Stewart Title Company And Robert Rone
Stewart Title Co. And Robert Rone builder RIP-OFF at Stewart Title Co. DECEPTION - FRAUD Altered Documents During Closing of Construction Loans

On May 20, we closed on our home construction loan at Stewart Title Co.in Humble, Texas. We were seated at a long table with Tamela Ivy, the title agent, who sat directly across from us. The builder, Robert Rone (Bobby), sat at the far end of the table and was there to sign his Mechanic's Lien and a couple of other documents that required his signature for the building process.

We carefully read and signed every form during the grueling process, but the single most important form to us in that huge stack of paper was the "Authorization For Draws" form which gave us several options on how we wanted the disbursement of our construction funds handled. We made it very clear that we agreed ONLY to Option #3 (In the form of a check jointly payable to Contractor and Owner/Borrower), with an "X" typed next to our option. This very important option would have allowed us to effectively track all money paid out to each subcontractor, by check only, and we had planned to pay all the subs directly and pay the agreed commission to the builder from that account.

We were unaware, at the time, that Tamela Ivy had slipped that form over to Robert Rone with the documents he had to sign. Our Authorization For Draws form was altered AFTER we signed it!!! My wife discovered the altered document on the night of May 22, while reviewing our copy of the Stewart Title closing folder given to us by Ivy after the closing on the 20th. I had no desire of going through all that paperwork again, but she had a bad feeling and felt the need to review it again. I should have listened to her when she said she did not like nor trust Rone and did not want to go to Stewart Title to close on that morning of the 20th. Our option had been lined out with Rone's more preferred instructions, "WIRED TO NORTH HOUSTON BANK DIRECT TRI-CITY TURNKEY" (with his initials, R.R.)!

We fired Rone early the next morning but discovered that Encore Bank (where our loan was set up at Rone's request), had already wired the first draw of $8,125 on the 21st. That was FAST! Rone refused to give the money back with the excuse that we took up too much of his time and effort while discussing building plans. We urged Doug Faver of Encore Bank to put the pressure on Rone, but Mr. Faver tried to convince me that I was stuck with him on account of the Mechanic's Lien. I sternly disagreed to that due to the blatant fraud that took place at Stewart. I confronted Doug Faver about the altered form and said it should have been questioned prior to wiring to Rone's account, so he transferred me to his assistant that handles the draws, Kim Engle. She explained that their policy is to go by the wiring instructions they're given. When I mentioned to Faver that I hired a lawyer for legal action against Encore, Stewart, and Rone, the bank sent Rone a lame letter kindly requesting the return of the money (ignored of course). Faver agreed also to allow us to choose another builder on the condition that we get the $8,125 back into the account, but we were unable to recover that stolen money and were financially strapped while paying interest on that loan, paying the lawyer, and getting the current home ready to sell. We were allowed to begin building in August since we had maintained our interest payments.

We terminated the lawyer we hired in Kingwood, Brian McNamara, for stringing us along and doing nothing! A whole month went by, and he did not send a single letter to Encore, Stewart, or Rone as promised! We filed suit against Rone and Ivy in Small Claims Court in an attempt to recover the money we lost (half from each). The judge ruled for us, only against Rone for $5,000, but we never received any of it from that unscrupulous businessman that we soon discovered had ripped off others in the same way, at the same title co., and at the same bank! I have obtained copies of Authorization For Draws forms and letters and statements from others to validate this since I have done some investigating on my own. These other people, in the same community, were victimized in much the same way and would not hesitate to attest to it!

We did not get a favorable judgment against Stewart since Small Claims doesn't litigate issues related to fraud and deceptive trade practices. It was a waste of time. We couldn't afford, at the time, to file suit against Stewart in a higher court, but we saved for almost two years with the intention on hiring a good attorney and taking on Stewart in a higher court. I contacted a highly recommended attorney the first week in May that agreed to take it. He said we had a very strong case, but when I mentioned that we had already attempted to settle with Stewart Title and Rone in Small Claims, he regretfully said he couldn't do anything for us and explained that since we had only 10 days to appeal the Small Claims decision, that useless judgment became final, and we could no longer take any legal action against Stewart.

We refuse to just let this go! We (and other victims) would like to see Stewart held accountable for this fraud! I looked at Stewart's website and read the Ethical Conduct section where Stewart prides itself on its governing laws and regulations and strict Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, including the Fair Dealing policies. It states, "Each Associate should endeavor to deal fairly with the Company's customers, suppliers, competitors and employer. No one should take unfair advantage of anyone through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts or any other unfair-dealing practice." I wrote a letter to Stewart's corporate office in Houston to the Ethics Compliance Officer, Michael Skalka, (with copies of letters, statements, and documents from us and others). His prompt written reply on May 18, was, "I regret to inform you that based upon my further investigation of this matter I do not find your allegations to be substantiated. Accordingly, we will take no further action based upon your request." I received also a very arrogant denial of any wrongdoing from Victor Davis (Stewart Counsel that represented Tamely Ivy in Small Claims Court). He attempted to intimidate me with this response, "The facts will show that this matter has already been litigated in a court of competent jurisdiction and that the court found for Stewart against your allegations. Any attempt by you to litigate this matter further against Stewart will be met with a vigorous defense by Stewart. Such a defense would include the seeking of attorney's fees and sanctions for the filing of a frivolous lawsuit." There is nothing "frivolous, " as I explained in my reply back, about what the Stewart Title Co. Agent did to us during the closing of our construction loan, and it is certainly no mere allegation of ours that fraud did in fact take place at the table where we signed for our construction loan at Stewart Title. Whatever the lame internal investigations couldn't find or the Small Claims Court decision made, the deceitfulness and blatant dishonesty that took place at Stewart should not be excused!

I refuse to be intimidated by any big corporation that caters more to the interests of dishonest home builders while consumers like us continue to be ripped off, having very little consumer protection! I reported the fraud to the Texas Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; they simply just collected the information. Forget the Houston BBB; they are totally useless! I filed a complaint with the Texas Dept. Of Insurance (TDI), tasked to oversee compliance with insurance and title companies, in April. Just a little research on their website revealed an enforcement action and recent fine of $1.2 million dollars imposed by TDI against another title company (Chicago Title of Houston) where more consumers were victimized by those that know how to play the system.

The TDI asked Stewart for their prompt response due by April 15th. Item #3 of the TDI Business Reply Form required a written response regarding measures taken in response to the complaint, i.E., investigations, etc. Victor Davis's response was, "As Counsel for Stewart Title of Houston I am investigating the complaint by interviewing the escrow officer responsible for Mr. H%'s transaction." So, he interviewed and investigated Tamela Ivy AFTER representing her in Small Claims Court? How convenient! Other required responses were simply met with Davis's reply, "see the attached correspondence" (the same arrogant letter Davis sent me). My file with the TDI Fraud Unit was recently transferred to the Legal and Compliance Division for a potential disciplinary case against Stewart Title of Houston and Ms. Tamela Ivy. The case will be forwarded to TDI Department's Legal Enforcement Section for further investigation (per letter from TDI on Dec. 27).

Many people in this community and other parts of the Houston area can certainly attest to the fact that after Rone had the disbursement of his client's construction funds done HIS WAY at the Stewart Title Office, his unsuspecting victims were milked out of every dollar possible from their accounts and left with homes half completed and no other choice but to dip into retirement accounts, credit card accounts, etc.in order to complete construction and eventually close to avoid losing it all. Note that Rone recently filed Chap. 7 Bankruptcy (preventing us and many others from getting anything back from our useless lawsuits) and is now doing business as "Hard Work Construction."

We ask for any assistance possible from the advocates. I will be reporting this to other consumer advocates (and encourage others to do the same). We cannot let them get away with it!

Company: Stewart Title Company And Robert Rone
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Humble
Address: 18700 W. Lake Houston Pkwy. A103
Phone: 2818122233

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