As
an appraisal instructor, I often hear complaints by appraisers about having no mechanism
in place to halt the unsavory practices they see everyday in the mortgage
lending world.
In
an article published by Appraiser News Online, a staff appraiser for Countrywide
lost his job in 2009 for airing concerns about deceptive practices that were
inflating appraised values.
Normally, the appraiser losing their job and never being heard from
again would be the end of the story.
Not
this time!
The
appraiser, Mr. Kyle Lagow, filed a whistle blower lawsuit and, as part of the
$26 billion mortgage settlement, was awarded $14.5 million. Provisions of the U.S. False Claims Act
allow private parties to sue organizations involved in illegal activity on
behalf of the government and then share in the settlement.
Nothing
makes me happier than hearing about an appraiser being rewarded (rather than
punished, which occurs all too often) for doing the right thing.
Way
to go Kyle!
