualified judge, who was in a conspiracy based on fraud, criminal, and unconstitutional court actions, to persecute the People. Therefore, the judgment must be vacated.
house is a basic need for living of humankind. it is not supposed happened in america under the great constitution, it is a truly crazy government.
If she is able to catch up, what sense does it make to throw her out in the Street, especially when she has Cerebral Palsy. This will just add another unnecessary burden to the Social Safety net.
If it is true that she can catch up, this is just Mean Spirited. It's a no Brainier in light of all the BANKSTERS misdeeds, and for goodness sakes, it's her childhood home. How Heartless can this Bank be?
i don't know what she's complaining about. the constitution clearly states that citizens have a "right to assembly, except in a wealthy bank executive's neighborhood."
Does anybody read these days, before they start writing? The article clearly states that the home this woman lives in has already been foreclosed. Of course the bank won't accept a mortgage payment on a home that they have completed a foreclosure on, because there is no longer a mortgage. The bank owns the home. That's because the borrowers didn't pay back the money they borrowed. Another thing that I noticed about this article: Who is the article about? The woman with medical issues. But did anyone besides me notice that the home is occupied by three adults? Why did they single her out for the article? It's exactly because of those medical issues. The other two adults are not nearly as interesting. So really what the story boils down to is this: A woman lives in the home that she grew up in. Besides her and her husband, there is the couple's teenager and the woman's mother. One, two or all three of the adults borrowed money, putting the home up as collateral. The woman has medical issues, and the three adults in the home fail to pay back the money they borrowed, so they lose the collateral for the loan. Normally this would be the end of the story, but we have a sequel: Choose the member of the family most likely to elicit sympathy from the general public, and then mount a public relations campaign to pressure the lender into not taking the collateral when they are not repaid the money they lent. So does that mean we should let everyone buy things with other people's money, and then keep those things when they don't pay for them? The last time I checked, taking something, but not paying for it, is called theft. But it's much easier, and feels a whole lot better emotionally, to call the bank the crook.
Wells Fargo is slime that needs to go bye bye. My sister is deaf/blind. She made a loan payment to her landlady. The check was written clearly and she had a copy of it. WF cashed it for a ton more than it was written for, wouldn't take action right away to fix it and they charged her card the overdraft amount....the list of crfap they pulled goes on. They messed with people I know that own homes & are keeping up a payment every month.They too asked for a modification and Wells told them no. Jerks! When you can I say leave WF & go to credit unions they're a damn site better than most banks especially Wells Fargo.
Classic example why you should never use a large bank. The only reason is because of advertising... and that's a TERRIBLE reason!
Obama - where is her bailout? Where is my bailout? Do we not have enough money to buy friends in congress?
Wells Fargo would screw its own mother.
Wells Fargo is A Leader in being A Royal Piece Of S#%T, and that ought keep the little sport happy.
Mr CEO that is.
1. Caught laundering billions in Mexican drug money.
2. Illegally forclosing homes on GI's away at war in violation of the Sailors and Sailers Act.
3. Predatory lending.
4. Illegally forclosing while important documents are missing or non-existant.
5. Usuary interest rates on credit cards.
6. Earned over $600m in 2010 while forclosing on peoples homes all while 'supposedly' trying to adjust their mortgages so they could keep their homes.
7. Used TARP money to pay their officials huge 'performace' bonuses!!!
What haven't these bastard Jewish gangsters/banksters at the Wells Fargo bank NOT DONE?
They've settled for pennies on the drug laundered money and NO ONE GOES TO PRISON?????
This shameless Wells Fargo CRIME SYNDICATE is among the 'elite' banksters in America, including BofA, JP Morgan - Chase, Citibank, et. al.
I say SHOOT THE BASTARDS!!!!