Jobless Bronx woman sues college for $70K in tuition

ANew York City woman who says she can't find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor's degree. Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court.

The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition. Thompson says she's been unable to find gainful employment since she received her information technology degree in April. She says the Bronx school's Office of Career Advancement hasn't provided her with the leads and career advice it promises. "I need a full-time job placement and that's what they said they were going to help me with and they didn't," said Thompson. "The IT career counselor sent me about three emails saying 'oh I have this job you should apply.' That's it." The college insists it helps its graduates find jobs.

A spokesperson for Monroe College said in a statement that Thompson's lawsuit is completely without merit and that Monroe is committed to working with all of its students to prepare them for careers.

New York Foreclosure Activity Increased in Second Quarter

The New York State Banking Department and RealtyTrac® released New York county- level foreclosure statistics for the second quarter ending June 30, 2009. According to RealtyTrac there were foreclosure filings on 13,664 properties in New York during the second quarter, representing a 15 percent decrease compared to the second quarter of last year and a 24 percent increase over the previous quarter. While the decrease year over year compares favorably to the national 20 percent increase, the 24 percent increase over the previous quarter is well above the national increase of 11 percent. Still, New York’s overall ranking continued to improve, dropping from 37th at the end of the first quarter to 39th. Orange County, with 643 foreclosure filings in the second quarter, had an increase of more than 61 percent from the first quarter of 2009. It also had the highest ratio of filings in the state, with one in 208 households with a foreclosure filing in the second quarter. Nearby Rockland and Putnam were also in top five counties based on the ratio of households impacted, with one in 264 and one in 272 homes with a foreclosure filing in the second quarter of 2009. The three counties, home to many New York City commuters, represent the spread of foreclosures outside of the immediate metro areas. “Quarterly increase trends, such as the ones we are seeing in Orange County, are a strong reminder that the crisis is not over and we must continue to find sustainable, affordable ways to keep families in their homes,” said Richard H. Neiman, Superintendent of Banks for New York. “Without solutions that continue to build on the state’s foreclosure prevention efforts, such as those proposed by Governor Paterson last month, New York may see those numbers increase year to year as well.”

NJ woman pleads guilty in $15-m real estate Ponzi scheme

The former operator of a New Jersey Clifton-based real estate investment program pleaded guilty recently to operating a Ponzi-scheme in which she raised in excess of $15 million from hundreds of investors in New Jersey and throughout the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. said.

Marcia Sladich, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to a one-count Information charging her with mail fraud in connection with the fraudulent real estate scheme Sladich orchestrated and ran from 2004 through December 2007.

Judge Hayden scheduled sentencing for Nov. 24. Sladich remains in custody, where she has been since her arrest last August. The mail fraud charge to which Sladich pleaded guilty carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and fine of $250,000 or twice the aggregate loss to any victim or aggregate gain to Sladich.

However, under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sladich faces an actual sentencing range of between 63 and 78 months in federal prison. The Sentencing Guidelines are advisory only, and Judge Hayden has discretion to sentence within or outside of that sentencing range.