Creditors forced hard money lender Estate Financial Inc. (EFI) into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings Wednesday in Santa Barbara’s Central District of California United States Bankruptcy Court.... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE A Fresno attorney appointed earlier this month to widen the examination of troubled lender Estate Financial Inc. (EFI) is enlisting the help of UncoveredSLO.com’s readers. Independent evaluator Hanno Powell, an attorney with the firm of Powell... (Continue reading)
A federal investigative task force looking into mortgage fraud and related offenses in a seven-county region including San Luis Obispo County will utilize at least 40 FBI agents and investigators from nine other U.S. agencies. Dubbed SCAM (for Southern California Mortgage),... (Continue reading)
By KAREN VELIE Les Harvey’s nightmare encounter with “the system” started with a hamburger. Outside a McDonald’s in Arroyo Grande, Harvey, 64 and terminally ill, sat in his parked van and started to eat his dinner, the burger he had just purchased... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN I have a recurring dream in which the local media crowd works in concert to slay the dragons of government corruption and to cultivate an environment of informed citizens. And then I open my eyes, and my... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Angry Paso Robles downtown merchants are reacting to what many are calling a Memorial Weekend financial disaster triggered by city officials responsible for the sudden departure of one of the nation’s largest car shows. Local business owners are reporting... (Continue reading)
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Barry T. LaBarbera Monday initiated a complete evaluation of the books of Estate Financial Inc. (EFI) mortgage fund. LaBarbera appointed Hanno Powell -- an attorney from Fresno experienced in receiverships -- to look into EFI’s... (Continue reading)
By THE EDITORS A Cal Poly official took to the airways Monday to dispute portions of an UncoveredSLO.com article posted last week. Amy Hewes, director of publications and communications for the College of Engineering, argued on Dave Congalton’s 920KVEC Hometown Radio show... (Continue reading)
Do you enjoy reading UncoveredSLO.com’s in-depth reporting? Do you like the media watchdog function we provide and reader commentaries that follow? Now is your chance to help us continue. Support us today. We thank the many people who have contributed to... (Continue reading)
By KAREN VELIE Estate Financial Corp. (EFI) of Paso Robles can no longer solicit nor accept investor money because the troubled lender’s state permit to do so has been revoked. Specifically, regulators from the California Department of Corporations (DOC) have stopped the... (Continue reading)