When Foreclosure Fraud Silenced a Musician
How foreclosure fraud destroyed my lifelong passion and ability to play drums
The Beat That Can Never Come Back
I started playing drums as a child. By adulthood, drumming wasn't just what I did — it was who I was. Like breathing. Like my heartbeat.
For most of my adult life, I was a professional musician, writing, recording, and touring with Detroit-based rock bands. The drums were my voice, my passion, my livelihood.
Then Capital One and GreenPoint Mortgage committed fraud, stole my home, and triggered a cascade of chronic stress so severe it caused irreversible neurological damage.
"Today I am no longer able to play the drums. I can't come close to relating just how horrible it is for me to write those words. The life I knew and loved is over."
This is my story of how foreclosure fraud doesn't just take homes — it takes identities, careers, passions, and futures.
A Life Built on Rhythm
I spent decades honing my craft, pouring myself into music with Detroit rock bands. Recording sessions. Late-night rehearsals. The electric energy of live performances. The quiet satisfaction of nailing a complex fill.
Drumming was as natural to me as walking. It was my language, my therapy, my joy.
But in June 2007, when Capital One and GreenPoint Mortgage fraudulently foreclosed on my home, they set off a chain reaction that would eventually destroy everything.
The Bands That Shaped Me
For me, drumming was never just a hobby or a job. It was the foundation of my entire adult identity.
The Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras are by far the band I had the most success with. As their drummer, I was part of Detroit's garage rock revival scene, touring and recording with a band that became a staple of the city's legendary rock history.
2 Star Tabernacle (with Jack White)
I also played drums with 2 Star Tabernacle, a project that included Jack White before his rise to fame with The White Stripes. Those early sessions were formative years that helped define my sound and approach to drumming.
Throughout my career in Detroit's music scene, I also performed with:
- The Dirteaters
- His Name Is Alive
- Just Born
- Snake-Out
- Goober and the Peas
- The Ruiners
Each rehearsal, each recording session, each live show added to my skills and deepened my love for drumming. The Detroit rock scene wasn't just where I worked—it was my community, my family, my home.
These weren't just bands. They were my identity. The stage was where I belonged. The drum throne was my place in the world.
The Slow Destruction
The stress of fighting foreclosure fraud didn't just affect me mentally — it attacked my body at the neurological level.
June 2007
Fraudulent foreclosure executed by GreenPoint/Capital One. My chronic stress begins.
Early 2010
First symptoms appear: subtle coordination issues. Simple movements like reaching for a glass become "off."
Mid-2010
Symptoms progress. Drumming — once effortless — becomes difficult. Then impossible.
Late 2010
My speech becomes slurred. Walking becomes a conscious effort. My neighbors rush me to the ER fearing I'm having a stroke.
2011-2012
After a year of specialists and misdiagnoses, University of Michigan neurologists diagnose me with Acute Cerebellar Ataxia.
My cerebellum — the part of the brain that controls movement, balance, coordination and speech — had become functionally compromised.
The very neural pathways that once allowed me to create complex rhythms with precision and soul were now damaged beyond repair.
What Was Stolen From Me
When banks talk about foreclosure, they talk about square footage, property values, credit scores. Cold numbers on spreadsheets.
They don't talk about what they really take.
Foreclosure Fraud Stole From Me:
My career — professional musician, touring and recording
My passion — drumming since childhood, my creative outlet
My identity — music wasn't what I did, it was who I was
My coordination — the ability to perform precise, complex movements
My future — all the songs never recorded, performances never given
My joy — the simple pleasure of sitting behind a drum kit
Today, I can no longer play the drums. Not poorly. Not at all. The neurological damage caused by years of relentless stress from fighting fraudulent foreclosure has made it physically impossible.
The drum kit — once an extension of my body — might as well be a stranger's instrument now.
The Science of Stolen Music
Acute Cerebellar Ataxia can be genetic or acquired. My doctors confirmed mine was acquired — meaning something in my environment caused it.
The typical causes? Stroke. Severe head trauma. Autoimmune diseases. Vitamin deficiency. Tumors.
My medical team ruled out all of them. They found no stroke. No head injury. No tumor. No vitamin deficiency.
But when I told my University of Michigan neurologist about the extreme, chronic stress from the fraudulent foreclosure, his response was clear:
My neurologist felt that foreclosure-induced stress was a very likely cause, especially considering the timing.
The foreclosure happened in June 2007. My symptoms began in early 2010 — about two and a half years later. The timeline matches perfectly with the onset of Post Traumatic Foreclosure Disorder.
Later, a psychologist specializing in neurological conditions confirmed it: my condition resulted from years of chronic stress, and she diagnosed me with PTSD, anxiety, and depression directly linked to being defrauded from my home.
One Story Among Millions
Between 2007 and 2010, there were 3.8 million foreclosures in the United States. Many were fraudulent.
Behind every foreclosure was a human story. A family. A dream. And often, devastating health consequences that banks will never acknowledge or measure.
How many musicians lost their ability to play?
How many artists could no longer create?
How many parents developed chronic conditions from the stress?
How many people's lives were permanently altered?
We'll never know the full human cost of foreclosure fraud. But we know it's staggering.
My case is especially tragic because my loss is so specific and so complete — a professional drummer who can no longer drum. But multiply that kind of life-altering damage across millions of victims, and you begin to understand the true scale of the crime.
Foreclosures Article from the FRB of ChicagoThe Beat May Be Gone, But My Fight Isn't
I can no longer play the drums. I'm on permanent disability. Many mornings, even walking feels like climbing a mountain.
But Capital One and GreenPoint Mortgage didn't break my will.
They stole my home. They wrecked my credit. They took my health and my music career.
What they didn't take was my determination to expose what they did.
For over 17 years, I've fought to hold these banks accountable — not just for myself, but for the millions of other victims who lack the resources, knowledge, or health to fight back.
I've uncovered hard evidence of fraud. I hired forensic investigators. I've filed lawsuits. I've reached out to over a dozen regulatory agencies, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Michigan Attorney General.
And I'm telling my story — because the world needs to know what foreclosure fraud really costs.
"They knocked me down, but they didn't knock me out. My story is not over."
This Fight Matters
If I can prove that Capital One and GreenPoint Mortgage stole my home through fraud, it sets a legal precedent that could help millions of other victims.
But I need help. Legal fees. Court costs. Expert witnesses. Fighting a billion-dollar bank takes resources I no longer have.
Help me expose foreclosure fraud. Share my story.
Banks should not be able to destroy lives without consequence.
