Update: Later on May 15, 2013, Wells Fargo evicted disabled African-American senior Bernetta Adolph after years of struggle.
Update: On May 15, 2013, Merrie Jo and Edzel Musni received a called from Wells Fargo’s HELOC department referencing Miguel Bustos, so there is at least one positive outcome of the meeting.
On May 14, 2013, five Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Occupy Bernal, Occupy Noe, and the Occupy the Auctions and Evictions Campaign met with Wells Fargo executive Miguel Bustos regarding Wells Fargo’s predatory and discriminatory lending practices and how to resolve 18 default, foreclosure, and related eviction cases in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wells Fargo executives who attended the April 10, 2013, meeting of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System (SFERS) Retirement Board and offered repeatedly to meet during the SFERS meeting, then snubbed all the email invitations sent to them after the SFERS meeting was over. So, ACCE and Occupy activists entered a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Center at 2258 Market Street and demanded a meeting with one of the executives.
If Miguel Bustos was sincere in his commitment to make a real effort to settle the 18 cases brought to him, including the case of Bernetta Adolph who faces eviction on May 15, 2013, then the meeting was a successful one.
A protest at the Wells Fargo headquarters at 420 Montgomery Street in San Francisco took place on April 13, 2013, in coordination with a protest earlier the same day at the Wells Fargo Shareholder meeting held in Salt Lake City, Utah. These protests are a special edition of the Occupy Wells Fargo Vigil to Stop Evictions.
More than a dozen protestors from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and other organizations infiltrated the shareholders meeting and told Wells Fargo executives what they thought of their practices regarding predatory, illegal, and discriminatory lending and related foreclosures and evictions. Maria Alvarez, whose family is facing eviction by Wells Fargo, got to tell Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to his face that he is a liar, then Wells threw the protestors out of the shareholders meeting.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, about one hundred protestors from the ACCE (San Francisco and Oakland), Occupy Bernal, Occupy Noe, and the Occupy the Auctions and Evictions campaign held a memorial service in front of the Wells Fargo Headquarters and History Museum at 420 Montgomery Street. A trumpeter named Elaine played taps and Archbishop Franzo King delighted participants with his saxophone stylings. Various spokespeople read out the names of those who have lost their home or their lives to foreclosures and evictions, spoke in solidarity with those protesting in Salt Lake City, and listed off the many families still struggling to save their homes from Wells Fargo. After each name or section, the crowd chanted repeatedly, “Housing Justice, Home Security!”. Finally, Kathy Lipscomb and Merrie Jo Musni delivered some calalilies to Wells Fargo to complete the memorial service.
The LGBT Aging Policy Task Force held a hearing on LGBT Seniors Housing on April 1, 2013, at City Hall in San Francisco. Stardust of Occupy Bernal and ACCE spoke about the effect of bank foreclosures on LGBT seniors, including Wells Fargo evictee Larry Faulks and others.
ACCE, SEIU, Occupy Bernal, and Occupy Noe Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters again provided important testimony about the illegal, predatory, and discriminatory practices of banks like Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America at the meeting of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System Retirement Board on March 13, 2013, just as previously on January 9, 2013 and on February 13, 2013.
The group again asked the Retirement Board to investigate the illegal, predatory, and discriminatory practices of the banks, to request that the banks stop these practices, to sponsor shareholder resolutions if they don’t stop, and to divest from the banks’ stocks if the shareholder resolutions do not succeed. Some of the Commissioners responded favorably to the public comment testimony.
Grace Martinez of ACCE provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Gladys Dewitt provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
SFERS Retirement Board President Wendy Paskin-Jordan, a former Wells Fargo employee, responds to public testimony.
San Francisco Muni employee and Local 200 former President Alice Fialkin provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Ian Haddow provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Former San Francisco city employee Susan McDonough provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Larry Faulks, evicted from his home by Wells Fargo, provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter and Teamster Ricardo Rodriguez provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Harry Baker, Retirement Security Chair for SEIU Local 1021, which is the largest union representing SFERS members, provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Jackie Wright provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
Grace Martinez of ACCE provides testimony to SFERS Retirement Board.
SFERS Retirement Board staff and commissioners discuss whether they can calendar consideration of a resolution on foreclosures and related evictions at the next SFERS meeting in April 2013.
SFERS Retirement Board staff and commissioners continue discussing whether they can calendar consideration of a resolution on foreclosures and related evictions at the next SFERS meeting in April 2013.
The rest of the discussion was not captured on video.
#1 in SF Foreclosures and Related Evictions: Racist and Predatory
Who: (Retired and Current) City Employees, especially those facing foreclosure/eviction and supporters What: Public Comment at San Francisco Employees Retirement System (SFERS) Retirement Board Meeting (2 minute limit) When: 2:00pm, Wednesday, March 13 Where: 30 Van Ness Avenue, 3rd floor (near Market Street)
We are asking SFERS to do the following:
Investigate investments in Wells Fargo, which is #1 in foreclosures and related evictions in San Francisco and elsewhere, as well as other lenders foreclosing on and evicting San Francisco homeowners..
Prepare and submit a Wells Fargo shareholder resolution to stop predatory and/or racist foreclosures and related evictions for consideration at the next annual Wells Fargo shareholder meeting (probably in April 2013).
If Wells Fargo doesn’t adopt the shareholder resolution at its next shareholder meeting and take immediate steps to implement policies and practices in line with the resolution, then divest from any investment in Wells Fargo within three months after that shareholder meeting.
We are asking San Francisco Mayor Lee to do the following:
Appoint only qualified candidates to the SFERS Retirement Board who are not executives or employees at Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, or Bank of America (the top three in predatory foreclosures and related evictions in San Francisco).
Issue a statement in support of divestment from Wells Fargo of all San Francisco City and County funds, including employee retirement and disability funds.
Background:
The San Francisco Employee Retirement Systems (SFERS) handles investments for pension funds for current and retired San Francisco city employees. SFERS has policies that include “Social Investment Procedures” adopted at the SFERS Retirement Board meeting of September 27, 1988, which requires the SFERS Retirement Board when making investments in stocks, mutual funds, and so on, to consider:
“Community Relations: the relationship of the corporation to the communities in which it operates shall be maintained as a good corporate citizen through observing proper environmental standards, supporting the local economic, social and cultural climate, conducting acquisitions and reorganizations to minimize adverse effects and not discriminate in making loans or writing insurance.” (emphasis added by Occupy the Auctions)
Wells Fargo is #1 in San Francisco foreclosures. San Francisco’s Mayor and Board of Supervisors have unanimously requested a halt to foreclosures and related evictions, especially since San Francisco Assessor-Recorder’s report showing that 84% of foreclosures have at least one legal violation and due to Wells’ $175 million settlement with the United States Department of Justice paid in response to allegations of racial discrimination in providing mortgage loans in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point and other neighborhoods.
Wells Fargo’s “waterfall” model, along with similar policies from other lenders, ensures that the bank can squeeze the most money possible from homeowners struggling to make payments while finally discarding them like trash if the bank can’t make a profit on every single loan. Running a mortgage loan business means assuming risks, especially after receiving billions in bailout funds from the taxpayers, many of whom are Wells’ mortgage loan borrowers.
Update: Dozens of protestors mixed with revelers attending the Martin Luther King Jr Day at the Museum of the African Diaspora today asking Wells Fargo to stop the foreclosure auction of 90-year-old Tuskegee Airman Benjamin Reed and his family, as well as the 28 other families of the “Wells 29”. Please feel free to use the following photos and videos (hi-res available by clicking on the photos).
Tuskegee Airman Benjamin Reed
Thanks to Larry Faulks for the last picture of the dream he told the chalk artist at MOAD.
What: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service March & Call Rally When: 11:30 a.m. January 21, 2013 Where: Museum of African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. (@Third St.), San Francisco, 94105
STOP WELLS FARGO FORECLOSURES
ACCE / OCCUPY BERNAL / OCCUPY NOE ACTION
āNo Home For You!ā
Wells Fargo Bank Shoots Down Tuskegee Airman
What Would Martin Do? Help Save Homes From Foreclosure!
Wells Fargo Bank settled with US Department of Justice on predatory and discriminatory loan practices for $175 million (including Bayview Branch).
Tell Wells Fargo to Stop Foreclosures & Evictions Now
Tell Wells Fargo to provide fair deal loan modifications Now
Tell Wells to Stop Throwing Pennies at The Arts To Look Good While Robbing Millions of Homes
Honor Dr. King! Call Wells Fargo Out Now- Tell Them to Save Tuskegee Airman Ben Reedās Home & Other Homes! +1 415-623-7738 Brenda Wright, SVP Wells Fargo/MoAD Board, and +1 866-878-5865 John Stumpf, CEO
“Our needs are identical with labor’s needs: Decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community.”
Update: ACCE, Occupy Bernal, and Occupy Noe Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters provided important testimony about the illegal, predatory, and discriminatory practices of banks like Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America at the meeting of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System Retirement Board on January 9, 2013.
The group asked the Retirement Board to investigate the illegal, predatory, and discriminatory practices of the banks, to request that the banks stop these practices, to sponsor shareholder resolutions if they don’t stop, and to divest from the banks’ stocks if the shareholder resolutions do not succeed. Some of the Commissioners responded favorably to the public comment testimony.
#1 in SF Foreclosures and Related Evictions: Racist and Predatory
Who: (Retired and Current) City Employees, especially those facing foreclosure/eviction and supporters What: Public Comment at San Francisco Employees Retirement System (SFERS) Retirement Board Meeting (2 minute limit) When: 2:00pm, Wednesday, January 9 Where: 30 Van Ness Avenue, 3rd floor (near Market Street)
We are asking SFERS to do the following:
Investigate investments in Wells Fargo, which is #1 in foreclosures and related evictions in San Francisco and elsewhere, as well as other lenders foreclosing on and evicting San Francisco homeowners..
Prepare and submit a Wells Fargo shareholder resolution to stop predatory and/or racist foreclosures and related evictions for consideration at the next annual Wells Fargo shareholder meeting (probably in April 2013).
If Wells Fargo doesn’t adopt the shareholder resolution at its next shareholder meeting and take immediate steps to implement policies and practices in line with the resolution, then divest from any investment in Wells Fargo within three months after that shareholder meeting.
We are asking San Francisco Mayor Lee to do the following:
Appoint only qualified candidates to the SFERS Retirement Board who are not executives or employees at Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, or Bank of America (the top three in predatory foreclosures and related evictions in San Francisco).
Issue a statement in support of divestment from Wells Fargo of all San Francisco City and County funds, including employee retirement and disability funds.
Background:
The San Francisco Employee Retirement Systems (SFERS) handles investments for pension funds for current and retired San Francisco city employees. SFERS has policies that include “Social Investment Procedures” adopted at the SFERS Retirement Board meeting of September 27, 1988, which requires the SFERS Retirement Board when making investments in stocks, mutual funds, and so on, to consider:
“Community Relations: the relationship of the corporation to the communities in which it operates shall be maintained as a good corporate citizen through observing proper environmental standards, supporting the local economic, social and cultural climate, conducting acquisitions and reorganizations to minimize adverse effects and not discriminate in making loans or writing insurance.” (emphasis added by Occupy the Auctions)
Wells Fargo is #1 in San Francisco foreclosures. San Francisco’s Mayor and Board of Supervisors have unanimously requested a halt to foreclosures and related evictions, especially since San Francisco Assessor-Recorder’s report showing that 84% of foreclosures have at least one legal violation and due to Wells’ $175 million settlement with the United States Department of Justice paid in response to allegations of racial discrimination in providing mortgage loans in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point and other neighborhoods.
Wells Fargo’s “waterfall” model, along with similar policies from other lenders, ensures that the bank can squeeze the most money possible from homeowners struggling to make payments while finally discarding them like trash if the bank can’t make a profit on every single loan. Running a mortgage loan business means assuming risks, especially after receiving billions in bailout funds from the taxpayers, many of whom are Wells’ mortgage loan borrowers.
The home of Larry Faulks at 25 Cameo Way in San Francisco is protected by Occupy.
Prospective buyers and realtors should be aware that Wells Fargo sold the property illegally at a foreclosure auction to DMG Asset Management, which then illegally evicted Larry from the home.
Realtors should provide buyers with full disclosure about the illegal foreclosure and eviction before showing the property to any potential buyer.
There are currently three federal agencies investigating the case, since Larry never received notice of the foreclosure sale from the trustee and only heard about it when an auction investor visited his home less than an hour before the foreclosure auction.
On December 13, 2012, auctioneers sold one familyās home at a foreclosure auction in San Francisco: auctioneer Thomas from Lender Processing Services / Agency Sales and Posting (LPS/ASAP) sold 2100 29th Avenue back to lender Bank of America (BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP).
Auctioneer Thomas from Lender Processing Services / Agency Sales and Posting (LPS/ASAP) conducts auction business on City Hall steps counter to city policy.
Auctioneer Thomas from Lender Processing Services / Agency Sales and Posting (LPS/ASAP) read postponements and cancellations. Auctioneer Steve Neil of Cal Agent Services read postponements and cancellations.
Auctioneer Thomas from Lender Processing Services / Agency Sales and Posting (LPS/ASAP) sold 2100 29th Avenue back to lender Bank of America (BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP).
To: brenda.wright@wellsfargo.com, alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com, ruben.pulido@wellsfargo.com, john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
Cc: action@occupybernal.org
Subject: Stop the Holiday Foreclosures and Evictions of the “Wells 32”
Dear Wells Fargo staff,
Please take IMMEDIATE action to stop holiday foreclosures and evictions. Please meet the demands listed for each of the 32 families listed below who Wells Fargo has put at risk (Name, Demand, Address, Loan #, Priority) and stop dual tracking by continuing to list foreclosure auctions while negotiating loan modifications:
Bernetta Adolph, Stop eviction (20130303) Rescission of foreclosure sale and fair deal loan modification, 48 Lobos Street, SF, CA 94112, 44793073, 1
Larry Faulks, Undo eviction (20121216), Rescission of foreclosure sale and fair deal loan modification, 25 Cameo Way, SF, CA 94131, 004 6406278, 1
David Lewis, Rescission of foreclosure sale and fair deal loan modification, 442 Carl Street, SF, CA 94124, need loan #, 1
Dollie and Sally Ross, Rescission of foreclosure sale and fair deal loan modification, 1075 Gilman Avenue, SF, CA 94124, 004 37815, 1
Lehmann Brightman, Rescission of foreclosure sale (20130114) and fair deal loan modification, 2434 Faria Avenue, Pinole, CA 94564, 0044126233, 1
Gloria Lomeli (and Alberto del Rio), Stop foreclosure auction (20130131) and fair deal loan modification, 565 Banks Street, SF, CA 94110, 47339080, 1
Guadalupe Schmitt, Stop foreclosure auction (20130211) and fair deal loan modification, 11-13 Santa Marina Avenue, SF, CA 94110, 102484459, 1
Benjamin and Irma Reed, Stop foreclosure auction (20130226) and fair deal loan modification, 2 Warren Drive, SF, CA 94131, , 1
Emilia Hughetti, Stop foreclosure auction (20130228) and fair deal loan modification through loan servicer Chase, 1041 Florida Street, SF, CA 94110, Chase loan #20733507, 1
Kim Mitchell, Postpone foreclosure auction until short sale, 601 Van Ness Ave #244, SF, CA 94102, , 2
Segundina San Juan, Fair deal loan modification, 1074 Huron Avenue, SF, CA 94112, 00048634281, 2
Maria and Washington Davila, New owner must keep Davilas as tenants under same rental conditions as before, 4255 Folsom Street, SF, CA 94110, , 2
Armand and Maria Mejia, Stop foreclosure auction (20130204) and fair deal loan modification, 749 Athens Street, SF, CA 94112, 004 37815, 2
Peter Fairfield (and L. Sweet), Stop foreclosure auction (20130205) and fair deal loan modification, 831 Chenery Street, SF, CA 94131, 1100225238, 2
San Francisco’s Mayor and Board of Supervisors have unanimously requested a halt to foreclosures and related evictions, especially since San Francisco Assessor-Recorder’s report showing that 84% of foreclosures have at least one legal violation and due to Wells’ $175 million settlement paid to resolve allegations of racial discrimination in providing mortgage loans in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point and other neighborhoods.
Wells Fargo’s “waterfall” model, along with similar policies from other lenders, ensures that the bank can squeeze the most money possible from homeowners struggling to make payments while finally discarding them like trash if the bank can’t make a profit on every single loan. Running a mortgage loan business means assuming risks, especially after receiving billions in bailout funds from the taxpayers, many of whom are Wells’ mortgage loan borrowers.
Stop contributing to the rash of deaths by foreclosure! Stop the single-minded greedy focus on profit! Stop ignoring the health and well-being of your customers and the communities where we live! Take whatever action is necessary to keep distressed families in their homes!
This is an URGENT request, so please respond right away.
Sincerely,
your name here
Reserve December 6 and December 18 on your calendar for Wells Fargo protests on behalf of the “Wells 29”. (Update: Those protests took place with great success!)
Wells Fargo plans to foreclose on or evict the “Wells 29” despite:
Update as of about 7am on December 13, 2012: DMG Asset Management attorney Jak Marquez and Sheriff’s deputies evicted Larry Faulks. He’s now on the road, sleeping in his van.
Update as of 7:30pm on December 12, 2012: Greeted by a rainbow and a light rain shower, a group of about 30 supporters of Larry Faulks came to his home to bear witness the eviction, including holding up signs and banners, lots of friendly discussion, wonderful hot cappuccinos and tea from Larry’s brother, and a carol rendered as “Silent Night, Homeless Night” thanks to Tommi Avicolli-Mecca. We also made calls to DMG Asset Management principals and Wells Fargo Senior Vice President of Community Relations Brenda Wright to try to get them to stop the eviction. When the eviction hadn’t materialized by 11:30am or so, so a group of us took Larry out to lunch, then he requested that we head on our way while he went back to take a nap.
Investment firm DMG Asset Management plans to evict disabled African-American senior Larry Faulks even after they agreed to postpone the eviction to work with him and his family on negotiations with Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has not yet agreed to rescind the foreclosure sale of Larry’s home, which they did while negotiating a loan modification with him. This practice is called dual tracking and it will be illegal in California starting January 1, 2013, under the 2012 Homeowner Bill of Rights.
Please take action:
Come to the Eviction Witness on Wednesday, December 12. Time is tentatively scheduled for 8:00am (will post updates to this page).
Larry Faulks and his brother — both disabled — as well as their renter want to stay in the home their parents purchased in 1962. The Faulks’ were the first African-American family in the Diamond Heights neighborhood and at a time when only the Eichler company was willing to sell homes to black families. Please come to the Eviction Witness (there may be an opportunity for those who wish to participate in nonviolent direct action to block the eviction).