Heartless? Law Firm Mocked Foreclosure Victims with Homeless-Themed Halloween Party
- Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:31pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Law firm employees are seen enjoying themselves at a law firm Halloween party, dressed as homeless people and mocking homeowners who had been foreclosed on. (New York Times)
One of the top foreclosure law firms hosted a Halloween party where the theme was…homelessness. And there are photos.
The Steven J. Baum law firm — a so-called “foreclosure mill” that represents such lender giants Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — holds a company Halloween party every year. The photos in question are from last year’s bash, but were only recently sent to the New York Times.
The New York Times’ Joe Nocera was sent the series of photos by a former firm employee. In them, partygoers show off their dirty, smudged faces, ill-fitting clothing, liquor bottles and cardboard signs. In short, they’re dressed as homeless people.
Another photo shows a corner of the offices decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Others look like homeless encampments, with shopping carts and blankets and misspelled signs reading, “Will worke for food” and “O.T.S.C.” — meaning “order to show cause,” a last-ditch effort by homeowners who are about to be evicted.
New York Times
The former employee told the Times said she sent in the photos because she wanted to demonstrate the “appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.”
She said the photos are emblematic of the firm’s mindset when dealing with homeowners.
“There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose.
New York Times
New York Times
According to the Times, Baum is under investigation by the state attorney general and recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve a Department of Justice investigation into whether it “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” The firm acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”
Nocera described his efforts to reach out to the firm and ask for a response to the photos:
When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in … attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”
See the rest of the photos here.
(h/t Huffington Post)
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Comments (117)
Mohawk1773
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:06pmTasteless.
Report Post »IvanK
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:11pmWhat goes around comes around!
Report Post »SeanW
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:12pmWorse, apathetic and downright immoral is what it is. But then again no one gives two shi!s for those who are losing their homes, their families, their very lives here in this god forsaken country. Just as long as “I gots whats mines” right?
Report Post »restorehope
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:32pmThis is more stupid than tasteless. It’s possible that there were a few idiots in the firm who led these sheep off the cliff and suggested this theme. I really cannot see management approving of this public relations nightmare ahead of time.
I am wondering why so many employees went along with it. Have they been so hardened by some of the things that they see in the mortgage business? Are there many “victims’ out there who are not really victims at all, but just unscrupulous people who have learned how to scam the system?
Report Post »welovetheUSA
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:04pmThis is a total lie……..if you make your house payments then you never have a problem….period.
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:28pmNot so, “lovetheusa”. Lots of people are out of work, having a hard time making their mortgages–and these “foreclosure mills” often jump the gun and give them no chance to catch up, filing papers before they are supposed to, or even when they should not even be filed, etc.. The hapless mortgage payers are out in the street before they knew what hit them, and the foreclosure “fast-buck” artists are on to the next scam.
Just because you are not in foreclosure does not mean anybody who is must be a bum or something. Have a little compassion–there are a LOT of people hurting economically now, thanks to the economic policies (or lack thereof) of the Great Eared One.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 12:54amas a commercial realtor and owner of several real estate franchises I will tell you VERY good people with 100′s of thousands of dollars in the bank, personal friends, colleagues, have lost everything due to the stock market and financial collapse whether layoffs etc. Your savings only lasts so long when you have no job. My husband and I are very thankful to have not been in the position as most of the folks we know. your cavelier attitude disgusts me. hardworking people cannot sell their homes for what they owe because of the amount of foreclosures and it is a never ending cycle of foreclosure now if you lose a job, you cannot sell your home any longer for much. Compassion is something you need to learn.
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 1:43amReally, 3 years ago I employeed 30 people building houses. My employees were doing well and most were buying their own homes. Now, no homes are being built, I have 4 employees barely holding on, most are looking at forecloseure on the homes they bought. these guys are upstanding craftmen that are now having to work at fast food gigs or anything else they can find; just trying to live. They don’t blame the bank that gave them the loan, they don’t blame the lawyers that write up the forecloser papers. They blame the idiot in the White house and the progressives that ruined the houseing market.
Report Post »Not everybody losing their home is a deadbeat, and unless some jobs happen soon the problem will mushroom. Maybe you are a teacher and will always have a job, lets hope so; because it would be a shame to be standing in your yard planting a for sale sign, would it not.
njolsson
Posted on October 31, 2011 at 1:42pmIt’s not about morality, folks, it’s about living up to the terms of your mortgage agreement. These homes belong to the mortgage lender until the mortgage is paid off. It’s not helpful to demonize people for holding up their end of the agreement (letting you live in the home) and then insisting that you hold up your end (move out when you stop making payments). Those of you who think that the lenders are just dying to stop receiving their principal and interest payments so that they can repossess an empty house that has decreased in value and will fall apart unless the lender starts paying for maintenance aren’t dealing with reality. Perhaps you’d like to outlaw mortgage lending, and then only cash buyers will own homes? That’s the only way you eliminate foreclosures.
Report Post »dirtydog1776
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:55pmWhat do you expect? They are lawyers, they have no souls and they are going to hell anyways.
Report Post »JustPeachy
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:54pmI get that for *some* of the people, they likely made bad financial decisions when purchasing their homes. I get it.
But that doesn’t mean I enjoy seeing other people hurt.
What I don’t get are adult people who actually dress up in order to MOCK people who are down–to make a party, even a theme out of it. What kind of people not only get pleasure out of other people’s losses and pain, but go out of their ways to actually make fun of it, make a party out of it, and celebrate it?!?
All I could think when I saw the photos was how they’d feel if one day–for whatever reasons–they found themselves without homes, living on the streets. I wonder if they’d remember how they had made fun of the misfortunate then?
What a world in which we live. Very sad indeed.
Report Post »KEEPINTHESKEERON
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:25pmI gotta say, ya know, the OWS folks are right about some of these b@stards!
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:34pmIf the owners of this sleazy outfit get indicted, or decide to fold their tents and disappear in the middle of the night with the company’s payroll money, these pukes may just find out that being broke and out in the street isn’t so funny, after all. Now wouldn’t THAT be “perfect justice”?
Report Post »garyM
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:50pmI didn’t see a political insignia but they act like democrats to me, I’m going to a few things, they are lawyers, they think they are better than other people, and I’d be willing to bet they support Obama!
Report Post »last frontier
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:38pmThey are not going to represent them anymore, not in the open anyways.
Report Post »dsind
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:30pmhey!
Report Post »freedom of speech, and i think it’s hillarious.
they did not say “death” to anyone, and mocking is
sooooooo much fun!
britlynz
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:17pmThis illustrates the vast disconnect between white collar and blue collar republicans.
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:40pmdid you see the star on their chest ??????
if not how do you no they are republicans ?
Report Post »britlynz
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:56pm@phsychosis… I’m guessing you had a clever point to make about the star. Unfortunately, it whizzed right over my head.
In any case, you are right. I can’t know their political affiliation for an absolute certainty. However, if I were a betting man, my guess is that these tasteless fools probably think they play for our team.
They don’t. Elitism is not a virtue. We should have nothing to do with it.
Report Post »SeanW
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:15pmNot so much as a disconnect, but just proof that the system that we have is fully and totally corrupt from the very bottom to the very top. Government, business, all of em are corrupt with nothing mattering more than the profit at the end of the day. And we as Americans are no better because we are complicit and an accessory.
Report Post »princessnutsack
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:39pm@ britlynz, i believe he/she is referring to the sneetches, and other stories by dr. seuss. one of my fav. books as a kid.
Report Post »ThorLoser
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:16pmI couldn’t care one whit what someone I deal with in business thinks about me, what they find funny, if they have compassion or despise me. As long as they follow the law, I meet my obligations and they meet theirs, it’s all good. I have *never* signed a contract with someone where it stipulated that if I broke terms of the agreement that they must feel compassion for me and lose sleep at night worrying about my plight.
Report Post »britlynz
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:47pmYep. Business is business and there are winners and losers. Still it’s in bad taste to mock or deride someone because of their misfortune. In fact, most of us coming from decent families were rapped sharply upside the old head if we ever did such a thing. Thinking or acting if you were better than another was just not permitted.
Methinks that the employees of this law firm are a few raps shy of decency and I suspect in the presence of good old fashioned Red State American company, there would be more than a couple of volunteers to administer said raps.
Report Post »geonj
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:15pmthese morons occupying wall street should go after the lawyers, they are the real crooks.
Report Post »living1nBF3
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:15pmYeah, in bad taste. But how many bought McMansions they could not afford?
This **** goes both ways. Just saying.
Report Post »wisehiney
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:13pmGotta love it when deadbeats and weasel lawyers fight.
Report Post »AxelPhantom
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:06pmO.K. this is just crass.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:05pmNo matter how bad things get… people will always have a Sense of Humor!
Report Post »Espada
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:04pmI’ve been in the real estate and oil and gas businesses for 37 years, and I’ve never met a God****ed lawyer that wasn’t arrogant, heartless, smug, and who wasn’t diishonest.
Rotten human beings.
Report Post »garyM
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:00pmit occasionally made inadvertent errors.
Is that kind of like mis-speaking?
I’ll bet they were only aware it just a few weeks ago!
Remember these are people of the elite that are much better than the homeless, I’ll bet they have a large figure for tax credits to claim on their charitable contributions line on their income tax forms every year!
Report Post »(Sarcasm)
wheredmycountrygo
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:57pmthe sign should say: THE GOVERNMENT FORCED ME TO BUY A HOUSE I CANT AFFORD. CAN YOU NOW PLEASE PAY FOR IT?? IN AMERICA EVERYONE IS SUPPOSED TO GET A FREE HOUSE FROM PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR A LIVING.
Report Post »Middleclass
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 12:22amTo “WHEREDMYCOUNTRYGO” WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???? I am a married man with 6 children.Never asked for anything free. Have worked my A## off for the little that we have. We are very fortunate that I have a good job and have not lost it during these bad times. We CAN afford our house as of now, but has been difficult since the cost of food and fuel have increased over a $1000 a month. What if I were to loose my job? I would have to work 4 others to make up the difference. Have some heart for those that could afford and now CANNOT.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 12:08pmwheredmycountrygo
“the sign should say: THE GOVERNMENT FORCED ME TO BUY A HOUSE”…
This statement typifies how little knowledge people have about the Housing Crises that brought down our economy. This simpleton managed to distill this crises into a Beckster Slogan or Bumper Sticker redact. The complexities of the the Crises is far deeper than overly Repeated Cliche One liners at nausea. The Mortgage and Housing Crises was an elaborate scam perpetrated on the Citizens from Government, Banks, Wall Street. Lobbyists, lawyers, Rating Agencies, Fannie Freddie and all working in concert, with no-one held accountable except the taxpayer. Obama for that matter had nothing to do with this fiasco, it was done on Bushes Watch. Understanding the dynamics would shut your ignorant mouth and your stupid tired one liner. But for most of the elementary dropouts on the Blaze, it is to much to grasp. America today is made up of thieves and Cheats, and unfortunately we seem to embrace it. Success at any cost!.America is in a downward spiral and IMHO the looters (Politicians, Corporations) are grabbing as much as they can before we crash.
Report Post »johnokee1
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:56pmThat’s right! party on as Rome burns…I am reminded or two little towns Sodom and Gommorah that partied the same way and thumbed their noses up at wholesome life style for debauchary.
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:54pmJust goes to show there are people worthy of protesting against. And these are a few of them!
Report Post »And yes!…..They are heartless!
sissykatz
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:18pmRational
I was just thinking someone should take these photos down to OWS and see
if they wanted to protest against this Law firm… But they are probably not paid
to do that,…..
I wish the Banks would withdraw their contracts with the law firm and leave them
CLIENT-LESS. I DO HOPE THIS IS ONE THAT WILL FIT IN HOLDER’S AGENDA
SO THEY CAN BE PROSECUTED.
Heartless #@$%$##@
Report Post »phillipwgirard
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:33pmIt’s just wrong on any level.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:50pmWell, I know that I do not trust the NYT which is the Obama/ International Far Left mouthpiece. The paper has basically run articles for the past few years which have elicited “down with capitalism/ let’s have revolutions/ ban Fox news/ evil Wall Street,” etc. comments from their mostly “progressive” readers. It was painful to read these early onslaughts against capitalism. Need more “balanced ” coverage that I can trust. If all of this is true, this law firm looks about as clueless and as tasteless as the Occupiers. Need more facts to decide the truth here.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:49pmI am not worried, he and his group will get their just comeuppance when they least expect.
Report Post »GTH
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:46pmTypical “In Your Face Capitalist.”
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:49pmDon’t even compare the two; lawyers have always been snakes.
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:43pmreally? you need help
what do you prefer? a capitalist laughing at you cause you bought more than you could afford
or a communist ki.lling you for what little you have ?
pick one you little sheep
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 1:02ami actually feel sorry for lawyers. snakes like these give them all a bad wrap. I know a couple who have dedicated their lives being advocates of abused elderly, disabled and children.
Report Post »GTH
Posted on October 30, 2011 at 6:58amYou misunderstood. I didn’t say,Typical of ALL Capitalist. I said, Typical, “In Your Face”…capitalist.
Report Post »Like the IN YOUR FACE capitalist that say’s, “GET OUT OF MY WAY, I have more than you have” There is a difference in In Your Face Capitalism and just Capitalism. IMO.
semihardrock
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:45pmarent most politicians and Presidents lawyers???? it doesnt surprise!
Report Post »barber2
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:52pmJohn Edwards and his focus comes to mind…
Report Post »SCARY
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:42pmIt’d be a shame if something “bad” happened to this firm.I’m not sayin anything,I’m just sayin.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:41pmWhat is the difference between a lawyer and a rat? There are things Rats won’t do.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 9:46pmTacky, very tacky. Considering they make more money on the foreclosure…this is why they refused to do loan mods. Also, I knew a real estate agent illegally doing loan mods. She was working for someone who claimed to be doing them and they were taking money from them. How we found out is the clients showed up at the office!!
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:44pm@ marci
they do not make more money on a foreclosure they lose money
your not that good at math are ya
Report Post »Arr-dey
Posted on October 29, 2011 at 11:35pmThey do make more money on the foreclosure. The law firm doesn’t own the mortgage, they just file the paperwork. The money for a foreclosure is more than the money for steering someone into a modification or this firm wouldn’t be doing what it does. That’s the free market baby. Watch out or it will roll right over you.
Report Post »