Consumer Credit and Debt

Proposition 32 Union Campaign Contribution Limits: Hitler Endorsed!

OK, so the late Adolf Hitler hasn't officially endorsed Proposition 32, the ballot measure designed to stop corporations and unions from deducting political contributions from employee paychecks. But based on the flurry of over-the-top attack mailers arriving in the last two days, it's surely only a ... More >>

Barbarians in the Ivory Tower

America's for-profit colleges use students in their greedy quest for federal bucks -- then leave them holding the debt.

Minorities Paid More For Wells Fargo Home Loans in L.A? Feds Settle For $175 Mil

Since before the days of Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen," the racist's take on the American minority is often that she is a moocher, a taker of food stamps, and "living on the dole." The reality, of course, is that life is often harder for American minorities, who sometimes pay more for stuff but g ... More >>

Former Ms. Pakistan And Husband Accused of Scamming California Families With Home Loan Modification Scheme

By Andra Lim A former Mrs. Pakistan World beauty queen and her husband allegedly scammed Californians out of thousands of dollars and contributed to some losing their homes. Saman Hasnain, who won the pageant in 2008, and Jawad Hasnain have been charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft for o ... More >>

DREAM Act Application Goes Live: Undocumented California Students Can Now Apply for Financial Aid

It's here! The day Republicans have been dreading and undocumented California students have been fighting for since 2001. College kids without U.S. citizenship can now apply for "conditional permanent residency" via the official DREAM Act application, which will allow them access to state financial ... More >>

R.I.P. Los Angeles Red-Light Camera Tickets: What This Means for the Rest of the County

The wait has paid off for all us rebels who refused to pay our red-light camera tickets! LA Weekly reassured you of the good news all through 2011. In July, "L.A. City Council Says You Don't Have to Pay Your Red-Light Camera Tickets." In September, "Are You Sure I Don't Have to Pay My L.A. County R ... More >>

Bank of America Foreclosure on Brendon Mendoza's L.A. Home Paused After Nearly 15,000 Sign Petition: Occupy Influential?

Mendoza.​Brendan Mendoza, an L.A. music industry veteran, is an Occupy L.A. supporter who has been fighting Bank of America for two years to stave off foreclosure of his Montecito Heights home. After months of being shifted between contacts at the institution, the 42-year-old says B of A has ... More >>

Clarification: Are You Sure I Don't Have to Pay My L.A. County Red-Light Camera Ticket?

This is your brain on red-light camera tickets.​In the month-and-a-half since we published "L.A. City Council Says You Don't Have to Pay Your Red-Light Camera Tickets," we've received dozens of panicked emails from drivers who were caught red-handed, squeaking an L.A. intersection. "I wanted ... More >>

Angenette Thomas, L.A. Probation Officer, Bilked Federal Gov Out of Unecessary Student Loans, Kept Cash, U.S. Attorney Says

zazzle.com​Talk about a naughty school girl. With handcuffs, no less. As if the L.A. County Probation Department doesn't have enough problems comes word that an officer allegedly applied for federal student aid she didn't appear to need and pocketed more than $135,000. According to the U.S. ... More >>

Does Credit Card and College Debt Make Young People Feel Good About Themselves?

​If you're young and want to feel good about yourself -- empowered and in control of you life -- there's one easy solution you may not have thought about: Pile on the debt. Amazingly, according to a recent nationwide study, the more credit card debt and college loans that young people aged 18 to ... More >>

Worst Legislator in California, Part II

Charles Calderon lets special interest groups ghostwrite his laws

Nick Pacheco Employee Carlos Lira Says Fellow Workers Pressed to Contribute (Illegally) to Rudy Martinez's L.A. City Council Campaign

Rudy Martinez.​Updated after the jump: Nick Pacheco responds, says his firm did not reimburse employees and that the accuser has a history of retaliating against employers. A man who worked for Rudy Martinez supporter Nick Pacheco says the former city councilman's company had employees write ... More >>

Stop Making Payments to Win Loan Modification?

JPMorgan Chase customer finds himself in loan mod hell for following bank's suggestion

22 Southern California Homeowners Protesting Foreclosures Arrested At Chase Bank

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Protesters demand banks save their homes​Peggy and Alvin Mears, of Fontana, never missed a mortgage payment. Now, Peggy's been arrested.The couple was paying their monthly $1,299 fee towards a modification loan and were working to secure a permane ... More >>

Thousands Who Waited Hours At Los Angeles Convention Center For 'Save The Dream' Foreclosure Help Are Still Likely To Lose Their Homes

via KCETA weekend of illusions?​Up to 30,000 homeowners crammed the L.A. Convention Center in recent days seeking help at the "Save the Dream" event -- from which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa repeatedly tweeted about the efforts by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America to save peop ... More >>

Loan Mod Torture Defendant Takes Plea, Is Released From Jail

Eric Bowman​Mary Ann Parmelee, who was accused of torturing two loan modification consultants who had scammed her last year, has accepted a plea deal and has been released from jail.Parmelee and her partner, Daniel Weston, formed a Bonnie-and-Clyde pair who built a real estate empire in La Canada ... More >>

The Five Juiciest Details From The Laura Richardson Ethics Report

Credit Score: 575​The House Ethics Committee released a report today clearing Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, of wrongdoing in her home foreclosure fiasco. But the report discloses some things that don't  make her look good. Herewith, the five most delicious disclosures:1. Richardson cal ... More >>

Angelenos Spending More -- A Lot More

​If your wallet is empty pat yourself on the back: You just might be an integral part of the economic recovery. The average Los Angeles household spent $3,600 in March, $600 more than one year ago, according to Bundle (via LA Biz Observed). Considering that the figure does not include mortgag ... More >>

Los Angeles Residents Have Less Debt Compared To People In Other Big American Cities

​Yesterday we told you about how global trade at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is looking up. More good news: L.A. ranks at the bottom of the top 20 metropolitan areas in the United States when it comes to personal debt.

Torture, Lies and Louis XIII Cognac

A tale of falling home prices

Tax Preperer Sentenced For Helping Clients Score Unreal Deductions

​A Gardena man who told clients he was a former Internal Revenue Service worker and found them too-good-to-be-true deductions was sentenced to six years in federal prison Monday in part for costing the government $2.7 in tax revenue that he illegally shaved from customers' returns through thos ... More >>

Another Bank Bites It: First Federal Of Santa Monica To Be Taken Over

​The UCLA Anderson Forecast, the president and the stock market (on some days) say the recession is over, but banks keep going bust. The latest victim was Santa Monica-based First Federal Bank, which was closed Friday by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision. Pasadena-based OneWest Bank an ... More >>

Scoundrel Time: Alleged Mortgage Frauds Increasing

Today flyers posted on telephone poles advertising mortgage fixers are as ubiquitous in L.A. as gardeners' business cards. The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, combined with a plummeting economy and a questionable sense of rescue created by the Obama administration have led many Californi ... More >>

Todd Barry Funny

Barack Obama's Slippery Fund-Raising Slope

Small donors aside, he's awash in cash from big labor and business. Can he say no?

Los Angeles Median Home Value: $380,000

Amazing story in this week's Los Angeles Business Journal, which has been beating the hell out of the Los Angeles Times in reporting on all the billionaires in L.A. who have lost vast sums — including Kirk Kerkorian, Sumner Restore, Eli Broad — or those whose companies have vanished or might get ... More >>

Sexual Orientation of McCain's Senate Chief of Staff Revealed

But it's Mark Buse's Freddie Mac connections that go mainstream

Gramm Cracker Crust: John McCain's Surrogate Trouble

Indy Mac implodes and Johnny Mac's exposed, as econ guru suffers from recession of the brain

Foreclosure Frenzy

L.A.’s middle class embraced $3,000 mortgages. Will a recession ensue?

10 (+1) WAYS TO PAY YOUR WAY THROUGH SCHOOL

Preying for Money

L.A. considers law to slam door on unethical loans

SHYLOCK 2000

MOVIN' ON UP

How Lee Baca bought a $750,000 house with no money down

October Demise