I’ve written before about Lynn Szymoniak, the foreclosure victim and anti-fraud expert who lodged a one-woman crusade against the banks’ faulty assignments and documents. You may know her from her appearance on 60 Minutes, blowing the whistle on foreclosure fraud. As part of the foreclosure fraud settlement, Szymoniak won an $18 million judgment for her work in helping expose document fraud. However, she has to wait at least a couple months for the formal blessing of the settlement by a US district court judge to reap her reward. Meanwhile, she is still in foreclosure proceedings with Deutsche Bank. And they are going out of their way to humiliate her.

The pool guy, plumber and lawn man for a Palm Beach Gardens homeowner who recently won an $18 million settlement in a foreclosure-related lawsuit are being sought for questioning by the bank still seeking to repossess her home.

Lynn Szymoniak, a 63-year-old attorney who specializes in white collar crime, shot to national fame last year when she was featured on the CBS news show 60 minutes for her role in uncovering widespread mortgage and foreclosure fraud after finding it in her own 2008 case [...]

Deutsche Bank, which filed to foreclose on $759,428 in unpaid principal against Szymoniak in 2008, sent notice to her attorney Monday that it plans to depose eight companies that have done work on her home including her plumber, air conditioning repair firm, landscaper and two pool service companies.

Szymoniak said because her loan was taken out to renovate her home, including installing hardwood floors and upgrading bathrooms, the bank may be trying to determine whether she actually used the money for the designated purpose.

Keep in mind, Szymoniak has said publicly that she plans to pay off the mortgage when she gets her judgment awarded. And surely Deutsche Bank knows that. Their goal is not to take possession of the home; they want to besmirch Szymoniak’s character and reputation, for future court fights in Florida. They also want to bleed as much in court costs out of Szymoniak as they can, in a totally vindictive manner.

This is not the first time Deutsche Bank has gone after Szymoniak. They re-filed their foreclosure case last year, adding Szymoniak’s son, a graduate student living in New York, to the case. This harmed her son’s credit rating and reputation as well (Deutsche eventually dropped that claim). You have to conclude that Deutsche Bank is on a mission to destroy Lynn Szymoniak and her family.

This is the new way of justice in America. If you are someone of repute with a lot of power and influence, almost nothing you do can get you in legal trouble. If you challenge power, you will be harassed and pestered with any means necessary.