Wells Fargo Exec Squats in Foreclosed $12 Million Malibu Beach House

[babylonsister]

http://washingtonindependent.com/58716/wells-fargo-exec-squats-in-foreclosed-12-million-malibu-beach-house

Wells Fargo Exec Squats in Foreclosed $12 Million Malibu Beach House
By Mike Lillis 9/11/09 2:36 PM


Just when you thought it was a tough time to be a banker comes this heartwarming tale of a bank executive effectively squatting in a $12 million Malibu foreclosure. From The Associated Press:

A Wells Fargo executive who oversees foreclosed properties hosted parties and spent long summer weekends in a $12 million Malibu beach house, moving into the home just after it had been surrendered to Wells Fargo to satisfy debts, neighbors told The Associated Press.

It seems that Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president responsible for foreclosed commercial properties at Wells Fargo, moved into the home in May after the previous owners lost their shirts in the Bernie Madoff scheme.

On Wednesday, another Wells executive, Mary Coffin, told House lawmakers that the banking giant, though a big corporation, “operate{s] with the conscience of a company determined to do what is right for our customers, our investors, and for all American taxpayers.”

Guyton’s actions suggest a different reality. And though it might be an isolated case, Mary this week pointed to a more systemic (and egregious) practice allegedly adopted by a Wells office in California: an alleged policy of lending discrimination in minority neighborhoods.

Wells stock might be on the rise, but it’s public image is quickly sinking.

[orpupilofnature57]

1. This is the stuff we have to highlight ,The enemy now has got to be greed and corruption.

[54anickel]

2. He was just house-sitting, can't leave a joint like that vacant for the vagabonds to move in...Hey

wait a minute....:freak:

[hobbit709]

3. If some homeless had done that, there would have been cops up the wazoo.

[Cleita]

7. Exactly, it's known as trespassing. n/t

[monmouth]

4. I'm sending this to my guy at Wachovia/Wells Fargo. Can't

wait to see if I get a reply...LOL...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. $12 million for a beach front house?

I remember back in 1970 an incredible beach front house in Laguna Beach that was probably nicer than anything in Malibu. The back door steps led right down to the sandy beach. The house had belonged to a rock and roll band (America, maybe?). My dad was a real estate agent at the time and showed us the house. It was going for $120,000, which is one hundred times less than this Malibu house. What's happened to housing prices? How could houses be 100 times more expensive now? How do young people afford to move into a new house? Even as recently at 1980, I think $12 million would have bought the most expensive house in Bel Air. I believe movie producer Dino DeLaurentiis had an immense property with a 25,000 square foot mansion on it overlooking Beverly Hills called "The Knoll" which was going for $12 million and which I believe was the largest and most expensive estate at the time in southern California.

[girl gone mad]

11. If you really want to know..

look into the Federal Reserve. Their loose lending, low rate policies led to massive asset inflation over the last 3 decades. The problem is that this period coincided with an overall decline in wages, a recipe for disaster.

[Cleita]

6. I guess we have a two-tiered justice system in this country.

There are laws for us peasants, and different laws for the upper crust. How else would one explain the blatant criminality that seems to be rampant among the corporate and political classes in this country. It seems there is no law or justice system that touches them. One of my poor in money neighbors had to go to jail for illegal possession of some pills, yet these high ended criminal thieves and murderers walk among us still enjoying the good life, and the respect of their peers. Among us unwashed masses, that would be called trespassing and there would be a court date set.

[XOKCowboy]

8. She better been paying some pretty HUGE rent if this is true...

Sad.....

[babylonsister]

10. I don't think squatters pay anything. nt

[XOKCowboy]

14. Squatters usually aren't making 6+ figures a year either..

Of course even at 6 figure income she'd be a pauper there. :)

[notesdev]

9. This must be the reach-around part of the financial system n/t

[NoUsername]

12. To paraphrase Barbara Bush, "So many of the Wells Fargo executives

in the Malibu area are, you know, underprivileged anyway so this, this is working very well for them."

Oh, those poor Wells Fargo execs. You know, they wouldn't be in this predicament if you cheap-assed taxpayers would have given them a bigger handout than the billions they received. You see, if Wells Fargo had received another few tens of billions of dollars, they could have afforded to give all their execs $12 million bonuses in which case Cheronda Guyton would have been able to BUY this property outright. But noooo, you cheap bastards couldn't do that, thus forcing the poor innocent Guyton to squat in the $12 million mansion. Had WF received a more substantial handout, all of this could have been avoided and the real estate market would have been relieved of the burden of having to deal with yet another foreclosed house in an already troubed real estate market.

Proof once again that the poor and middle class just aren't doing enough to transfer their $$$ to the top .01%. After all, that IS your lot in life. Good thing we have the government there to step in and make sure that happens. After all, if the government doesn't look out for the top .01%, who will?

</sarcasm> <- Just in case anyone is wondering. With some of the stuff I see posted here, I felt I needed to add that.

[Ilsa]

13. Don't you just despise the nouveau riche like Ms. Guyton? nt