Fallen Banker with Ties to Citigroup Involved in Shooting of Brazilian Landless Workers

Isabella Kenfield | May 26, 2009

Americas Program, Center for International Policy (CIP) americas.irc-online.org

On April 18, seven members of the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement (MST) were shot by private security guards on a farm in the Amazon that belongs to Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A, a company controlled by international banker Daniel Dantas. A billionaire with former ties to Citigroup, Dantas is Brazil's largest producer of cattle, and presently embroiled in a major financial and political scandal that reaches into the U.S. courts and financial system.

The violence took place at the Espírito Santo cattle ranch in the municipality of Xinguara, in the state of Pará. About 120 families organized in the MST have been occupying part of the thousand-acre ranch since February. The day before the shootings, they participated in a march to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of the massacre of 19 MST members who were gunned down by the military police in 1996, just 60 miles away in El Dorado dos Carajás. No one has ever been convicted or imprisoned for the massacre.

A judicial order for Dantas' arrest issued last July cites Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A, owned by his sister Verônica, as part of a scheme by Dantas' Opportunity Fund and Citigroup's Brazilian subsidiary Opportunity Equity Partners Administradora de Recursos Ltd. for the "possible practice of acts of fraudulent management."1

"Agropecuária Santa Bárbara owns the biggest cattle herd in Brazil, and the second largest in the world," reports Friar Henri Burin des Roziers, 78, from the Pastoral Land Commission's (CPT) office in Xinguara. The company led the drive that enabled Brazil to overtake Australia as the world's largest exporter of beef in 2004.

Brazil's explosive growth in its cattle population has overwhelmingly occurred in the Amazon, and Pará has the second largest herd in the country. "In the last five years in Pará, Daniel Dantas bought 52 farms in eight municipalities, totaling 800,000 hectares," reports Charles Trocate of the MST's national leadership in Pará.

Dantas' cattle empire is exacerbating the root of rural violence in Brazil: inequality in land ownership. In Brazil just 3% of the population owns two-thirds of all arable lands. Concentrated land ownership translates into extreme wealth disparity. Brazil is a country of about 190 million people, and some estimate that 50% of the population is living on less than two dollars per day.

Since February, the MST has organized several hundred landless rural families to non-violently occupy hundreds of hectares on three of Agropecuária Santa Bárbara's farms in Pará. There are presently 120 families living at the Espiríto Santo farm in Xinguara, where the violence in April took place.

According to Trocate, "These properties are involved in this system of [money] laundering, and of corruption of the national financial system … The MST demands that these lands be returned to the nation for the creation of projects on agrarian reform settlements." A communiqué from the CPT in Xinguara states that on Jan. 1, 2009, a state agrarian affairs judge blocked the registration of Agropecuária Santa Bárbara's title to the farm, and the state "reclaimed its legitimate ownership of the area."

On April 18, 20 MST members presently occupying Espirito Santo farm went to the forest to get firewood and wooden poles to reinforce the tarp shelters that the families are living in. The MSY reported, "The security guards arrived armed and threatened the MST. Rural worker Dialme Ferreira Silva was obliged to lie down on the ground, while the others ran away. He was imprisoned, humiliated, and hit by the security guards on Dantas' ranch." Later, Silva stated that the guards had shown him a list of local MST leaders, ordering him to identify where they were. "We are going to kill all of the leaders of the encampment," said one of the guards.

Back at the MST encampment, the families organized to rescue Silva, and marched back to the headquarters of Agropecuária Santa Bárbara. A YouTube video shot by a reporter from the right-wing national Globo news network who accompanied the security guards shows the MST marching to the company's farm headquarters, waving flags and farm tools. At the headquarters, they smashed the windows of, and overturned, a car. The farm's security guards were armed with shotguns and pistols and a shootout began.2 Seven MST members and one security guard were wounded. Three wounded MST members were detained by the guards while the others ran away, alerted the military police, and blockaded the BR-150 highway while waiting for the police to arrive. Others began to send out alerts through the movement's national and international media network.

Meanwhile, the Globo reporter was airlifted off the ranch by Agropecuária Santa Bárbara. The Globo video, which does not discuss the events leading up to the conflict, was orchestrated to criminalize the MST and turn public opinion against it. Asked if he thinks Dantas was directly involved in the planning of the conflict, des Roziers responds, "Agropecuária Santa Bárbara does not do anything without being told to. It's obvious he took part."

The Fall of a Financier
When U.S.-born Sister Dorothy Stang was murdered in Pará in 2005 due to her work for the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), a Catholic organization with roots in liberation theology, many Americans preferred to think that rural violence in Brazil is perpetrated by backwater, cowboy landowners. Yet the violence on April 18 in Xinguara highlights the relationship between financiers linked to Wall Street and violent conflicts over land in the Amazon, as two very different approaches to development for the region clash.

According to Trocate, "On one side are the large economic groups, allied to the multinationals and often to government offices, that use the concentrated ownership of land for the intensive exploitation of resources and the accumulation of capital. And the other side, the workers and the native population that want the deconcentration and sharing of land, protection and sustainable use of nature, food production, housing, and lives with dignity for the Brazilian rural poor."

A self-made billionaire, Daniel Valente Dantas is "a gifted financier who has serially fallen out with his business partners," according to The Economist.3 Born in Bahia state in 1954, in 1982 Dantas completed a doctorate at Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, then went on to post-graduate research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After MIT, Dantas returned to Brazil and began working for a Brazilian bank; he had a falling out with its board, left with a $70 million settlement, and founded Opportunity Capital Partners in Rio de Janeiro in 1994.4

By all accounts, Dantas had a brilliant understanding of the process of consolidation of neoliberalism in Brazil in the late 90s. He became a facilitator for the privatization of Brazil's state-owned telecommunications industry. "Mr. Dantas positioned himself as the man with the needed expertise and contacts. He enjoyed easy access to the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, including meetings with the president himself. That influence carried through into the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva."5

Dantas was hired by Citigroup, Inc. to help buy Brasil Telecom at a $19 billion privatization auction in 1998.6 Telecom Italia and some Brazilian state pension funds became the other major shareholders. When Telecom Italia's relationship with Dantas deteriorated, Citigroup backed Dantas.

But by 2005, Dantas' relationship with Citigroup had also soured and Citigroup ousted him from its $650 million fund in the Cayman Islands, CVC/Opportunity Equity Partners, which managed Citigroup's private equity investments in Brazil, including the stake in Brasil Telecom. While the Times claimed Citigroup "removed" Dantas from "its" fund,7 the Associated Press reported that Opportunity Equity Partners was Dantas' company in which Citigroup was the "sole investor."8 Citigroup asserted that Dantas had acted against its interests, but it may have been more a falling out among thieves. Evidence indicates that Citigroup knew about and participated in Dantas' illegal finance practices until they presented legal and public relations problems.9

In 2004, it came to light that Brasil Telecom's management, appointed by Dantas, had hired the American firm Kroll to gather information on Telecom Italia executives to be used in litigation. But the investigation also targeted people who had since become high-ranking government officials in the Lula administration, which led to a police inquiry.10

Last July, Dantas was arrested and indicted for money laundering, tax evasion, and racketeering to embezzle public pension funds in Operation Satiagraha—the country's largest financial and political corruption case in recent history. Dantas was accused of having used his Opportunity Capital Partners holdings (estimated by Bloomberg to be worth $11.3 billion in 2008) to mastermind a complex money laundering operation that included significant funds in the Cayman Islands and Delaware. In September, the Brazilian government froze $300 million of Opportunity's assets, and in December, Dantas was fined $5 million and sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to bribe a police officer. He has appealed the charges. On April 28, the federal police formally accused Dantas, his sister Verônica, and four more directors of Opportunity for fraudulent management, debt evasion, formation of gangs, and money laundering.

According to documents from the Brazilian Federal Police, "We identified dirty and complex business practices, involving large maneuvers and crafty accounting utilized to hide the deviant assets … We verified that everything begins with the umbrella with Citigroup ..."11

Back to the Land
Out on bail and awaiting appeal and new charges, Dantas' financial empire is crumbling, and he seems to be seeking to consolidate his landholdings. The violent attack on the MST at Agropecuária Santa Bárbara's farm in Xinguara may well have been an attempt to smack down what is the most powerful grassroots movement to stand in the way of Dantas pillaging what they consider to be the natural and economic wealth belonging to all Brazilians.

The MST and the CPT are members of the international food sovereignty movement La Via Campesina.12 Via Campesina supports food sovereignty, agrarian reform, and agro-ecology as solutions to the climate, food, and financial crises. Brazil is the fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and deforestation is responsible for 75% of its emissions. Land converted to cattle grazing pasture is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon, where most Brazilian deforestation occurs. Worldwide, tropical deforestation is believed to be responsible for at least 20% of all greenhouse gasses; when land-use changes, transportation, and petroleum-based fertilizers and chemicals have all been accounted for, industrial agriculture is believed to contribute to about one-third.

Both the MST and the CPT have developed national policies for agro-ecology that mandate land be used for the sustainable production of healthy, culturally-appropriate food for local, regional, and national populations, produced by small and medium-sized family farmers, as opposed to industrial production of commodities for export—such as beef—on vast tracts of land controlled by a few wealthy landowners.

These grassroots policies and practices fly in the face of Dantas' plans for the region. With his financial business in shambles, his pending legal battles, and the country's agro-industrial boom, expansion of large-scale farming appears as a highly attractive business venture. With the expansion of production for bio-fuels and commodity export, lands in Pará stand to be converted from cattle ranching to the more lucrative production of soybeans or sugarcane, pushing the cattle-grazing deeper into the forest. Given the legacy of impunity for rural violence in Brazil, landowners are unafraid of repercussions when repressing those who resist agro-industrialization.

Within the region and nationwide, agribusiness and right-wing politicians have responded to the conflict by calling the MST criminals. Comments on media web sites have been disturbingly hostile toward the movement. Yet the occupation continues, and the state and federal governments do not appear ready to evict the MST. The governor of Pará has a good relationship with the MST, and the federal government has no interest now in aiding a discredited Dantas.

O Globo reports that on May 14 the Brazilian National Secretary of Justice sent documents to the U.S. Justice Department requesting it block more than $450 million of Opportunity's assets in the United States based on the findings of the Operation Satiagraha investigation. The United States responded that Brazil's request will be analyzed between August and September. The funds, which were due to be unblocked this week, will remain blocked in the interim.13 It is unclear if or how Citigroup's interests in Opportunity may be influencing U.S. decisions on the Dantas affair.

The money trail, specifically if and how Citigroup fully disengaged its assets from those of Dantas, is still difficult to trace. In March, Opportunity Equity Partners Administradora de Recursos Ltd., Citigroup's Brazilian subsidiary, sold its concession to the Rio de Janeiro metro,14 a business venture that is also mentioned in federal documents related to Operation Satiagraha as having been enmeshed in the corrupt relationship between Dantas and Citigroup.15

Meanwhile, in Pará, the violence is escalating. On May 11, three MST members were shot by security guards on a farm owned by Agropecuária Santa Bárbara in El Dorado dos Carajás.16 According to an annual report released by the CPT in April, of 90 death threats against landless families, rural workers, organizers, and religious advocates in Brazil in 2008, 35 occurred in Pará (des Roziers had his life threatened last year); while of the 28 murders, 13 occurred in Pará.17

"The conflict emerges exactly because we are denouncing all of this corruption, concentration, and destruction of the Amazon," says Trocate. "And we will continue struggling for this."

http://americas.irc-online.org/am/6140

Shiti Gets Slap in the Face

If reports are true that it is still interested, Citi Infrastructure Investors wants a second shot at the auction for BAA Ltd.'s Gatwick Airport, after its group's offer was rejected May 13. But it's a long shot: Citi needs to beat the next two highest bidders to win the deal and regain credibility in the market, say observers.

Word on the Street is that Citi's Midway Airport debacle had singed the infrastructure fund's reputation as it tries to score its first major concession since being launched in 2007 with a reported $4 billion target. It has landed two, but neither of them came to fruition. The fund, along with Abertis Infraestructuras SA and another backer, was named the preferred bidder on a $12.8 billion concession for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but the state legislature nixed it. Then in April, a Citi-led consortium failed to complete a $2.5 billion agreement to privatize Chicago's Midway Airport.

Its failure to complete the Midway deal was an unfortunate combination of bad timing and miscalculation on Citi's part, industry folks say. Contrary to reports, it was as much a function of the equity markets' collapse as the credit markets' tightening that killed it.

Citi was hoping to cover the $2.5 billion price with about $1 billion equity contributions from the consortium -- Citi was to put up 89.25%, while John Hancock Life Insurance Co. put in 7.82%. Citi's joint venture, YVR Airport Services Ltd., an affiliate of the Vancouver Airport Authority, was to ante up 2.93%. Another $700 million to $800 million was to be financed with debt, including a bridge from Citibank, a source says.

The remaining $700 million or so was to be raised from existing investors in Citi's infrastructure fund that indicated interest in co-investing. One large Dutch pension fund, an Australian pension fund and the Alaska State Pension Investment Board were each contributing 13.54% in indirect investments, according to disclosure statements.

While Citi evidently had about $1.7 billion in equity and debt, the co-investments fell short, a source said. The deal was approved in September, but by the time Citi went to its LPs the markets had fallen about 35%. This meant that with the fallen equity values' denominator effect on the LPs' portfolios, the institutions were either tapped out or they had to shrink allocations.

The LPs also balked at the $2.5 billion price, which was widely believed to be substantially higher than the second-best offer, the source said. Citi attempted to fill the gap via a convertible instrument, but the terms weren't attractive enough in the current markets.
Citi & Co. ended up writing off a $126 million deposit with Chicago, which investors had to fund.

In the Gatwick auction, BAA evidently wanted a much higher price than the £1.18 billion ($1.89 billion) offered by Citi's group. According to a Reuters report citing sources, BAA also had concerns over the "deliverability" of Citi's proposal, though the group claimed its bid was fully funded.

Observers now wonder whether Citi's fund may have had some "brand damage" because of Midway. As one infrastructure investor puts it, "That's a bit of a public slap in the face." - Vyvyan Tenorio

Click on title above for full article;

Shiti-Mortgage Refuses to Lower My Interest Rate from 8 3/4%

We used to pay our mortage in person at a local (M&T) bank down the street. A few years ago, we got notice in the mail that CitiMortage had purchased our loan, I assume through what we all know now is called the "bundling" process.
We were given no advance notice of the change, nor did we sign any papers with CitiMortage. We did however, continue to make the payments, of course, not wanting to lose our home.

The other day I called Citi to see if we could get our interest rate lowered as we are still paying 8 3/4 %!!! I though this would be no problem as interest rates have been lowered down to 4 & 5%. However, that is what I get for thinking.

The first question asked by the Citi-Rep (named Alysa) was what is our annual income, and we told them right away, $32,000 per year. Instantly, the rep told us that Citi could not (or would not) lower our interest rate due to Citi's determination that we could "well afford" to pay the higher interest rate, and advised us to "just keep making the payments.!"

So, because we "make enough" to pay a higher interest we are stuck with paying a higher interest. Must we continue to pay 8 3/4% when the rest of the nation is paying no more than 5%? This doesnt sound right to me, but rather than argue with them I merely asked for a copy of "the note" that they supposedly held on our mortage. At first they acted like they didnt know what I was talking about and Alysa switched me over to another department. The gal there promiced that "the note" would be forthcoming in the mail. Today it came, and I am wondering.....

Since our mortgage was transfered to Citi without our knowledge or consent, and since we have never had any dealings or meetings with Citi, not even so much as the signing of any papers, even through the mail, how in the world did our signatures get on the copy of "the note" they sent us? Moreover, in the first paragraph under "BORROWERS PROMICE TO PAY, it says, "In return for a loan I have received, I promice to pay X amount of dollars to the lender." Then, obviously added to the document as evidenced by a different typeset, was the added sentence: "The lender is CitiFinancial Mortgage Co."

Hummmmm. More investigation and research is needed here. The questions presented are: Are we really stuck with paying 8 3/4% interest, and can this "fudged" note be valid?

Well I dont know as I am by no means an expert in this area of law, but I am thinking it shouldnt take no high-fallootin' philidelphia lawyer to find out.

However, any input or comments by "those in the know" will definately make my research job easier and will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Investors Sue ShitiGroup for Ponzi Scheme / 09

Rubin, Citigroup Sued for Ponzi Scheme

BY CHRIS PETHERICK

Former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and several Citigroup executives are facing a federal lawsuit filed by investors, who charge that the bankers created a “Ponzi-like scheme” to keep one of the largest financial institutions afloat so they could quietly unload their stock and protect their fortunes.

It’s become a common story now on Wall Street: Bankers and investment firms packaged up bad loans, known as collateralized debt obligations, and sold them to investors around the world as safe investments.. But when borrowers began to default on the lousy loans, the whole house of cards came crashing down. Eventually, financial institutions were swamped with toxic assets and went running to the government for a trillion-dollar bailout.

In the case of Rubin, who is currently acting as an economic advisor to President-elect Barack Obama, and his cronies, they took an extra step that may have been illegal, according to the lawsuit. It is alleged that, starting four years ago,
Rubin and some Citigroup executives started dumping the bad debt in various shell corporations to keep it off the books. Rubin and his banking buddies then slowly sold off stock, pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their own fortunes.

When news of Citigroup’s troubled assets was made public, the stock tanked, losing nearly 90 percent of its value in one year. But by this time, it was too late for most investors, who were forced to take the hit for the bank’s exposure to mortgage-related securities and instruments. Now, a group of investors has filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan, claiming that the bankers hid the bad debt from investors until the bottom fell out and they lost some $122 billion.

The lawsuit charges that Rubin and his pals were able to prop up Citigroup shares until they could cash out more than $150 million for themselves in “suspicious” stock sales that were “calculated to maximize the personal benefits from undisclosed inside information.”

Citigroup executives created “a quasi-Ponzi scheme” to hide troubled assets and keep Citigroup’s stock up while they unloaded some 3 million shares between Jan. 1, 2004, and Feb. 22, 2008, for massive profits.

In broader terms, the case against Rubin and Citigroup execs could be the start of a series of high-profile investor lawsuits targeting banks and other financial institutions, because it appears that most did this to save their own hides. “If Citi is getting sued for this, who’s going to be next?” analyst Christopher Whalen told Bloomberg News. “The whole industry did this.” For the incoming Obama administration, the lawsuit against Rubin, who has been advising the presidentelect on the economic crisis, could prove embarrassing.

A long-time advocate of deregulating Wall Street, which allowed financial institutions to consolidate into one-stop shopping for insurance, banking and investments, Rubin has been fingered as one of the former Clintonites who is responsible for the current mess. Rubin is perhaps best known for pushing the North American Free Trade Agreement under President Clinton in the early 1990s.

Rubin also regularly defended financial instruments known as derivatives before Congress throughout the 1990s. Derivatives are largely to blame for the financial crisis today. So far this year, Citigroup has benefited from $306 billion in bailout money from the government and low-interest loans from the Federal Reserve.

http://www.heartlandnews.us/12_18_08_citigroup.html
Posted by McKinley BJB at 12:28 AM

http://kentuckyannatruenews.blogspot.com/2009/01/robert-rubin-jew-of-citigroup-sued-for.html

Client Sues ShitiGroup / 06

Citigroup sued over auction rate securities
Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:02pm EDT
By Emily Chasan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) was sued on Thursday by a client accusing the financial institution of failing to properly disclose the risks of investing in auction rate securities.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, seeks class action status. It also accused the company of artificially supporting the auctions.

Auction rate securities are bonds that banks typically pitched as a safe alternative to cash. They are long-term securities, but the investment banks hold periodic auctions to set the interest rates, giving holders the option to sell their securities.

But in recent months as the credit market tightened and auctions failed to attract bidders, investors have found themselves holding securities they thought would act like cash.

Citi did not immediately return a call for comment.

The lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Lisa Swanson who purchased auction rate securities in 2006, is seeking compensatory damages for herself and those similarly situated.

Citi is the latest major broker to face litigation over its marketing of auction rate securities. Similar lawsuits have also been filed against Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Merrill Lynch MER.N, UBS AG (UBSN.VX), TD Ameritrade (AMTD.O), and Wachovia Corp WB.N.

(Editing by Toni Reinhold)



http://www.reuters.com/article/bankingFinancial/idUSN2739612220080327

Shareholders Sue ShitiGroup / 07

Citigroup Sued Over Mortgage Exposure
11/16/07
By PHYLLIS SKUPIEN, ESQ., Andrews Publications Staff Writer

Shareholders have sued Citigroup, its former CEO, and several top executives and directors, alleging they recklessly disregarded news of the mortgage meltdown and continued to invest in overvalued, high-risk subprime loans.

At least three types of lawsuits have been filed against Citigroup in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since it announced Nov. 4 that it would write down between $8 billion and $11 billion to reflect losses in the value of its holdings in its mortgage-backed securities.


"We believe the suits are without merit and will defend against them vigorously," a Citigroup spokesman said in response to the allegations.

The derivative lawsuit that seeks to recover damages for the company alleges that from January until now, Citigroup "recklessly spent billions of dollars purchasing subprime loans to be warehoused for future collateralized debt obligations."

CDOs are pools of assets or asset-backed securities that provide investors with returns based on the associated cash flows and the risk involved. With the increasing delinquency rates among subprime borrowers, who generally have low credit scores or high debt-to-income ratios, any investment in the future cash stream becomes precarious.

A suit solely alleging violations of the anti-fraud provisions of federal securities law has also been filed against the investment bank in the Manhattan federal court. Saltzman v. Citigroup Inc., No. 07-9901, complaint filed (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 8, 2007).

In addition, participants in Citigroup's retirement plans have sued the bank for allegedly mismanaging its 401(k) plan by investing in the corporation's common stock, causing substantial losses to employee investors. Gray v. Citigroup Inc., No. 07-9790, complaint filed (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 5, 2007).

According to the shareholders, the mortgage crisis began last January when several subprime lenders, including New Century Financial Corp., declared bankruptcy because their liquidity had dried up.

Other lenders, such as Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., attempted to sell their subprime loans at "fire-sale" prices to raise cash so they could continue to issue mortgage loans.

The plaintiffs contend that the Citigroup defendants breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders by purchasing more than $2.7 billion in subprime loans from Accredited and by telling investors the bank was immune from any fallout from the downturn in the housing market.

According to the complaint, Citigroup CEO Charles Prince told the Financial Times July 10 that there was too much liquidity in the subprime mortgage market to "stop the music."

But on Oct. 1 Citigroup announced a $1.4 billion write-down on the value of its mortgage-related holdings. Two weeks later the company said its third-quarter earnings were 60 percent less than the prior year. But this was followed by even worse news.

In early November Citigroup revealed an additional $8 billion to $11 billion write-down of its subprime-related assets and that it was reducing its third-quarter earnings by another $166 million. Prince resigned shortly thereafter.

The shareholders maintain that Citigroup's stock price declined from $55 per share to less than $36 per share during the relevant period and that defendants sold more than $36 million in their personal stock holdings before the truth came out.

The lawsuits also say the defendants authorized the buyback of $663 million worth of Citigroup's own shares which should not have been approved while the stock price was inflated.

The derivative suit alleges breach of duty, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment and violation of Securities Exchange Act. The investors want the individual defendants to disgorge their insider-trading profits and pay damages to the company for their improper conduct.

The plaintiffs say it would have been futile to make a demand on the board to take up the charges, as normally required for derivative suits, because the directors named as defendants would not sue themselves.

The investors also want Citigroup to change its corporate governance policies to strengthen its internal controls.

The securities fraud suit filed against the investment bank seeks to represent investors who bought stock between April 17, 2006, and Nov. 2, 2007.

To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor@Thomson.com.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harris v. Prince et al., No. 07-9841, complaint filed (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 7, 2007).
Securities Litigation & Regulation Reporter
Volume 13, Issue 15
11/16/2007


http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/bf/scl/20071116/20071116

ShitiMortgage, You are a Pud

May 7th, 2008 · 34 Comments

And now, for something completely different…a post that has nothing to do with MyInternetBusiness or earning money online! I thought that I would write a bit about the predatory lending practices that I have been subjected to on the part of the ever-popular financial giant known as ‘CitiMortgage’.

This sordid tale concerns my second house down in Florida…I had a mortgage on the house with ABN AMRO, a very personable and friendly mortgage company that serviced the loan properly. This was a 4.8% interest-only loan. Well, ABN AMRO ended up selling the loan to CitiMortgage, who moved in like a vulture with its beady eyes fixed upon a man dying of thirst in the desert.

CitiMortgage’s first attack began, like with most of their victims that I have read about, on the Escrow account. They claimed that since taxes had increased, they needed to ratchet up the monthly escrow payment to a whopping $750 per month! Let’s see…that would be $9000 per year to cover taxes and insurance, which were approximately $3000 and $2000, respectively. So where does the other $4000 go, and why does it have to leave my pocket?

That $4000 was fairly important to me, so I decided to stop paying my taxes and insurance through escrow, and start paying it directly. So I called up the escrow department, and after being transferred around through several confused employees, I eventually got in touch with someone who said they would send me some paper work to delete the escrow account. Ok, I filled out the paperwork and sent it back. I brought the escrow account to a positive balance, and fulfilled all the criteria for them to delete it.

Got back on the phone with the escrow department, to learn, ‘Ok, we can do that, but there is a $350 processing fee to delete the escrow account’. WTF, they wanted to charge me $350 just so that they would stop ripping me off? Well, the escrow account had over $350 anyway, and after arguing a while I decided fine, they are going to take it out of whatever they would refund me from the escrow account. So I agreed, and the CitiMortgage rep was happy, and said everything would be processed in the next week or two.

Glad to no longer be paying $750 per month for escrow, I sent off the next mortgage payment, only to receive a phone call claiming that my payment was overdue…the escrow AND the mortgage portion! WTF redux! After receiving several more harassing phone calls, I discovered that they had taken the check I had just sent them and somehow applied it to the PRINCIPAL of the loan, when the memo on the check was clearly marked ‘Apply to Interest!’

CitiMortgage did this for the next two months too, and the flow of threatening letters and annoying, ignorant collections flunkies was ceaseless. I explained the situation numerous times to the various rude and useless employees, and their solution was always to demand more money or transfer me to someone else…who I then had to explain things to again!

It’s like, ‘How freaking hard is this? Take the payments you applied to principal, apply them to interest instead, and stop sending bills for escrow, and we are all settled!’

It is fairly clear to me that CitiMortgage is trying might and main to force me out of ownership of that house…and for what?? Are they so desperate to own yet another piece of unsaleable property in Florida, as well as to face my legal wrath when I bring this to court and every agency that I can file complaints with? I have read dozens and dozens of similar stories…what the devil is wrong with this bank, and why are they allowed to operate like this?

They picked the wrong person to work over with the CitiMortgage Scam tactics.

Rob Hunter
Passport to Wealth, my online business

Tags: Rob Hunter · citimortgage · citimortgage escrowe · citimortgage scam · real estate

34 responses so far ↓
1 Warren R // May 29, 2008 at 7:10 pm

Hi Rob,

My situation is also exactly same. I have been trying to delete the Escrow account for more than 6 months now. Every time when I talk to a customer service rep they tell me that they are going to send me the necessary papers to delete the Escrow account but I never received those papers. Please keep me informed…

Thanks
Warren
2 RobHunter // May 29, 2008 at 9:10 pm

Hi Warren,
Sorry to hear you are going through the same BS that I’ve been dealing with. Here’s the latest development: after talking with dozens of useless flunkies who just transferred me around, and unresponsive supervisors who magically disappeared after promising to look into the situation, I did some research and found what I believe is the answer to the problem.
The CitiMortgage ‘Executive Unit’ in O’Fallen, Missourri can resolve cases like this, IF you can find them. I tracked them down today, actually, and began speaking with a woman named Mary, who seemed to understand the situation and proposed a solution that would work for me.
I’m going to be speaking with her again tomorrow and hopefully they’ll delete the escrow account like they were freakin’ supposed to, and re-apply the principal to interest to bring my account current.
I suggest you get in touch with the Executive Unit before things go too far with your situation. Here is their contact info:

CitiMortgage Executive Unit
1000 Technology Drive
O’Fallen, MO 63368-2240

phone #: 1-636-261-7200 or 1-800-695-0384

I’ll be blogging tomorrow or the next day about how it goes…so feel free to check back, or subscribe to my blog by going to http://mustang-solutions.com/blog/feed/

You can add that to your MyYahoo, or iGoogle, or whatever your home page is.

I’ll also send this to you by email!

Cheers,

Rob Hunter
3 melissa Swafford // Jun 15, 2008 at 11:02 pm

They have done the same similiar thing to my mortgage loan. I have been on those long hold calls and numerous explain. I think it is their tactic to just make you mad enough so you will just give up on whatever you need at the time. I was with abn also they were nothing like this company. They have told me it would be a 200.00 charge to stop my escrow too. I hear that some mortgage companies don’t even allow you to cancel. I think the escrow should be explained better in your closing.
4 RobHunter // Jun 16, 2008 at 10:23 am

Hi Melissa,
Ok, what you need to do is call up the CitiMortgage Executive Unit and ask for Mary. I left their contact info in a comment above.
Mary is GREAT…she understood the problem at once, fixed my account so that it was made current, and deleted the escrow account within 7 days of me first contacting her.
Don’t waste your time with the cronies and legions of incompetent henchmen that CitiMortage employs. Go directly to the executive unit and they will make it good.

Best of luck,

Rob Hunter
5 Jackal // Aug 26, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Thanks for the info man, I’m in the same boat exactly…from ABN to CitiCrap. FYI, the 1-800 number gets you a certified rag head…stick with the 636 #.
6 Sean // Sep 11, 2008 at 6:04 pm

I have had my Citimorgage account for a couple of years and yes I have had the same issues with the rate hikes on “taxes”. I called the local tax office and they say the amout they get is around half what Citi claims to be paying out in taxes. I have sent several faxes to Citi with NO response. I wish everyone that has this issue would call the local news stations and show the rest of the public what kind of crap they are pulling. I too had my original mortgage bought out by Citi and the tax problem came up within a couple of months after they took over the loan. Will the BBB help in this issue? I don’t have the money to have my payment raised two time a year.

Any suggestions to help me out of the Citimortgage grip.

Sean
7 RobHunter // Sep 12, 2008 at 7:34 am

Hey Sean, thanks for visiting, sorry to hear about the crap you are going through. The BBB won’t help you…not much they can do here.

The trick that let me resolve my problems with CitiMortgage, was to get in touch with the right person. As it happens, CitiMortgage has ONE nice, helpful, and compentent employee who genuinely cares about fixing your account.

Her name is Mary, she is a saint, and her number is 636-261-7200. If you call her and politely explain your situation, and the resolution you want (delete your escrowe account), I’m sure she will help you.

Rob
8 John // Sep 17, 2008 at 4:56 pm

Hi,
Thanks for the great info. Just curiuous were you able to get the Escrow Account Delete fee waived as well when you got your Escrow Account removed?
9 RobHunter // Sep 17, 2008 at 9:24 pm

Hi John, yes, they did agree to wave the Escrow Account deletion fee, as an apology for the countless hours of my time wasted, the harrassing phone calls and letters, etc.

I can’t promise that they’ll do the same for anyone else, but at least the solution I’ve presented above should let you resolve the problems you are having with CitiMortgage.

Cheers,

Rob
10 Holly // Sep 30, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Hi,
My husband and I have had the same problem also. We were with ABN AMRO (great company and very friendly) and unfortunatley, Citimortgage also took over our loan last year.

My husband and I have sent countless faxes and have spent countless hours on the phone with Citimortgage. And I have spent countless hours up at night worrying about how we were going to make this new house payment they said we owed.

First, Citimortgage over paid the county $2000.00 for our 2007 taxes. After receiving an absolutely sickening bill from them stating we owed them 10,000 for a shortage and they wanted to double, yes double, our house payment to some ridicious amount. We sent several faxes showing our significantly lower tax rate which after two months, they were still trying to say we owed them. So, I finally received a phone call today stating that they adjusted our taxes to the correct amount and they would collect the overpayment from the county. So they proceed to tell me that they wanted to escrow 15, 393.00 in taxes a year. I told the lady that that was 5616.00 more than we owed in taxes a year and she told me they had to have a cushion by federal law. I told her that we would lose our house if we had to pay that much more in escrow a month and I wanted immediately to stop escrowing through them and pay the county directly, which by the way we would earn interest on and the interest we earned would go towards our taxes. So, this is where we are in this physcially sicken process.

This is only half of the terrible ordeal we have been through with them. I will keep the phone number and address you posted above and was so relieved that I found your article. Something has to be done. With the economy the way it is today and they was to escrow an EXTRA 5616.00 of my money so they can earn interest off of it.

Thank you and I’ll keep you updated.

Holly
11 RobHunter // Oct 1, 2008 at 7:47 am

Wow Holly, that is just awful. It’s escrowe scams like these that made me decide to start paying my taxes and insurance directly, without the ‘cushion’ that is allegedly required.

It doesn’t make any sense how they can get away with doing what they did to you, but I hope the solution I presented here with the Executive Unit solves your problems like it did mine.

Rob
12 Holly // Oct 1, 2008 at 6:26 pm

Thanks Rob, I faxed a letter today stating that we wanted to waive our escrow and if I don’t hear something in the next week, I’ll make a follow up phone call. Sounds like its going to be a long process though. My sister and I did a little research and according to the RESPCA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act), section 10, the lady from Citimortgage was telling me that by law they had to have 5616.00 held which is absolutely incorrect.

Just like you, we sent the new payment amount in last month telling them where we would like the funds distributed on the payment stub and
we got harrassing phone calls until I was able to reach someone explaining that our tax rate had changed and they were excrowing way too much,
still have not settled that situation.

I’ll follow up once I get through this process. Thanks again.

Holly
13 Joe // Oct 28, 2008 at 1:05 pm

I’m also having issues deleting my escrow with Citimortgage!! Has anyone heard of this:

They say I do not meet the following requirement:

” The Percentage of outstanding loan balance is 75% or less of the original loan balance*.”

I have been trying to delete my escrow for 3 months! Everytime I talk to somone on the phone, they say I meet all the requirements including the LTV. Loan to Value. So why is it I keep getting letters bascially saying I do not meet LTO(original loan balance) WTF! My mortgage broker has never heard of this in his lifetime.

Anyone else have this problem??? I’m wondering if I call that (636) number if they can help me.
14 RobHunter // Oct 28, 2008 at 1:58 pm

Howdy Joe,
My question would be something to the extent of, ‘WTF does the relationship of my loan balance to my original loan amount have to do with the fact that I want to start paying my taxes and insurance directly, and don’t want to play your escrowe scam games anymore?”

Yes, your best bet is to call that 636 number…this blog is making so much work for the very nice lady at that office, LOL, but hey, if it is helping all of you resolve your CitiMortgage problems, then I think it’s a valuable service.

I never cease to be amazed at just how many people are going through this same or similar escrowe scam ordeal.

Please post again to update me on how it goes after you talk to the Executive Unit.

Good luck,

Rob
15 Joe // Oct 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm

ROB! Awesome! I tried to ask for Mary but she was on the phone. It was funny, she was curious who referred her to me. She said they have had many people call asking for her. I just said a friend of mine. She then said she will be able to help me since she works in the same department.

Anyways, I guess ILLINOIS has this in there list of requirements, that they go by 75% of the Original Loan Amount, but she said we are the ones who can override the system. She looked up my account said everything looks fine, I have no problems closing this escrow and she understands that I would rather have the money in an interest bearing account. She said as of today, its CLOSED! Already emailed me a confirming letter that the account is closed, and a letter to sign, and I have since signed it and sent back to her. WOW, that was easy! Very nice people there.

Thanks again!!!
16 starryeyes // Oct 28, 2008 at 10:26 pm

Hello all,

I’m actually a citimortgage employee int he collections department and I feel really ashamed. I can tell you that the company takes on too much and there is never any real proper training! Right now we in collections are pretty much having to do everything by taking one inbound call after another and we have no idea about so many of the problems that are going on. Rob, I’m going to go ahead and take down the number that you provided and see if I can’t give it out to people just in case I get a customer having the same sort of issue.

I am not giving out my information of course for fear of losing my job, but maybe I can continue to keep researching on the net to see what and how I can give out proper help to the customers as it is so hard to get it at work itself. They make it very hard for the employees to do their jobs, we have to ask several annoying questions over and over and we have to solicit payments (now we have to solicit what you call a recurring payment) and if we don’t do it exactly right we can get into trouble…it’s stressful. This is not exactly what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to be a poet! But I also don’t like big business or establishments so if I can find a way to go underground and do what I can to help the customers as much as possible, I will as I don’t plan on being at this place THAT much longer. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and you ugys hang in there.
17 RobHunter // Oct 29, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Rock on, Joe! Glad to hear we have another case resolved. The CitiMortgage Executive Unit is awesome! Congrats on getting that monkey off your back.

Starryeyes, thanks for posting. This is the first that we’ve heard from the employee side of the story, and I can’t say that I’m surprised! Good for you to try and help the customers in collections, and if you’ll read a bit more in my blog, you will find what I hope is a lot of good insight into entrepreneurship and the mindset for starting your own business…which would let you escape the iron grip of CitiMortgage!
18 starryeyes // Nov 1, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Thanks Rob, I’ll give it a try and is it alright to take liberty to use this blog to ask questions in case I have them? I have to asmit I amnot good when it comes to understanding business concepts.

We had quite a time yesterday at work because we are taking all inbound calls and every time we try to transfer people to the right department there is either a long wait or they end up back to the collections department! This compmany really needs to get with it! No matter what numbers we give it does not seem to help the customers and they keep handing out papers with updated numbers, but when we dial them they don’t work! WTF???
19 RobHunter // Nov 3, 2008 at 10:24 am

Good morning Starryeyes,

Yes, feel free to post on my blog to ask any questions you want. I’m usually pretty good at checking the blog and answering questions.

Basically everyone who starts their own online business is brand new to it, but thankfully there are a lot of resources out there for learning how, including the mentoring team that I have the honor of being a leader of.

It really makes the day job SOO much more fun when you reach the point that you don’t actually NEED it anymore…bye bye stress and pressure!

Have a good one,

Rob

PS Wow…that call center sounds like a nightmare for customers and employees alike!
20 Sarah // Nov 4, 2008 at 4:05 pm

Thank you so much for posting that 636 number!! My husband lost it yesterday trying to get to someone who even could speak English properly let alone give him the info he needed.

CitiMortgage put an account on my husbands credit report saying he had a mortgage loan from them in 2002!! He’s never had a mortgage. We were going to get a home ourselves and it popped up on his credit report squahing our chances of pre-qualifing, but luckily KIM at the 636 number is really helping out and looks like we will get this squared away quickly.

Once again THANKS for the number!!!
21 mike // Nov 5, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Do you know if this executive line will help with insurance claims? I’ve been trying to get funds back for two months to get work done on my home.
22 RobHunter // Nov 6, 2008 at 9:24 am

You are very welcome, Sarah, and I am glad that the 636 executive unit was able to help you.

Mike, I don’t know that insurance claims are the kind of thing that they handle, but the 636 crew may be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

Rob
23 Boyce // Nov 15, 2008 at 1:52 am

Rob thanks I just got the shock of Citimorgage escrow. My escrow has dubbled !! I am shocked I will be calling the # and changing back to direct payment this is crazy no wonder so many people have lost there homes in this country and our economey is such a mess! Boyce
24 Boyce // Nov 17, 2008 at 10:56 pm

Well called the 636 # and did not get any help at all called a number that the lady gave me and talked to three different people who said I met all but one out of seven things to be deleted from there escrow acount and was that I had not reach the 25% equity in my house I was at 23% and if I was to by that 2 % that amounted to $5000 I would be deleted and able to pay my own taxes and insurance . I went round and round with these people and they would not let me take over my own bills that is Insurance and Taxes on my own property I am purchasing to own! I have never been treated like this Citimorgage customer service reps would not give in I told them I would have to sell my house If can not afford to pay them almost $3000 dollars more a year that what I’m paying now so they can pay my bills and they also wanted a fee if I was given the chance by them to stop the escrow and that amount would be $443.00 Tell me wtf is going on I asked them did they want all these people to lose there homes because That is what is going to happen to me and my family and they did not care one bitt! Boyce
25 marge // Dec 4, 2008 at 9:35 am

my son has had the same problem as you Rob . All they do is give him the run around They dont help people They got there bail out they dont care WE all need to do somthing about them people are loosing there homes that payed on time and had good credit My son will lose his home if he cant get help
26 tim // Feb 6, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Rob, you are lucky as hell to have gotten away without them destroying your credit!

Our story tops even this, we were never late and had these scum bags file 3 fraudulent foreclosure actions against our home!

Rob, please email and I will share our second amended complaint with you for future blogs as you simply are not going to believe we were prepaid almost by a year when they filed their last fraudulent foreclosure action!

What makes us so sick is our dam gov. giving them bailout money so they can continue to fight us legally!

Our lawyer simply could not believe we were never late until he inspected all of our payments, canceled checks and check registers! Thankfully too, we always mailed everything to these scum bags by cert. return receipt!

These are not errors but calculated moves to destroy your credit as they did ours and then hold you captive hostage! I plan to nail those things right to the dam wall though as they have screwed over the wrong person and we are not going to stop until we own Citi, Lehman, Wells Fargo and Aurora Loans as all are low life scum who regularly file fraudulent foreclosure actions when no default exist!

God bless and all take care, tim
27 tim // Feb 6, 2009 at 4:35 pm

marge, email us, we have avery good lawyer who is suing the beans out of those scum! Anyone else in the need of the same, do the same! timcotten@mris.com
28 anon // Feb 10, 2009 at 10:29 pm

Rob, you certainly are correct. After 1 1/2 months of no satisfaction with their customer reps, called Citi Group headquaters in New York. We were eventually transfered to a Mary at The Executive Response Unit. Supposedly, on her desk at that very moment, was our case which was resolved in our favor. The CitiMortgaage reps (and supervisors) had told us that they did not take incomming calls (not true). Guess it did not hurt to fax/mail the state attorney general, the OCC (Office of the comptroler of Currancy ) and various news organizations. I agree, their customer service takes too long.
29 Gina // Feb 18, 2009 at 3:50 pm

I found this webpage after searching for a number to contact the Citimortgage tax department - thank goodness I stumbled on this page.

In December, I received my account statement and 1098, showing a breakdown of my property taxes paid from my escrow account. My county tax was correct, school tax as well, but the utility tax paid out of my escrow account was 4X the amount it should have been. My utility district tax was $813.00, confirmed by my tax district, yet, Citimortgage took over $3400.00 about of my account for this tax???? I thought it was a simple clerical error. I called the only number I could find - the customer service number. I had send a fax to the tax department with an explination and a copy of my tax bill, which I did. I was told by customer service that once my fax was received, it was take 2-weeks to research and resolve the error. In 2-weeks time, I called customer service and was told that my research request had been closed because no error was found. Uh, NO - big error! I also had a letter from the utility tax district showing that they recieved payment in the proper amount, none over. I asked for Citimortgage to supply a copy of my utility tax bill. I was not happy and ended up being put on hold for 45-minutes after asking for a supervisor. I called back and got connected to an “account specialist” who said she’d open a request for refund and another research request. Again - nothing but a letter stating it would take an addtional 21-days to research my account, oh, and a statement saying I owe an addtional $500.00 on my monthly bill - not to mention that my 1098 was incorret! So I called back and asked to have this turned around sooner - no way am I paying more when I’m already waiting on a refund! I was told it would take an another 7-days (from that day) to look into my request and I would get another letter….I keep getting damn letters saying more time when it’s a cut and dry case. It take 2-seconds to look up my damn tax bill and see it was a mistake. I don’t know where they applied my money, but that’s not my concern, I need my money back into my escrow account! I am completely sickend by reading all the complaints against Citimortgage and I dreed how long it will take to get my money back. I can’t afford to have my credit tarnished but I can’t affored to have to pay an addtional $500.00 a month. Horrible customer service! HORRIBLE!!! Does anyone know where I can submit a formal complaint?
30 Kathryn // Mar 3, 2009 at 10:43 pm

Wow, add me to the list of people who is having a hell of a time with Citimortgage right now. I will be overnighting a complaint letter to the Executive Unit tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the information. I have also reported them to the OTS and urge everyone else to do the same.
31 Jeannie // Mar 25, 2009 at 11:40 am

Rob,

Hi, I’m new, and visted you site a few month’s ago, and I just wanted to let you know that I utilized the number for Mary, and she ended up transfering me, but she was very curious about how I got her number and that that they keep getting phone calls for some odd reason in her office and they don’t know where the number is coming from. Thanks so much for listing this info on your site. I had a hell of a time trying to straighten out my escrow with customer service. I basically had the same situation as Gina above.

What really made me furious was the fact that when Mary transferred me, I went over the information with the gentlemen she transferred me to and I asked him if he can see all the notes from when I have called in time over time, and he read me the last note that their tax office wrote that said that the tax office had contacted my school district office to try and have my extra escrow money returned and the school would not be able to refund the money until March or April, and that they could not do anything until that time. Well, unfortunatly for him, I work for the district business office, and told him that no one had ever contacted the office and that we DO NOT have any additional money that should be refunded for my school taxes.

I also have a letter from my tax collector stating that my taxes are paid in full, and there is no additional money that was deposited by her. He told me that they have a third-party tax company providing the service for Citi-Mortgage. Well after I flew off the handle after months of trying to get this taken care of and told him the company was flat out lying and that I was going to write the Attorney General’s office and the PA Banking ??? (I don’t have the correct name here with me), he put in another one of those so-called “claims”. I received a letter approx 10 days later stating that the school has refunded the money back to my escrow account, (A COMPLETE LIE!). I did apoligize to the poor guy at the end, that he had to work for such a company, but if anyone needs info for a suit of their own, I would gladly provide the information I have for you to help.

My next step now is to stop my escrow account, but now according to everyone’s postings, I may have another whole long fight ahead.

I will let everyone know how I make out!
32 Jules // Mar 27, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Wow, this is amazing to hear so many similar stories. But, I can beleive it, no big surprise here. My story is a bit different and was wondering if anyone else is going through the same or knows who I should contact. My husband and I have always paid our mortgage on time. Of course Citimortgage bought our mortgage from the company we took it out with originally. Well back in June 2008 my husband retired with a disability. In Feb. 2008 the company I worked for closed down, so I was out of work. My husband received his pension but had to wait 6 months for disability payments. So we were living on half our salary and still made all our payments on time. We depleted our savings and his 457 plan. He just started getting his disability for 3 months and we are just trying to get caught up and on Citimortgage statements they always have their friendly little ways of telling you to call them to help find a workable solution to help you make payments. HUH!!!! So not true. They took all our info to file for just a 2 month mortgage extension, that is all so we can catch up, not like they are giving us anything, we are still paying in the end, they tell us to call back in 2 weeks, we did and they said it was declined because a payment was not made in 30 days and we would have to make a payment in order to get the extension..WHAT!!! that is the reason we filed for the extension because we didnt have the money. And the girl who faxed us the extension agreement never mentioned that we have to pay a payment first we could have worked it out if we knew 2 weeks earlier instead we decided heating our home and buying groceries was more important. When we pushed harder someome else said to send in a hardship letter and income proof and she will bring it to her supervisor and call us back in 1-2 days. Well still waiting and when trying to call her we dealt with rude people who claimed we were given wrong information and then lied in the notes saying we told them the wrong thing. They keep puttting balme on the customers. There is more but I could go on forever…I don’t understand why Citimortgage doesn’t teach there employee’s to treat their customer’s with more compasion, without us they would be out of work!!!! If anyone has any advice or a phone #, address please let me know…Thanks and good luck to us all!!!!
33 Shuper5 // Apr 28, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Wow!I can not believe I found this site!Citimortgage are the BIGGEST CROOKS OF ALL!!!!!!!Been in my house since 2002!They have missapplied funds,escrow fraud,and Respa issue on my account!I’m getting no where at all!
They started Foreclosure proceedings!They stop taking payments from us back in August2008 because they have NO ACCOUNTING SKILLS AT ALL!I need help,I called that number and talked to a Kim.Very polite and said she would look into this but I have very little hope because they are really screwing us!WE are here in Ohio,we are a fixed rate FHA mortgage,no secondary!Citimortgage has never given us credit for anypayments at all!
On our credit it says closed account,very stressed out,I have 3 beautiful girls,husband works hard everyday.We are able to make house payments but for some reason they want our home!ANY ADVICE OR SOMEONE TO GET A HOLD OF HIGHER TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE??????
34 Shuper5 // Apr 29, 2009 at 7:36 pm

Call Citimortgage and they said they would get a hold of me in at least 4DAYS about this problem!
This is crazy any advice??

35 Christine A. Jubic // May 18, 2009 at 3:25 pm

Several years ago, Citibank bought our mortage from a local bank. Our interest rate with Citi is 8 3/4 % and I have been trying to get them to lower it but they tell me (now get this) that since our household annual income is $35,000, …that there is NOTHING they can do for us because “we make too much?” “Alysa,” the “customer service” rep determined that since we can “well afford” to make the payments “as they are,”…she advised us to “just keep making them.”
I am wondering what does our income have to do with interest rates? Duh.
Anyways, I have decided not to blow my top with them, but to keep eeking away at trying to find a way to get our interest rates lowered, and of course, to build “Shiti-Group” their very own website blog. Hope to see you all there sharing your own ShitiGroup horror stories!
http://fraudulenttransactions.blogspot.com/