IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 0:10-cv-61296-Altonaga

IGNACIO DAMIAN FIGUEROA,

on behalf of himself and others
similarly situated,

Plaintiff( A CLASS ACTION

v. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

IVIERSCORP, INC., LAW OFFICES OF DAVID J. STERN, P.A.;

DAVID J. STERN, individually; DJSP ENTERPRISES, INC.,
AMERICAN LAND TITLEASSOCIATION; BANK OF AMERICA,
N.A.; CCO MORTGAGE CORPORATION; CHASE HOME
MORTGAGE CORPORATION; CITIMORTGAGE, INC.; CRE
FINANCE COUNCIL flda COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE
SECURI_LIES ASSOCIATION; CORINTHIAN MORTGAGE
CORPORATION; EVERHO ME MO RTGAGE COMPANY; FANNIE
MAE; FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE CORPORATION;
FREDDIE MAC; GMAC RESIDENTIAL FUNDING
CORPORATION; GUARANTY BANK; HS BC FINANCE
CORPORATION; MERRILL LYNCH CREDIT CORPORATION;
MGIC INVESTOR SERVICES; MORTGAGE BANKERS
ASSOCIATION; NATIONWIDE ADVANTAGE MORTGAGE
COMPANY; PMI MORTGAGE INSURANCE COMPANY;
STEWART TITLE GUARANTY COMPANY; SUNTRUST
MORTGAGE, INC.; UNITED GUARANTY CORPORATION; AND
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. flda WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK,

Defendants.

AMENDED COM PLAIN T

Comes now the Plaintiff Ignacio Damian Figueroa, on his own behalf and on behalfof others similarly

situated, and sues the Defendants, Merscorp, Inc.; the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A.; David J. Stern;

DJSP Enterprises, Inc.; American Land Title Association; Bank of America, N.A CCO Mortgage Corporation;

Chase Home Mortgage Corporation; Cit&lortgage Inc.; CRE F inanc e Councilf/k/a Commercial
Mortgage Securities Association; Corinthian Mortgage Corporation; Everhome Mortgage Company;

Fannie Mae; First American Title Insurance Corporation; Freddie Mac; GMAC Residential Funding

Corporation; Guaranty Bank; HSBC Finance Corporation; Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation; MGIC

Investor Services; Mortgage Bankers Association; Nationwide Advantage Mortgage Company; PMI

Mortgage Insurance Company; Stewart Title Guaranty Company; Suntrust Mortgage, Inc.; United

Guaranty Corporation; and JPMorgan Chase & Co. filda Washington Mutual Bank, as follows:

The Nature of the Action

This is an action for triple damages, costs and attorney fees under 18 U.S.C. §§1962 and

1964, otherwise known as the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act" or "RICO."

The Named Parties

2.Ignacio Damian Figueroa is the Plaintiff He brings suit as Class Representative. He has

standing to sue in that capacity because he possesses the same interest and suffered the same type of

injury as did the other Class Members.

3.Defendant Merscorp, Inc., is a foreign corporation created in or about 1998 by conspirators from

the largest banks in the United States in order to undermine and eventually eviscerate long-

standing principles of real property law, such as the requirement that any person or entity who seeks to

foreclose upon a parcel of real property: 1) be in possession of the original note and mortgage and 2) possess a

written assignment giving he, she or it actual rights to the payments due from the borrower pursuant to the

mortgage and note. Defendant Merscorp, Inc., claims to be the sole shareholder in an entity by the name of

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., ("MERS"). MERS is the RICO enterprise and is the primary

innovation through which the conspirators, including the Defendants, have accomplished their illegal objectives

2
as detailed throughout this Complaint.

4.The Defendant Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A., (hereinafter "the Defendant Firm"), is a

professional association with its principal place of business in Plantation, Florida. The Defendant Firm's

attorneys primarily represent plaintiffs in foreclosure actions. Based upon statements by its owner and co-

Defendant, David J. Stern, the Defendant Finn in 2008 and 2009 filed between 4000 and 7000 new

foreclosure actions in the State of Florida per month. Beginning in or about 1999, the Defendant Firm joined

with Defendant Merscorp, Inc., and other conspirators in the fraudulent scheme and RICO enterprise herein

complained of The employees of the Defendant Firm, inckKlingmanylicensed attorneys, have become

skilled in using the artifice of MERS to sabotage the judicial process to the detriment ofborrowers, and, over

the past several years, have routinely relied upon MERS to do just that.

5.David J. Stem is an attorney licensed in Florida since 1991. He is the sole owner of the

Defendant Firm. He is responsible for its actions because he caused them and also because attorneys and

other professionals may not use corporate fitcades as shields against personal liability arising from the

practice of their professions.

6.DJSP Enterprises, Inc., ("DJSP") is a Florida corporation which was founded by David J.

Stem. This entity functions as a title company, and it makes its revenue doing "title work" to assist in the

disposition of foreclosed properties. According to its companyprofile, it provides legal and non- legal services

regarding "lender owned real estate.' Properties of this type, which are owned by the lenders or other real

parties in interest, are referred to as "REO's." David J. Stem uses DJSP to perform "processing" and title

services relating to those post-foreclosure REO properties, thereby increasing his massive profits from the
1
Http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=DJSP+Profde

3
illegal enterprise herein described. The entity "went public" at some time in the recent past, resulting in

substantial profits to David J. Stem. While it purports to function through one or more "subsidiaries," its

telephone number is the same as the one listed for the Defendant Firm. David J. Stem, through these and

other "spin-off' entities, has made hundreds ofrnillions of dollars fraudulently subverting the judicial process

and the constitutional safeguards designed to protect the rights of litigants so as to manufacture a foreclosure

and foreclosure-litigation industry which simply drives the hapless citizens in his path to cycle after cycle of

impossible loan and inevitable foreclosure. As Stem boasted to a room of investors at a recent promotional

event, "direct source initiatives" by the larger lenders increasinglyenable the Defendant Firm, DJSP, and

other entities recently formed by Stern to take mortgages "from cradle to the grave."

7. U.S. Bank National Association as Administrative Agent for National Default Exchange Holdings LP

4
 Narrative Background: "A Subtle Stranger" Orchestrates a Paradigm Shift 2

30.In and about the years 1998 and 1999, the mortgage industry introduced new "products" into

the American marketplace. These products included "non-documentation loans" and adjustable rate

mortgages, known as "ARMS." Mortgage lenders, acting in coordination with one another, relaxed their

standards for lending, which made an entirely new class of lower-income individuals eligible to receive

loans. This, in turn, drove up property "values." As part and parcel of this scheme, banks and other

lenders "accepted" appraisals "documenting" the new, higher values, and approved hundreds of

thousands of applications for financing which would normally have been declined.

31.Unbeknownst to the borrowers and the public, the billions of dollars spent to fund these loans

2
This is an extraordinary case. At times, as explained in this Complaint, words do not even have their
traditional meanings in the new MERS order. For this reason, it is believed that an unconventional
pleading style can and will best convey the Plaintiff's message, and tolerance for such unconventionality
is respectfully requested as being in the best interests ofjustice and truth. In light of the liberties taken by
the Defendants in terms ofjudicial administration and procedure, the tolerance of this Court for the
slightly unconventional stylings of the undersigned counsel in this pleading would seem to be warranted.
8
were expended to "prime the pump." The big institutions and the conspirators were making an investment,

but the expected return was NOT the interest they pretended to anticipate receiving as borrowers paid the

mortgages. The lenders knew that the new loans were "bad paper;" this was of little concern to them because

they intended to realize profits so great as to render such interest, even if it had been received, negligible by

comparison Part of the reason this fraudulent scheme has gone largely unnoticed for such an extended period

oftime is that its sophistication is beyond the imagination of average persons. Similarly beyond the

imagination of most persons is and was the scope of the DISHONESTY of the lenders and those acting in

furtherance of the scheme, including the present Defendants. Through the present time, persons acting within

the ambit of this conspiracy, most particularly including the Defendants herein, have continued to operate

consistent with the core principles of dishonesty and obscurantism engendered by the original conspirators.

These dark influences have spread throughout the financial services, lending and banking industries into the

national economy and beyond, threatening the economic stability ofthe United States and the world as a

whole. This Court is urged in the strongest possible way to apply a presumption of FALSITY when

reviewing any documentary evidence filed in this Court by one or more of the Defendants. Such a

presumption is not just warranted; it is indeed compelled by the extent to which the Defendants and those

with which they are associated have long acted in a malicious and wanton manner evincing complete

contempt for the judicial process and the rights ofpersons having interests contrary to their own This is

particularly true because the Defendants' contempt for due process is compounded by their specific intention

to obviate the requirement that documents prepared for legal use be truthful, authentic, and legitimate.

3 4. There is one sort of lie that, when later discovered, constitutes the strongest

possible proof of a person's malicious intentions. What is it? A lie about one's name or identity. Many such

9
lies are present in this instance. The whole purpose of MERS is to allow "servicers" to pretend as if they are

someone else: the "owners" of the mortgage, or the real parties in interest. In fact they are not. The standard

MERS/Stem complaint contains a lie about this very subject. While the title of the standard complaint makes

reference to "lost loan documents," in the body of the standard complaint, the Defendant Finn alleges that the

plaintiff is the "owner and holder" of the note and mortgage. Both cannot be true unless the words used are

given new meanings. (Sample attached as Exhibit A). Sometime after March 13, 2008, but before February

12, 2009, the Defendant Firm changed the standard Complaint so that it now reads: "Plaintiff, as servicer for

the owner and acting on behalf of the owner with authority to do so, is the present designated holder of the

note and mortgage with authority to pursue the present action." Yet in this latest version, the Stern Firm also

describes an assignment of the mortgage which has already occurred, with the "assignee" being the plaintiff in

the case - - the same plaintiff who is simultaneously described as a "designated holder" who is "acting on

behalf of the owner." (Exhibit B). This is a contradiction: either the plaintiff is designated to act on behalf of

the real party in interest, or it is itself the real party in interest pursuant to the alleged "assignment."

35. In the years leading up to the introduction of the new loan "products," the conspirators laid

the groundwork which would grow into a new mortgage lending infrastructure: a new paradigm in which the

ratios of risk to reward were dramatically altered in favor of these monied interests and to the detriment of

common consumers. One material bulwark in the support for this new paradigm was the almost universal

inclusion in new mortgages of intentionally ambiguous and infinitely malleable provisions pertaining to MERS.

As is the case with most of the written documents routinely used in the scheme, such as "assignments" and

complaints for foreclosure, each word concerning MERS in these standardized mortgages is carefully crafted so

as to allow those relying upon it to infinitely recede in their positions and to be moving targets virtually

10
unreachable by standard legal means. The standard mortgage is a form entitled "FLORIDA-Single

Family-Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac UNIFORM INSTRUMENT-MERS," or some slight variation thereof

Upon reading the standard mortgage clauses pertaining to MERS, even persons of high intelligence will

have a sense that they should, but do not quite, comprehend them. Consider these:

"MERS" is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. MERS is a separate corporation that is
acting solely as a3 nominee for Lender and' Lender's successors and assigns. MERS is the mortgagee
under this security instrument.' MERS is organized and existing under the laws of Delaware, and has
an address and telephone number of P.O. Box 2026, Flint, MI 48501-2026, teL (888)679-MERS.

]
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS IN THE PROPERTY
This Security Instrument secures to Lender: (i) the repayment of the Loan, and all renewals, extensions
and modifications of the Note; and (ii) the performance of Borrower's covenants and agreements under
this Security Instrument and the Note. For this purpose, 6 Borrower does hereby mortgage, grant and
convey to MERS (solely as nominee for Lender and Lender's successors and assigns) and to the
successors and assigns of MERS,7 the following described property located in the COUNTY

3
This allows for another "nominee;" one which could apparently coexist with MERS.

"Is" being present tense, this seems to indicate that as of the time of execution of the mortgage,
MERS was performing some unknown service for both lender and its "successors and assigns" even
though ostensibly the mortgage had not as of execution been assigned. Upon assignment, it would
seem to be impossible for MERS to act as "nominee" for the original lender. This phrase also tacitly
acknowledges that the mortgage will be assigned.

5
No, it is not. Here is the definition of the term from the first available free Internet site,
www.law.dictionary.com : "mortgagee: n. the person or business making a loan that is secured by the real
property of the person (mortgagor) who owes him/her/it money."

6
There is no "purpose" stated in the preceding sentence.

.7 How can the borrower simultaneously "convey" the property to: (1) MERS as nominee for lender; (2)
MERS as nominee for lender's successors and assigns; and (3) MERS's own successors and assigns?
Furthermore, who are such successors and assigns? No assignment could have existed as of the
moment the mortgage was executed by the borrowers, and if somehow same did exist, it should have
been disclosed as a fundamental and material aspect of the transaction. If the assignment occurred prior
to the mortgage, the mortgage itself is void because the lender had no interest to secure.
11
 of BROWARD.8

Borrower understands and agrees that MERS holds only legal title to the interests granted by Borrower
in this Security Instrument,' but, if necessary to comply with law or custom," NIERS (as nominee for
Lender and Lender's successors and assigns) has the right to exercise any or all of those interests,
including, but not limited to, the right to foreclose and sell the Property, and to take any action required
of Lender including, but not limited to, releasing and canceling this Security Instrument.

(Typical MERS mortgage and note are attached hereto as Composite Exhibit C).

36. Beginning soon after the "ink" on the new mortgages was "dry," the lenders

promptly sold the loans, in secretive transactions, to "investors" for some percentage or fraction of what had

been the alleged value of the mortgage and the property by which it was secured just days or weeks earlier.

The quick sale by the lender of its interest, at what appears to be a loss, would have at first seemed

inexplicable, but when considered with the benefit ofhindsight, proof ofthese quick transfers would have

been evidence that the lender knew in advance that property values would soon decline. By constantly

changing "servicers" on these loans, and by sending out notices of such changes drafted also in intentionally

ambiguous verbiage, the bankers behind the scenes cooperated in obscuring the truth as to who had the right

to receive the proceeds of the loans, and to foreclose in the event ofnon-payment. The loans were grouped

into "pools" and sold multiple times, thereby increasing profits for the wrongdoers. These "securitized debt

pools" were sold on the stock market and elsewhere, and in this manner affected interstate commerce. The

real parties in interest also in many instances collected mortgage insurance upon "default."

A mortgage is not a conveyance of property by operation of Florida law.

9
What "interests" does this passage refer to, and to whom were they granted?

10 No "law or custom" could possibly necessitate action by MERS, as opposed to action by the
original lender.
12
 37.Another part of the scheme was the use of words in ways inconsistent with their traditional

meanings, and the creation of new terms which could be used to blur important distinctions between parties and

their interests. The revolutionary ways in which words were utilized all shared one characteristic: they made it

more difficult to determine who had the right to receive and utilize for their own purposes the payments made

on the loan by the borrower. For example, "mortgagee" began to have a meaning other than "lender." See n. 4,

supra. "Servicer" arose to prominence and was and is used to further obscure important truths. Specifically, the

"servicer" may or may not hold the true beneficial interest in the mortgage, and the Defendants will NOT

release any further information on the subject, whether it is requested in discovery in a foreclosure action or in

any other context.

38.With the oversight of Defendant Merscorp and its principals, the MERS artifice and

enterprise evolved into an "ultra-fictitious" entity, which can also be understood as a "meta-corporation"

To perpetuate the scheme, MERS was and is used in a way so that to the average consumer, or even

legal professional, can never determine who or what was or is ultimately receiving the benefits of any

mortgage payments. The conspirators set about to confuse everyone as to who owned what. They

created a truly effective smokescreen which has left the public and most of the judiciary operating "in

the dark" through the present time.

39.Although not an element of the Plaintiffs cause of action, the truth of the matter is that reasoned

contemplation of the available facts leads to a stunning realization: the mortgage crisis and resulting economic

downturn with which the United States is currently afflicted was planned in advance by certain scions of

Wall Street. In addition to the other incriminating facts set forth in this Complaint and documented in the

exhibits hereto, consider this: On its website, www.mersinc.org, Defendant Merscorp lists the

13
shareholders of"MERS," which is defined on a separate page ofthe site as 'Mortgage Electronic Registration

Systems, Inc." Among the shareholders of MERS, according to the site, are the following institutions: Bank

of America, Chase, CitiV1ortgage, Inc., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HSBC, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo.

These are many of the same institutions the Defendant Finn represents. This is no coincidence, as these

entities are co-conspirators in the MERS scheme herein described. These shareholders of MERS are added

as Defendants with the filing of this Amended Complaint.

40. The conspirators intended to maintain an absolute stranglehold on the American

economy for many decades, if not centuries, into the future. This could only be accomplished if the scheme was

able to evolve over time in a changing regulatory and consumer environment. The point is that the conspirators

adjusted the American lending system and the legal system governing it in a way designed to most effectively

gratify their greedy interests over the longest period of time. Through this revolution in the use of words and

ephemeral concepts such as the "corporation," the conspirators, including the present Defendants, have by-and-

large been successful in changing the paradigm so that the rights of individuals are no longer afforded the

safeguards which have been carefully maintained in place since the time of the Magna Carta. As the conspirators

and present Defendants have long intended, certain important terms in the mortgages and other legal documents

are devolving into a state of meaninglessness. Even the names of the mortgage and lending institutions are

tinkered with and interchanged so often that it is difficult to keep track of the constantly shifting parameters of

the series of alleged mergers, assertions of subsidiary relationships, "divisions," and the like with which the

American economy and consumer populace are deluged in advertisements and mortgage documents. This is not

some random trend which resulted from the mortgage crisis. It is, instead, just another tactic in the vast scheme

which ultimately caused it. The end result of the continued obfuscatory actions is that

14
the mortgages and associated documents come to mean whatever their proponents wish them to mean

41.The conspirators of course did not want there to be any documentation which could later potentially

be used as evidence oftheir crimes. They did not want to pay the fees associated with recording mortgages and

they did not want to be bothered with the trouble of keeping track of the originals. That is the significance of the

word 'Electronic' in Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. The conspirators, through this

exceptionally sophisticated legerdemain, made over the American judicial system's long-honored requirements

for mortgages and foreclosures to serve their own selfish interests and to minimize the possibilities of the

victims obtaining any meaningful redress through the courts. They -undermined long-established rights and

sabotaged the judicial process itself by de-emphasizing the importance ot and eventually eliminating,

"troublesome" documentation requirements. While conversion to electronic loan documentation will eventually

be implemented, it is the People, by and through their elected representatives, who will ultimately bring about

this transition through duly enacted legislation

The Creation and Use of Fraudulent Assignments

42.In the cases in which the Class Members asserted a "standing" defense, whether in

propria persona or through counsel, the Defendant Firm and Defendant Merscorp, Inc. relied upon MERS to

obscure the truth and illegally obtain final judgments of foreclosure. If pressed on the standing issue, the

Defendant Firm would generate fraudulent "assignments" which, like all the other documents used to

perpetuate the scheme from its inception, were intentionally ambiguous. (A collection of "assignments"

created and filed by the Defendant Firm is attached hereto as Composite Exhibit D — most are defective

and/or fraudulent on their face; a few others are included for signature-comparison purposes). In these

remarkable instruments the following irregularities usually appeared:

15
 a)The assignor, MERS, had the same address as the assignee (the plaintiff);

b)They were executed by a person having the title of "Assistant Secretary;" and

c)They would have an "effective date" well prior to the date upon which it was executed,

so as to retroactively give standing to the plaintiff

43.Incredibly, since 2009 it has come to light that the persons signing these assignments as

"assistant secretary," and occasionally as "vice president" ofMERS actually were NOT officers or

employees of MERS. Instead, these persons, such as a woman by the name of Cheryl Samons, actually

are and were employees of the Defendant Firm.

44.In May of 2009, an attorney who questioned the validity of such an assignment deposed Ms.

Samons at the Defendant Firm's office in Plantation, Florida. He inquired of Ms. Samons how she could

possibly have acted on behalf of MERS, and as to the meaning of the label "Assistant Secretary:"

Q: The question was you have no job duties as an assistant secretary of MERS, correct?
A: I do not have any job duties other than signing the assignments and mortgage. Does that help?
Q: Yes. Here, I'll try to rephrase this. Do you attend any board meetings at MERS?
A: No, sir.
Q: Do you attend any meetings at all at MERS?
A: No, sir.
Q: Do you report to the secretary of MERS?
A: No, sir.
Q: Who is the secretary of MERS?
A: I have no idea.

Q: Where are the MERS offices located?

A: I can't remember.
Q: How many offices do they have?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Do you know where their headquarters are?
A: Nope.
Q: Have you ever been there?
A: No.
Q: How many employees do they have?
16
 A: I have no idea."

45.The plaintiffs represented by the Defendant Firm simply had no standing whatsoever. Even in the

cases in which, due to a challenge by the defendant(s), one of these bogus, fraudulent assignments was

fabricated and filed, the plaintiffs were not the realparties in interest. The attorneys ofthe Defendant Firm filed

these assignments with the courts while being fully aware that they were misleading fabrications designed

specifically to disenfranchise the borrower-defendants. The assignments, in addition to being fraudulent, were

not competent to convey any interest in the property or to bestow standing upon the strawman

assignee/plaintiffs. As detailed below, Defendant Merscorp, Inc. allowed the Defendant Finn to use its "name"

in creating and utilizing these assignments.

46.The same employee of the Defendant Firm quoted above was, on April 29, 2010,

deposed by the undersigned counsel in a separate foreclosure action. At that time Cheryl Samons made a

concession of truly momentous significance. She testified that her signatures on 'these assignments,"

which from all indications were and are at least several thousand in number, were in no way attestations

that the statements contained therein were accurate or truthful. She further testified that she was the

person with the most knowledge about the subject assignment:

Q: It says, 'but effective as of the 19' day of February, 2008." Do you see that?
A: Yes.
Q: Where did you get that date from?
A: I did not pick that date. That date was put in by the processor that prepared the assignment.
Q: And who was that?
A: Off the top-of-my-head, I do not know who actually typed this assignment.

11
May 20, 2009 deposition of Cheryl Samons, taken in the case styled Deutsche Bank National
Trust Company, as Trustee for Morgan Stanley ABS Capital 1 Inc. Trust 2006-HE4 v. Belourdes
Pierre, et al., Florida's Fifteenth Judicial Circuit case no. 50-2008-CA-028558 )00(X MB, pages
25-26.
17
Q: Okay. But you are signing on behalf of MERS, and you are stating here that it is effective as ofthe
19th day of February, 2008, correct?
A: Correct.
Q : At the time you signed this, what reason did you have, as agent for MERS, to make it effective as
of the 19th day of February, 2008?
A: I did not pick that date. And I do not recall this document.
Q: Sitting here today, you have no idea why it is that it says, "effective as of the 19th day of F ebruary,
2008." Is that correct?
A: Looking at this one particular piece of paper, I do not recall or know the answer to that question,
no.
Q: Is there some general practice, ofwhich you are aware, that would give us information as to why
this particular date was inserted?
A: That information was determined by the people that review the file prior to me.
Q: And what would they base that on, as a general practice?
A: I do not know.
Q : You don't know? Were, to your knowledge, any physical documents transferred on February 19,
2008?
A: I do not know.
Q: To your knowledge, does the 19th day of February, 2008 have any significance?
A: I do not know.
Q: Ma'am, if you signed this document on behalf of MERS, picking this date, this effective date - -
A: I did not pick the effective date.
Q: But you ratified it by signing this; didn't you?
[Objection to the form of the question]
Q: Didn't you attest to the accuracy of that date by signing this document?
[Objection to the form of the question]
A: I would say, no.
Q: Did you attest to this document, as a whole, by signing it?
[Objection to the form of the question].
A: I do not think that in my capacity of signing these assignments, it was my position to attest. My role
was to be given a document that had been reviewed by an attorney, had been reviewed by a title
examiner, had instructions from the client, and I was to sign the assignment as secretary on behalf of
MERS.
Q: Right. And when you signed it as secretary on behalf of MERS, were you approving and agreeing
with the terms contained therein for MERS?
A: I believe I was approving and agreeing to the fact that the mortgage needed to be assigned from
MERS to another entity.
Q: But what about all the other details in here, such as the consideration, the effective date?
A: I do not believe that that was my role.
Q: Is there anyone, who signed this assignment of mortgage [who] was, at the time they signed,
attesting to or approving all of the terms in it, on behalf of MERS?
A: I do not have an answer to that question.
18
 Q: Why don't you have an answer?
A: Because I do not know what you are thinking needs to be attested to, other than the fact that
MERS was not the proper plaintig and there needed to be an assignment into Citimortgage to
foreclose the mortgage.
Q: What I am thinking needs to be approved or ratified is the terms that are written in this document.
A: Okay.
Q: So did anyone, to your knowledge, approve and agree with all ofthose terms, on behalfofMERS,
in signing this document?
A: I do not have an answer to that question.
Q: If you don't know, then the answer would be "no."
A: Okay. No.12

Q: Ifyou could go back, please, to Exhibit 2, the assignment of mortgage. We are on the first sentence
of the first paragraph. You see where it says, "for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar" on
the second line of that paragraph?
A: Yes. I do.
Q: Did you pay that dollar, or did you receive that dollar?
A: I did not have anything to do with any money exchanging hands on these assignments.
Q: Okay. So when you signed this assignment, did you take any steps to determine whether or not
this one dollar actually changed hands?
A: No.
Q: Do you know of any information that would establish that the one dollar did or did not change
hands?
A: No.
Q: Who would I ask to find that out?
A: I have no idea.
Q: It says "other good and valuable consideration." Do you see that?
A: I do.
Q: In executing this assignment, for and on behalf of MERS, can you tell me what other good and
valuable consideration there was that gave rise to this assignment?
A: No, I cannot.
Q: Do you have any idea, in your capacity as assistant secretary of MERS, who I could contact to
find out what the good and valuable consideration was?
A: No.
Q: It says "the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged." Do you see that?
A: Yes. I do.

Deposition of Cheryl Samons, taken April 29, 2010 in the case of Citimortgage, Inc. v. Dennis
12

Brown, et al., Seventeenth Judicial Circuit case no. 08-011097, pp. 37-41.
19
 Q: Did you acknowledge receipt of that one dollar and other good and valuable consideration when
you signed this document?
A: No.
Q: Can you tell me where, on here, any person signed to acknowledge the receipt of the one dollar
and other good and valuable consideration?
A: No.
Q: So when it says, "the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged," is that an error?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Is there anybody who would have more information about this transaction reflected in this
assignment, other than you?
A: No."

47.The Defendants, by working in concert through the use of the MERS artifice, succeeded in

obtaining final judgments of foreclosure against the Class Members and in favor of plaintiffs whose standing

was nil, both substantively and technically. These final judgments led to foreclosure sales pursuant to which

the Class Members were dispossessed oftheir properties. While each case proceeded along different routes,

depending on whether the homeowners attempted to defend on their own, hired counsel, or simply allowed

default to be entered, the end result was the same: The Class Members were robbed of their properties. The

RICO enterprise herein complained of was the proximate cause of these damages.

48.Defendant Merscorp, Inc., maintained (and is believed to still maintain) a relationship with the

Defendant Firm including written contracts and alleged corporate resolutions designed to assist the Defendant

Finn in effectuating the goals of the criminal enterprise through use of the assignments. Attached hereto as

Exhibit E is an "Agreement for Signing Authority" and associated Merscorp resolution purporting to authorize

Ms. Samons and other employees of the Defendant Firm to sign legal documents as ifthey had actual authority

to act for Merscorp, and as if Merscorp or MERS had any actual interest in the properties. This document

" Deposition of Cheryl Samons, taken April 29, 2010 in the case of Citimortgage, Inc. v. Dennis
Brown, et al., Seventeenth Judicial Circuit case no. 08-011097, pp. 25-27.
20
is an example of the relationship between the Defendants, and it typifies the Defendants' sophisticated

approach. By using one untruth to lay a foundation, and then utilizing additional lies to add to it, the Defendants

sought to obtain acceptance for entire constructs of deceit designed to serve their illegal purposes. Exhibit E

follows this blueprint: it establishes a false baseline and then adds on with new falsehoods. First of all, since

Merscorp, Inc. at no time possessed any true beneficial interest in the properties, it could not dispose of them

even Wit acted on its own behalfbecause it had no interests to convey. The "Agreement for Signing Authority"

presumes that it owns beneficial interests in the subject properties, and then purports to grant autonomy to an

employee ofthe Defendant Firm to alienate its non-existent interests. Even ifMerscorp, Inc., had actually owned

some interest, execution of the assignments by employees of a law firm having no personal knowledge of the

transactions described therein could not have, and cannot, attest to the veracity of the assignments or bestow

sufficient trustworthiness on the documents to qualify them as legally competent evidence ofstandingto

foreclose. Each and every final judgment of foreclosure entered in favor of one ofthese Stern/Mers strawmen

plaintiffs was obtained illegally. Finally, in contradictionwiththe ownership proclamation contained on

www.mersinc.com and addressed in paragraph 39, supra, in Exhibit E the parties make the representation that

MERS is owned by Merscorp, Inc.

49. The preparation, filing, and prosecution of the complaints to "Foreclose Mortgage

and to Enforce Lost Loan Documents" were each predicate acts in the pattern of racketeering activity herein

complained of, and were actions taken in furtherance of the MERS enterprise. The actions could not have

been brought by the Defendant Firm without the MERS artifice and the ability to generate any necessary

"assignment" which flowed from it. Just like MERS, the assignments were meaningless shells designed to pull

the wool over the eyes of the judiciary and ease the burden upon the unknown real parties in interest. The

21
practice of "non-documentation" can be seen as a common thread weaving all of the complained-of
conduct into an undeniable tapestry of a criminal enterprise proscribed by RICO.

The Class

50. The Class Members have the following in common:

a) Each owned Florida real property which was encumbered by a mortgage listing "MERS"
as "mortgagee;"

b)Each suffered the loss of all right, title and interest in his or her property by operation of an
adverse final judgment in a civil action for foreclosure in which the plaintiff was
represented by the Defendant Firm;

c) The foreclosure actions brought against the Class Members were fraudulently prosecuted in
the name ofplaintiffs which were NOT the real parties in interest and which had no legal
right to bring suit to foreclose or to obtain final judgment.

51. Joinder of Class Members as individual plaintiffs would be totally impractical, as their

number may well exceed 100,000. The attorney for the Defendant Firm has recently been quoted as

saying that his client has processed "probably 100,000" foreclosures in the past two to three years.

Numerosity and the other applicable criteria support the certification of this Class by the Court.

Count 1 - Violation of 18 U.S.C. §1962 [c] -

Law Office of David J. Stern, P.A., David J. Stern, and DJSP Enterprises, Inc.

52. Plaintiff re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 6 and 32-51 here.

53. By engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity, specifically "mail or wire fraud," the

Defendants subject to this C ount participated in a criminal enterprise affecting interstate commerce. In

addition to the altered postmarks described below, the mail fraud is the sending of the fraudulent assignments

and pleadings to the clerks of court, judges, attorneys, and defendants in foreclosure cases. These Defendants

intentionally participated in a scheme to defraud others, including the Plaintiff and the other Class Members,

22
and utilized the U.S. Mail to do so.

54.The criminal enterprise was and is MERS, which affects interstate commerce in

numerous ways. It is used to conceal the true ownership of mortgage loans from the general public, including

investors, borrowers, and the courts. Were it not for MERS, investors would be enabled to have a clearer

picture ofthe assets and debts of large banking and financial institutions in which they may consider

investing. Furthermore, the entire American economy has been affected by the conspiracy described in this

Complaint, which is exemplified by the MERS enterprise. The foreclosure crisis and larger economic

downturn were substantially contributed to, and are believed to have been caused, by the MERS enterprise

and underlying conspiracy.

55.The "predicate acts" offraud, which were accomplished throughthe U. S . Mail, and which are

specifically attributable to the Defendants subject to this Count, are:

a.Bringing suit on behalf of entities which were not the real parties in interest, and which

had no standing to sue. This involved, and involves, the use of the MERS artifice.

b.Actively concealing the plaintiffs' lack of standing in their standard complaints for

foreclosure, usually entitled, "Complaint to Foreclose Mortgage and to Enforce Lost Loan Documents."

(Exhibits A and B). It is believed that in 80% or more of these complaints fled by the Defendant Firm, it was

asserted that the original loan documents had mysteriously been "lost." The Defendant Finn slightly adjusted

the standard complaint over time, as problems and obstacles arose, to improve its chances for success and

perfect or improve the concealment of the real party or parties in interest. The Defendant Firm attached to

these fraudulent complaints the mortgage containing the MERS provisions quoted above. While the title

ofthe standard complaint makes reference to "lost loan documents," in body of the standard coinplaint, the

23
Defendant Finn alleges that the plaintiffis the "owner and holder" of the note and mortgage." Both cannot be

true unless the words used are given new meanings. (Exhibit A). Sometime after March 13, 2008, but before

February 12, 2009, the Defendant Firm changed the standard Complaint so that it now reads: "Plaintiff as

servicer for the owner and acting on behalf of the owner with authority to do so, is the present designated

holder of the note and mortgage with authority to pursue the present action." Yet in the latest version, the

Stern Firm describes an assignment of the mortgage which has already occurred, with the "assignee" being the

plaintiff in the case - - the same plaintiff who is simultaneously described as a "designated holder" who is

"acting on behalf of the owner." (Exhibit B). This is a contradiction: either the plaintiff is designated to act on

behalf of the real party in interest, or it is itself the real party in interest pursuant to the alleged "assignment."

c.Providing misleading authorship information and omitting the dates of foreclosure

complaints. Normally, state court complaints filed in Florida contain the date they were signed bythe

plaintiff's attorney on the last page, in the vicinity of the attorney's signature. The foreclosure complaints

filed by the Defendant Firm usually contained no date on the last page to signify when they were signed, and

usually appeared to be signed by some person, whose signature was illegible, on behalf of the attorney whose

name appeared in the signature block.

d.Convincin ro se Defendants to a ee to a "sale date" sometime far in the future

thereby obtaining summary judonent from the Court without any opposition. At the date and time for the

hearing on a foreclosure plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, attorneys employed by the Defendant Firm

often pull the defendants aside in the hallway outside the courtroom and speak in seemingly conciliatory and

reasonable terms. They act as if they are assisting the homeowner. They inform the pro se defendant

something along the lines ot "Ifyou like, to give you time, I can ask the court for an extended sale date." (The

24
amount of time offered is usually 90-120 days). The attorney indicates that this is a concession to allow the

homeowner time to continue his or her efforts to "modify" the mortgage with the "lender." The attorney

then often goes into the courtroom and informs the Court that, "we have reached agreement on the motion,

the defendants are asking for a 120-day sale date, and we have no objection." Modification never is

consummated and the defendants' properties are sold at foreclosure sale. In this way the representatives of

the Defendant firm minimize challenges to the plaintiffs entitlement to summary judgment.

e. Creating, executing, and filing fraudulent "assignments." These documents were

executed by an "Assistant Secretary" or "Vice President," apparently of MERS. In reality, the person

executing the assignments had no knowledge whatsoever of the truth of their contents, and was simply

an employee of the Defendant Firm. (Samples attached as Exhibit D).

Altering common hardware and/or software used by the Defendant Firm so that

envelopes used to mail important legal documents, such as final judgments, to defendants contain no

date of mailing in the postmark and intentionally delaying in sending the mail until defendants have lost

their rights. (Exhibit F). These predicate acts constitute "mail fraud."

______________g. Mailing motions and other court documents in a way designed to facilitate the illegal

thefts ofproperties. For example, the Defendant Firm has been known to agree to cancel a foreclosure

sale, and to send the defendant a copy of a motion to cancel such sale, but not file such motion with the

Clerk of Court. In this example, the sale goes forward with minimal interference from the defendant.

These sorts of practices also constitute mail fraud.

56. These predicate acts are related. They share the common purpose of defrauding the Class

Members and other borrowers of their money and property. They share the common themes of "non-

25
documentation" and concealment of the real parties in interest.

57.The predicate acts satisfy the RICO continuity requirement: they extend from in or about 1998

through today and continue unabated, which meets the definition of "open-ended" continuity. The threat of

continued criminal activity as part of this enterprise in, without question, still looming over the American

economy. Here is an explanation from David J. Stern of the continuing foreclosure rout:

One of my favorite questions from one ofmy believers, one ofmy investors on the first call-in,
"What inning are we in? Ifthis was a baseball game, what inning are we in?" And my response
is, we're only in the 2' inning. We still have 3 innings of foreclosures left, and after the
foreclosures, we have 3 innings of REO liquidation and as the REO liquidations pan out, we get
into the re-fl and we get into the origination
]
So yeah, we're in the 2' inning, but guess what - when we get to the 9t h inning, it's going to be a
doubleheader and we got a second game coming. So when people say, "Oh my God, the
economy is bad!" I'm like, "Oh my God, it's great." I mean, I hate to hear people are losing their
homes and credit isn't available and credit is such that they can't re-fl, but ifyou are in our niche,
it's what we do and it's what we want to see.

Www.americansunitedforjustice.orgistern.htmL Alternatively, closed-ended continuity is present

because the scheme occurred over a period in excess often years.

58.As the result of the RICO enterprise of which these actions were part, the Class Members

have suffered damages, in that they have lost their homes. The measure of the damages for the Class

Members is the average of the accelerated amounts demanded from the Class Members by the Defendant

Firm in the subject complaints "to Foreclose Mortgage and to Enforce Lost Loan Documents." Since the real

parties in interest had already been paid, the mortgages were truly not subject to being foreclosed upon, and

the fair market value of the properties at the time of foreclosure is for this reason the measure of the damages

suffered by the Class Members. To provide an example, if the average value of the properties was

$250,000.00, and the Class is comprised of 10,000 persons, the initial damages to which the Class is entitled

26
by law would be $2,500,000,000.00, or 2.5 billion dollars. This amount is then tripled by operation of

the RICO law, so that, without reference to attorney fees and costs, the total damages awarded would be

7,500,000,000.00, or 7.5 billion dollars.

59.The Class Members are entitled to judgment in the amount of three times

their actual damages, which should be arrived in the manner indicated in the preceding paragraph, plus

costs and a reasonable attorneys' fee under 18 U.S.C. §1964[c],

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff on behalf of the Class Members, demands judgment against the

Defendants, jointly and severally, for the total damages sustained by the Class, plus costs, attorneys'

fees, and such additional relief as the Court or jury may deem just and proper.

PLAINTIFF DEMANDS TRIAL BY JURY ON COUNT 1

Count II - Violation of 18 U.S.C. §1962 [c] - Defendant Merscorp, Inc.

60.Plaintiff incorporates paragraphs 1 through 3 and 32 through 51 here.

61.Merscorp, Inc. was created in or about 1998, and its purpose, from the outset, was to enact the

fraudulent scheme/RICO enterprise herein complained of The corporate resolutions of MERS establish that

authorization of employees of foreclosure mills to sign sworn documents about which the employees have no

personal knowledge in order to facilitate foreclosures is consistent with its corporate purpose. The MERS

corporate resolution attached hereto as Exhibit G provides that, inter alia, the followingprovision is

consistent with its Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws:

[The attached list of persons employed by the Defendant Finn] are authorized to:
[. . . ] Execute any and all documents necessary to foreclose upon the property securing any mortgage
loan registered on the MERS System that is shown to be registered to the Member, including but not
limited to (a) substitution of Trustee on Deeds of Trust, (b)Trustee's Deeds upon sale on behalf of
MERS, [c] Affidavits of Non-military Status, (d) Affidavits of Judgment, (e) Affidavits of Debt, (f)
quitclaim deeds, (g) Affidavits regarding lost promissory notes, and (h) endorsements of promissory
27
 notes to VA or HUD on behalf of MERS as a required part of the claims process.

Thus, it is not only assignments which Merscorp, Inc., has authorized the Defendant Firm and others to

sign without any factual or legal basis; Merscorp, Inc. has granted carte blanche to the Defendant Firm

and others to sign and file any and all sworn documents necessary to facilitate illegal foreclosures.

62. Merscorp, Inc.'s overt acts, in addition to the passing of corporate resolutions similar

to Exhibit G, include the following:

a)Creation of the MERS artifice;

b)Planning, designing, and enacting the MERS criminal enterprise of which Plaintiff

complains herein;

c)Arranging for the use ofthe MERS as "mortgagee" in the standard mortgages at issue;

d)Drafting of the standard MERS language to be included in such mortgages;

e)Entering into "agreements for signing authority" which purport to

allow employees of the Stern firm and other foreclosure mills to execute assignments in which the

"assignor" and "assignee" are strawmen actually not possessed of the capacity stated, and ofwhich the

person executing the document has no knowledge;

Creation and maintenance of an acceptable public image for MERS;

Owning and maintaining the registration and licensure of the MERS entity, Mortgage

Electronic Registration Systems, Inc, with the necessary state agencies, plus other ministerial acts designed to

maintain the corporate shield and to mimic the actions expected ofnormal corporations so as to fraudulently

disguise its true nature.

h) Facilitating the use of the MERS artifice by other participants in the scheme.

28
 63.These predicate acts are related. They share a common purpose: defrauding the Class

Members and other borrowers of their money and property. They share the common themes of "non-

documentation" and concealment of the real parties in interest.

64.The predicate acts satisfythe RICO continuity requirement: they extend from in or about 1998

through and continue unabated at the present time, which meets the definition of "open- ended" continuity. In

the alternative, the participants in the RICO enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activities

continuously for a period oftime exceeding ten years in duration, which as a matter of law suffices to

establish "closed-ended" continuity.

65.As the result of the RICO enterprise of which these actions were part, the Class Members have

suffered damages, in that they have lost their homes. The measure of the damages for the Class Members is

the average of the accelerated amounts demanded from the Class Members by the Defendant Firm in the

subject complaints "to Foreclose Mortgage and to Enforce Lost Loan Documents." Since the real parties in

interest had already been paid, and/or because there was no real party in interest which had standing to

foreclose, the mortgages were truly not subject to being foreclosed upon, and the fair market value of the

properties for this reason is the measure ofthe damages suffered by the Class Members. The manner in which

damages should be calculated is set forth in paragraph 32, supra, and is incorporated here by reference.

66.The Class Members are entitled to judgment in the amount ofthree times their actual damages,

which should be arrived at using the formula set forth in said paragraph, plus costs and a reasonable

attorneys' fee under 18 U. S .0 . §1964[c].

WHEREFORE, the Plaintig on behalf of the Class Members, demands judgment against the

Defendants, jointly and severally, for the total damages sustained by the Class, plus costs, attorneys' fees, and

29
such additional relief as the Court or jury may deem just and proper, including imposition of liability on

the members of the conspiracy not presently named as Defendants in this action

PLAINTIFF DEMANDS TRIAL BY JURY ON COUNT 2

Count III - Violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962[d] - All Defendants

67.Plaintiff realleges paragraphs 1 through 51 here.

68.The Defendants have conspired together to violate 18 U.S.C. §1962[c] by committing fraud

and using the U.S. Mail to do so. Because they agreed upon the same criminal objective, to wit: theft of

real properties through illegal foreclosures, each is responsible for the actions of the others.

69.Except for the first four named Defendants, all others are included in this suit because they are

shareholders in MERS. (Exhibit H). Due to contradictory information published by Defendant Merscorp, Inc.,

it cannot be determined with certainty whether they hold shares in Merscorp, Inc., in Mortgage Electronic

Registration Systems, Inc., or both. In any event, such ownership signifies the agreement of these Defendants

to participate in the illegal enterprise herein complained of Those who provide support for an illegal enterprise

are liable for the actions of those who actively commit the criminal acts. Because it is a shareholder, each of

these Defendants has directly or indirectly participated in such enterprise. Merscorp, Inc.'s website makes this

clear: "Shareholders played a critical role in the development of MERS. Through their capital support, MERS

was able to fund expenses related to development and initial start-up."

httpi/www.mersinc.org'aboutlshareholders. as px.

70.It is believed that each of these newly added Defendants has entered into one or more

30
"Agreements for Signing Authority" to which Merscorp, Inc. and the Defendant Firm are also parties. They

are referred to as 'Members" in these agreements, such as the one attached hereto as Exhibit E. These

Agreements are additional evidence ofthe complicity of the Defendants in the scheme herein complained of

71.The overt acts committed in furtherance of the conspiracy damaged the Class Members in

Florida. Specifically, as the result of the RICO enterprise (MERS) the Class Members were illegally

divested of their Florida real properties. Because the conspirators are each liable for the acts of the

others, it is appropriate that they be haled before this Court to answer for the damages inflicted upon the

Class Members in this State.

72.The Defendant Firm has committed numerous acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, as

detailed herein, and is therefore properly subject to this Count.

73.Defendant DJSP Enterprises, Inc. is simply an alter ego of Defendant Stern and of the

Defendant Firm and it is therefore liable for their actions and for those of the other Defendants..

74.The Class Members are entitled to judgment in the amount ofthree times their actual

damages, which should be arrived at using the formula set forth in paragraph 32, supra, plus costs and a

reasonable attorneys' fee under 18 U. S.0 . §1964 [c] .

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff on behalf of the Class Members, demands judgment against the

Defendants, jointly and severally, for the total damages sustained by the Class, plus costs, attorneys'

fees, and such additional relief as the Court or jury may deem just and proper.

PLAINTIFF DEMANDS TRIAL BY JURY ON COUNT 3.

Respectfully submitted this 24th day of August, 2010.

 KENNETH ERIC TRENT, P.A.

31
 Attorney for Plaintiff
831 East Oakland Park Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
(954)567-5877; (954)567-5872
trentlawoffice(e4yahoo.com

By: Is Kenneth Eric Trent

Fla. Bar No. 693601

Certificate of Service

I certify that on this 24th day of August, 2010, a true copy of the foregoing was transmitted via

the CM/ECF system to the following persons: Jeffrey A. Tew, Esq., 1441 Brickell Ave., 15' Floor,

Miami, FL 33131; and Robert Mark Brochin, Esq., 200 South Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 5300, Miami, FL

33131- 2310.

KENNETH ERIC TRENT, P.A.

Attorney for Plaintiff
831 East Oakland Park Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
(954)567-5877; (954)567-5872
trentlawofticea valioo.com

By: /s Kenneth Eric Trent

Fla. Bar No. 693601

32