Emergency Rally at Circuit Court:
Friday, Oct. 26, 9 am
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Detroit, Jefferson Ave. and Woodward
Courtroom of Judge John Gillis
Paramount victims Steve Bynum, Kim Pierce, Dana Hill-photo by Steve Babson
Fraudulent Developer Swindled Hundreds of Families
Now Police and Fire Pension Board Seeks their Eviction, claiming the homeowners “may not exist at all.”
We Need to Show the Court these homeowners are our neighbors and they deserve legal title
In 2009, the Detroit Police and Fire Pension Board loaned $10 million to Paramount Land Holdings of South Carolina to buy up foreclosed homes for as little as $10. Paramount then sold the homes by land contract for tens of thousands of dollars to area residents. Paramount claimed to have paid all back taxes.
It was a swindle from start to finish. Paramount never recorded its interest in the properties and taxes were never paid. Paramount took down-payments and monthly charges from buyers, but the land contracts did not include legal descriptions of the properties so buyers could not record their land contracts. Paramount did nothing to repair or improve the homes, so the buyers had to use their own money to make the homes habitable.
The whole scheme began to collapse when the Wayne County Treasurer began tax foreclosure proceedings against the homeowners for the back-taxes Paramount had not paid. The Pension Board finally sued Paramount, which is now bankrupt; one of the Paramount principals committed suicide and the other has been arrested in Florida.
Paramount homeowners have been organizing and opposing the tax foreclosures and evictions. The Wayne County Treasurer agreed to a temporary stay on foreclosure proceedings, but the Pension Board insists that homeowners should continue to pay under the illegal land contracts and are threatening to evict those who refuse. At this Friday’s hearing, the Pension Board will seek exclusive title to these homes, claiming in many cases the homeowners “may not exist at all.”
The Pension Board made a deal with crooks who profited from the foreclosure crisis. Paramount home owners are fighting back with assistance from the United Community Housing Coalition and Legal Aid and Defender, demanding that the Pension Board negotiate a settlement that will transfer legal title to the buyers who are living in the homes, improving the properties, and helping to stabilize Detroit’s neighborhoods.
To join the fight contact at DetroitEvictionDefense@gmail.com
Paramount homeowners, contact Paramount homeowners/fighters: Steve at
313-915-8604 or Kim at 313-974-5854
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