Desiree's Story: Fighting Cancer & Seeking Justice

I’m writing this on behalf of the only person that has ever truly loved me, my Mother. She’s been through so much heartache and I’m afraid that it’s finally taken its toll. She’s fought this cancer battle for 3 long years, and even though the doctors have told her all her markers are down and the chemo is working, the effects on her health have worn her down. On top of all that, we were subjected to a long battle to save our home, which has finally come to a devastating conclusion. On the 12th of this month, we were notified that we lost our home to a sheriff sale. We did all the paperwork. All the bank statements, we submitted all the info, and we were still denied modifications from an already, in my opinion and the opinion of the court of law, an unscrupulous mortgage company. Don’t take my word on that, there are many articles that would back up the fact that at the time they were supposed to grant us trial modifications, they foreclosed anyway on us, and on MANY other families. This is just half the story. I’ll let my Mother tell you her story in her own words:

My name is Desiree J. Cisco. I am a single, 70 year old female, and my primary income is Social Security. After having some health issues and being hospitalized in 2020, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My main focus was now, and should be, on my health. I started chemotherapy after my hospital stay and am still receiving treatments. This year, I have been hospitalized and in intensive care, twice with two additional, life threatening health issues. In February, I was hospitalized for kidney failure in which Nephrostomy tubes (thin tubes, which are surgically put in through the skin in my back and into my kidneys). In March, I was hospitalized with a blood infection. In addition to the cancer, I am still dealing with the damaging side effects of all three.

Dated 3/9/2020. The date that she was officially diagnosed. The day after my Birthday.

In 2017, I hired an attorney, Joshua Denbeaux (Denbeaux and Denbeaux, 372 Kinderkamack Rd, Suite 5, Westwood, NJ, 07675-1675), to sue my mortgage company, Nationstar, for wrongful foreclosure. His fee was $750.00 a month which was routinely withdrawn from my checking account.

Mr. Denbeaux stated that first we wanted to show Nationstar we were willing to work with them, which meant to first attempt for a modification. I knew I was not going to get one because; they already turned me downed for one. As per their policy, if Nationstar can't offer a lower monthly payment, they will automatically reject your request for a modification. My attorney knew this as he was familiar this practice, as confirmed in his email.

There had always been little to no communication between and my attorney. I had always trusted he was working on my case and why I hired him, to prove Nationstar wrongfully foreclosed on me and to sue them. Also confirmed, is that he won the argument with proving that Nationstar had cheated me out of my modification, as he states and confirmed in an email he sent me. After four years and $36,750 later, my home was on the sheriffs list to be sold. Because so much time had passed, my mortgage back fees were over $111,000. When I walked into the lawyer's office in 2017 I certainly was able to afford a mortgage. Mr. Denbeaux, in his email, stated that modification cases usually last 2 years. He continued to withdraw the $750.00 each month for the next 2 years, admitting this was an oversight on his part.

Mr. Denbeaux has offered to repay the $24,000 ($24,750) he overcharged me $1,000 a month over two years. Considering my health situations and additional costs among other needs, which include life insurance to cover those cost, I need the money owed to me in full. (*Note from her son here. He refused to pay her back this money, basically saying that he did extra work, so he feels he shouldn't have to pay it back.)

Nationstar foreclosed on my home without warning or giving me an opportunity to bring my account current. I applied for a modification in 2016. I successfully completed the trial period ($1,316.16 for 3 months) and was granted a modification. During that time my son was only working part-time and we were just getting back on our feet. I was late on 2 payments and then my son found fulltime work. When attempting to bring my account current, my online account was locked. After calling Nationstar I was told they had started foreclosure proceedings, asking why, I was told because I didn't sign the final document. I had passed the 3 trial period, they had already approved the new modification, and they had already ACCEPTED payments for 2 months of the new modification. Refusing my several requests to send me the missing document allowing me to sign it, they never responded. I asked what needed to do to stop the foreclosure proceedings and was told I had to re-apply for a new modification which is what I did. After all the paperwork was submitted, I was still rejected. I was never told there were other options and possibly other programs. From what I've researched, Nationstar did not follow procedure before taking action implementing foreclosing on my home.

Both of these cases were grossly mishandled.

• Nationstar for violating foreclosure proceeding.

• My attorney for not doing what he was hired to do, which was to sue Nationstar for wrongful foreclosure.

My home eventually wound up on a sheriff's sale in February.

Another concern is, without explanation, my home was "miraculously" taken off the sheriff for sale list. My guess is, somehow, my former attorney, Joshua Denbeaux, played a part in this. I wouldn't know. He sent notice months ago that he no longer represented me, which was understood especially since he had stopped working on my case after two years, even though I was still making monthly payments to him.

My fear is that if I become adversarial or aggressive in trying to get the $24,000+ he owes me, he'll retaliate.

With all that is said and done, my home should have never been in jeopardy because of errors on the parts Nationstar and Mr. Denbeaux. They both need to be held accountable.

So, this is our story. HER story. The Cisco’s are out of options, and need a little help. For us, it seems like we’ve done all we could. We’ve done the research. All the public and all the government funded options only gave choices that didn’t help keep us in our home, that’s why we’re finally reaching out to you. Right now, my mom seems to just be on cruise control. She says she wants to keep up the fight, but it’s very difficult to get her to eat or drink. Her oxygen levels are pretty low, but her numbers otherwise are good. She doesn’t talk much. I know she’s sad, and it’s painful to watch. I’ve tried to talk to her, but I can barely get a word out of her, just yes or no. I ask her if she’s ready to go home to see the lord, but she doesn’t answer. She says “Why do you keep trying to put me in the grave?”

I’m not asking anyone to buy our house and get us out of this hell, I just want her to have peace of mind for whatever time she still has on the earth, and to know that people out there care for her. She swears that she’s been this loner her whole life. I’ve watched her lose friend after friend, and watched her care for her parents fighting the same disease that’s finally caught up to her. She basically said that money she was owed was going to her medical care and funeral expenses, and she was cheated out that. I would love to see her smile again, knowing that someone out there loves her, and that for once, she won.

With all that being said, I thank you for lending me an ear, and hopefully, for you for your donations.

Love, the Cisco’s