Reading all the comments, it seems the consesus is that up to a pont in time, things were 'kosher' with Ameriquest mortgages; but then at SOME point, the sharks moved in, the rules changed, and a prudent new borrower, or even someone who had made a 'kosher' deal earlier with Ameriquest, was going to be in BIG trouble. It's THAT point that investigation should focus on: who came, who went? At that point, whoever was at the Top, (Arnall), was responsible; lack of oversight on his part is no excuse.
It seems that as a borrower/customer, to not be burned, you had to be very suspicious, or willing to walk away from a deal that was just "too good to be true." We all know how hard that can be in life, but "too good to be true" often is exactly that: too good to be true.
And you can leave the "Jr." out of the Bush Blame Game - remember the SBLI Scandals of the FIRST Bush administration: honestly, when that family is getting ready to leave office, folks like US should bolt down everything - because that gang and their crony friends WILL leave with everything that's not bolted down, under their expensive coats.
It amounts to a vast redistribution of wealth, and the elimination of the middle class. Nothing less.

I to was misslead right after my Back surgey I refinance with ameriquest and they falseafied my ss number on my final papers as well as other false statements and being on morphine for the surgery they lead me to believe i was getting a fix rate. After the 2nd year my payments went from $666. to $1140. we are adopting and do foster care in our home. not good for the children we help. and beind 100% diabled. we are trying to refinance now before it goes up again. First it was Oakwood and theirs lies, now ameriquest!! we nrrd honest people in the government who cain't be bought buy these companys!

Gee, why does this sound familiar. Company in shambles, wealthy founder is a "friend" of the Bushes and gets a cozy job and is protected by W.

Looks like Bush is going to have to commute another sentance.

Seems Arnall advised w on how to build a sub-prime economy.

Even if you get into a bad loan - and the payments reset higher - you can always refinance into another loan with a fixed rate.

These borrowers got into trouble because they over-leveraged their homes with debt. Either the borrowers couldn't afford the 20% downpayment to buy the house or they refinanced all the existing equity out of their house. (A long-term owner should never take out more than 70% of the equity out of their home!) That's reckless!

I am sure there were bad mortgage brokers out there - but most borrowers who got into trouble victimized themselves by living way beyond their means and having no savings.

As for borrowers not knowing the mortgage was an ARM as opposed to a fixed rate - I don't buy it. You have to sign a document explicitly acknowledging you have an ARM.

All of this is exactly the reason why lobbying should be criminalized. Only the fat cats in DC benefit from it, certainly not the regular citizens. In fact, the regular citizens pay through the gazoo - look at "required insurance" that got through only due to lobbying by the massive ins conglomerates.

Ambassadorships are ALWAYS APPOINTED AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT. There is nothing more to it...BY THE PRESIDENT...and usually because of past 'favors', rather than diplomatic skills. But then, the Netherlands post is nothing more than a glorified cocktail party...

Let's see, he was appointed by Bush but CONFIRMED by the Democratic Controlled Congress, so if he's so corrupt why didn't the Democrats block his appointments? (He wasn't a recess appointment) Didn't Enron happen during the Clinton administration? Every problem in the U.S. isn't caused by Bush!! Its just another example of noone in the U.S. wanting to take responisbility for their actions. It's always someone elses fault. The old statement "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" rings true. If a company won't give you a copy of a document on the spot why on earth would you deal with them? Why not just sign a blank form and let them fill out whatever they want? Should they be prosecuted for mis-deeds yes but come on people be responsible for what you do-- think before you sign and if you don't understand it DON'T sign it. If the company you are dealing with is trying to rush you through----there's a reason. Phone calls are not proof, documents are proof---get EVERYTHING in writing. It was stated that they changed documents after you signed--where are your original copies? Don't ever walk out the door with out documentation -- period.

Education is the best method to eliminate predatory lending in this country.

Problem is, most borrowers only make a decision once every seven years, so how would they even know what to look for? The loan officer's mission is not to educate, but to get a signature on the bottom line.

Here are the Top 10 Mistakes Mortgage Borrowers Make:

1. Not knowing which mortgage fees the borrower can -- and cannot -- negotiate.

2. Choosing and trusting the first loan officer the borrower interviews.

3. Using an interest-only or "payment option" adjustable-rate loan primarily to qualify for a more expensive house than you could normally afford.

4. Thinking the interest rate is always the main thing.

5. Not comparing the final fees listed on the closing documents to the up-front estimates to avoid the lender "packing the loan" with added-on fees without the borrower's knowledge.

6. Not knowing if the mortgage has a pre-payment penalty - until it's too late.

7. Thinking that renting is always just throwing money away.

8. The borrower does not know if he or she is paying a back-end yield spread or Service Release Premium.

9. Paying for mortgage life insurance, credit insurance or other expensive lender add-ons to increase the amount of kickbacks the lender can receive from various vendors.

10. Paying hundreds of dollars to have a company set up a biweekly mortgage payment plan, something the borrower can generally do for herself or himself -- for free.

Everybody eventually learns how the game is played. Some (like myself) were taught by parents who knew the rules of the games and how important it is to know them. Many people learn the hard way, if they are lucky it is something small but educational. The unfortunate learn the expensive way. So all you that learned the non-painful way, quit with the sermons. These people are and will continue to pay for their mistakes. People who become wealthy by legally scamming people deserve a special place in hell. Capitalism is wonderful and has many benefits, it also has an underbelly of scum that get unjustly rewarded and people defend them

I worked for Ameriquest for nearly a decade. In fact I rode the elevator with Mr. and Mrs. Arnall a number of times - he has a hobble if you didn't know. Anyway, the self proclaimed father of subprime is the poster-child for mortgage corruption. Yet, you haven't seen nor heard his name, or that of Ameriquest, mentioned during the fall of the mortgage industry. Why? Well just about every politician was on the take ... well fed by the seemingly endless flow of cash from the godfather of loans. Arnall is corrupt as are those that failed to bring him to Washington to account for his evil doings.

When the good times roll, people like us sat by the side line waiting! Now its our turn! Greedy people should lose their house!
Now its time to pay the piper! What do we get? Complaints. This problem is so simple! Where do you get off buying a house and paying interest only forever?
If you do not have the money dont buy!
very simple!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am one of those people that almost lost everything. I live in Texas and the contract we have with Ameriquest has a 20% pre-payment penalty. This is against Texas law. Because of the on going battle with Ameriquest I have has lawyers tell me I do have a case that has nothing to do with the class action suit, but are unlwilling to take me case because it would be to time consuming. Is there someone that can help me so I can put the house on the market and get out from under the "clutches" of Ameriquest. ANOTHER ENRON

Doesnt anybody use an attorney before signing your name to a contract? Cant afford the $300.00? Im smart enough to know Im not that smart. People who got "scammed" need to take some responsiblity for their ignorance.

Try this for size Ameriquest Loan Lenders took my name competely off the loan with out my knowledge.

I sure hope the Texas Supreme Court rules for those of us who got put to the streets.

Have a nice day.

I find it disgusting that some of the posts here simply don't understand or admit that FRAUD was going on in lending over the past six years.

There has been a third indictment. Don't let anyone tell you that the fraud doesn't exist and that these homeowners who have posted here were at fault for not reading their documents. The criminals in this case practiced "window art" forging signatures on documents, used criminal appraisers that inflated appraisals, etc. Mind you -- the federal case won't even help the homeowners, most of whom have already lost their homes. It is to recover money for the banks. This government HAD to know what was happening and did nothing to stop it. Now the entire world economy could be seriously in danger thanks to the criminals.

What I readingin this article and these comments is a combination of people being cheated and who also had no clue what they were getting. Falsification of loan documentation is fraud and one thing. But what I would like to know is what was the loan amount for these people whose payments soared. My guess is a lot more than a paltry $600 to $700 payment would cover.

With Regard to hiring an attorney. Some states do not require an attorney present at closing. Texas is one of them. Number two: We moved from Illinois to Texas under other false promises that had be made to us from Ameriquest. Because of those false promises we ended up living out of a penske truck for 3 weeks. The part about the pre-payment penalty was only disclosed after all the paper work was signed because of a comment we were going to sell in a year or 2 anyway. Try reading Texas state statute I believe 345 or 343. Very simple sentance. NO LENDER SHALL CHARGE A PRE-PAYMENT PENALTY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. Short, sweet and to the point. AMERIQUEST DIDN'T KNOW THAT?????? False practices

To: R.S. I'll take it to the Texas Supreme Court if I had enough people to stand together and do this together. Ameriquest has ruined to many lives.
KM

Roland Arnell is one of the most corrupt executive this country has ever seen. Worse than Al Capone and Ken Lay put togeather. I reveiwed his background and have found some rather disturbing things that Brian Ross did not even report. One of which is that Mr. Arnell is not even a U.S. Citizen. Now tell me how can he be appointed ambassador? Only in AMERICA!