by Brian Brady
Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL
IamFacingForeclosure.com is a weblog created by failed real estate investor, Casey Serin, designed to chronicle how he addresses the lenders he defrauded. I highlight the word “defrauded” because he intentionally misled the lenders by overstating his income and misrepresented his owner-occupancy.
Casey capitalizes on the American hunger for good drama and the time honored tradition of this country of “reinventing yourself”. Casey’s done a pretty decent job at it, too.
He’s monetizing his blog and has a book deal brewing. The publisher of that book has outlined his disputes with Casey as a guest author. The publisher is an apologetic for Casey’s unwillingness to “get a job” explaining his entrepreneurial nature and fame make him an unlikely candidiate for any “good job”.
I think the publisher and Casey are ignoring another time-honored American tradition of “starting at the bottom and working your way up” . I can’t blame him too much. Casey has recognized that this country just LOVES drama and collects over three grand a week for advertising on his weblog.
Now, Casey is kicking it at the beach in Australia.
I suppose I’m pretty old-school. I offer this advice if you’re facing foreclosure and “kicking it” on an Australian beach isn’t a part of it.
Erion Shehaj says:
I swear I will burst a blood vessel next time I hear laziness being rationalized as entrepreneurship. The fact of the matter is that true entrepreneurs actually work HARDER than everyone else. Casey Serin is just plain lazy!
June 17, 2007 — 1:54 pm
Brian Brady says:
“The fact of the matter is that true entrepreneurs actually work HARDER than everyone else”
You think?
I am being kind to Mr. Serin in my post, Erion.
June 17, 2007 — 2:06 pm
Rhonda Porter says:
How gross! I wonder if any lenders will try to go after him from fraud…especially if he does a book. Maybe he should co-other a book with OJ if this one is a success.
June 17, 2007 — 5:38 pm
Chris says:
Robert Kiyosaki interviewed him, it was rather interesting. Casey is well, not the sharpest blade in the box, and an opertunist.
June 17, 2007 — 6:47 pm
Russell Shaw says:
Brian, NOW do you see why I said – about you, “you never know what the hell he is going to write next”?
Fantastic story! He commits fraud and is now trying to make money by explaining to everyone how he did it.
June 17, 2007 — 10:19 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
I hope that the defrauded lenders 1099 Casey for every nickel he stole from them. I wonder what his payment plan will look like after the IRS attaches his blog cash flow. There is probably an IRS bounty to be had for some entrepreneurial soul.
June 17, 2007 — 11:20 pm
Brian Brady says:
Russell, I do. That’s what makes this place so danged fun.
TJ- I honestly believe that Casey will “Reality Show” himself out of this problem and set his next big deal up. This kid’s going to be teaching seminars in three years; and thousands will be dumb enough to pay him money for them.
June 18, 2007 — 7:52 am
Rhonda Porter says:
Scary. He’ll be the next Carlton Sheets (or what ever his name is)…we’ll have potential borrowers meeting with us saying, “I’ve gone to a seminar, I know I can lie about my income and assets and still buy house for zero down…no closing costs and net $$$$”.
June 18, 2007 — 8:26 am
Robert Kerr says:
If Casey Serin’s story is true I hope to see his new web site, iamfacingprosecution.com, soon.
He’s admitted to six cases of mortgage fraud and provided more than enough details for charges to be filed.
June 18, 2007 — 8:29 am
Brian Brady says:
Isn’t that astounding, Robert? My attorney calls e-mail “evidence” mail and cautions against the liberal use of it.
What will his defense be? Oh…it’s just a blog
You have to wonder if the loss mitigation departments of the lenders aren’t going to snap one day when they see Casey playing bacarrat in Monaco
June 18, 2007 — 9:05 am
Chuchundra says:
If we’re going to start prosecuting people for mortgage fraud during the RE boom we’re going to have to start building a lot more prisons.
June 18, 2007 — 9:11 am
Brian Brady says:
Good point, Chuchundra. Wasn’t Australia originally a penal colony?
June 18, 2007 — 9:27 am
Robert Kerr says:
Chuchundra, this young man is openly flaunting his abuse of the system. If this goes unpunished, what message does that send: “You can defraud lenders for $2M, brag about it and then profit by writing a book.”
June 18, 2007 — 12:31 pm
David Phillips says:
Well, the message needs to get out about mortgage fraud one way or the other. I read through his blog and this seems an obvious case. The affected companies will have to decide if it is worth their time. They tolerate a certain amount of fraud on the stated products as a matter of course. A blatant case, such as this, might put the brakes on lending to other borrowers and cause another undesirable effect–no new loans. It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this.
June 18, 2007 — 7:44 pm
Chuchundra says:
Well, I have no objection to this young man being prosecuted for fraud. I’m not all that clear on the various laws in play but I’m sure he’s violated a few. The mortgage app says that you assert that the information is true under penalty of perjury, so he’s got that on him if nothing else. If some zealous prosecutor wants Casey’s scalp on his wall, I’m not going to say that that’s a bad thing.
The point I’m making is that this sort of thing was so widespread, where do you even start. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Casey Serins out there. Plus there are tens or hundreds of thousands of home buyers who did similar things, but only for their primary residence and all the mortgage brokers who aided and abetted their fraud.
If we’re going to start throwing people in jail, where do we start? And, more importantly, where do we stop?
June 19, 2007 — 11:55 am
Brian Brady says:
Chuch,
You make a good point about where to start and stop. I hope I can illustrate the ire so many of us industry folk feel for Casey’s flagrant law breaking and public impudence.
I went to a Police concert at JFK Stadium in 1983 (remember JFK?). Many concert attendees were smoking weed; some while they walked by one of Philly’s finest. Non-compliance with the law was flagrant. The Philly cops, with their usual rational thinking, said “where do you start and when do you stop?”
It was the impudent punk who lit up a joint up while talking with a Philly cop that was led off to the Roundhouse in bracelets. I don’t blame them one bit.
To paraphrase a quote from the movie Hoosiers:
There’s a difference between getting naked and howling at the moon in your backyard and mine. The first is just durned crazy. The second is…well..something we have to deal with.
June 19, 2007 — 11:53 pm
Erion Shehaj says:
Brian
The analogy offered is outstanding. However, I would say that Mr Serin is not exactly like the kid who lit up in front of the cops. The analogy would be more accurate if the kid not only smoked in front of the police but also tried to sell it to them for a profit!
June 20, 2007 — 10:10 am
cassiano travareli says:
Mr.Serin is a lucky man. Most people work hard for their money, and have to build their way up. I hope they get him for the fraud.
October 10, 2008 — 10:32 am