MIAMI – An 82-year-old South Florida woman is continuing to fight foreclosure.
A final 24-hour eviction notice was placed on Ana Rodriguez’s door on Sunday. She is a former Cuban political prisoner.
“When I saw the eviction, I feel it was so cruel to do that in this day,” Rodriguez said during a press conference on Sunday.
Her attorney said the bank foreclosed on her home using forged documents, and that she isn’t the only person being victimized.
Her home is in the City of Miami, near the border for Coral Gables.
Rodriguez purchased her home two decades ago and refinanced her mortgage in 2006, which was later bought by the bank, a company the U.S. Justice Department sued for billions in the past over mortgage fraud.
Her attorneys with Jacobs Legal, who are providing service pro bono, claim they have uncovered a scheme to defraud the woman out of her property, with forged promissory notes and other documents.
“I saw the exact same robo-signed documents from a decade ago, plus I saw they did something else which was criminal,” said attorney Bruce Jacobs.
Several other homeowners facing eviction from Bank of America were at Sunday’s press conference.
“We see a system that is tilted toward the financial institutions being able to commit fraud,” said Eleazar Melendez with Floridians for Honest Living. “And not being held accountable, that is unacceptable.”
In some cases, efforts to make good on missed payments within deadlines were met with closed doors.
“For you to see an eviction notice without giving you a chance to just talk about it,” said Julie Nicolas, who is also facing forclosure. “It’s not about not paying your mortgage, because I paid mine.”
To visit Rodriguez’s legal fund, click here.