Mortgage Problem Casts a Cloud Over Home for the Terminally Ill

State health officials are investigating whether a home for the terminally ill on the shores of Westlake Lake should be allowed to continue to care for its patients now that a bank is moving to take the property back from the owner.

Isobel Oxx, who angered neighbors last year when she decided to open the home for the terminally ill, is no longer owner of the Leeward Circle house after failing to make mortgage payments, according to Mike Ketchell of GE Mortgage, the loan servicer for the lender, Texas Commerce Bank.

Oxx--a supporter of the Freemen of Montana and a Palmdale woman accused of carrying out an $800-million check-fraud scam--confirmed she has refused to make payments because she believes the home loan is fraudulent. She refused to elaborate, saying she is considering legal action and has no plans to vacate the house.

“It’s too complex to explain,” Oxx said. “The concept is hard for people to understand. There are a lot of things going on in this country that people don’t understand.”

Bill Jennings, district administrator of the local branch of the state Department of Health Services, said his office is monitoring the situation at Oxx’s home to ensure that its four patients are provided with care.

Oxx, who has not received an eviction notice, has a license with the state to operate a home for the dying. But the license would be void if Oxx is no longer owner of the property, Jennings said.

“All I can say is that we know about the allegations and the matter is being investigated,” Jennings said. “Certainly, our primary concern is the welfare of the patients. If someone loses control of their property, and they are taking care of patients, that is cause for concern.”

Oxx drew the ire of her neighbors--and a lawsuit from her homeowners association--when she decided to turn her four-bedroom home on Leeward Circle into My Father’s House, a congregate care facility for the dying. Some Westlake residents were concerned that traffic from ambulances and hearses as well as the sight of the sick would ruin the tranquillity of their neighborhood.

Oxx, who filed a counter suit, and the Windward Shores Homeowners Assn. agreed to a truce earlier this year. But that was before the problems with mortgage payments that have become her latest trouble.

Oxx, a former Realtor, failed to make payments to Texas Commerce Bank on a $500,000 loan she took out to refinance her mortgage, according to GE Capital. The company filed a notice of default with Ventura County in May, claiming Oxx was behind $29,942 in payments. Last month, the company filed a notice with Ventura County that the house would be put up for auction Sept. 18 in Camarillo.

In a strange turn of events, Oxx and some friends attended the auction and tried to buy back the home with a handful of silver dollars, according to a person familiar with the case. But the offer was rejected, and the auctioneer, who had set the minimum bid at $555,000, ended the sale with the property going back to Texas Commerce Bank, according to GE Capital.

“She believes American currency is no good because it is not based on gold or silver reserves anymore,” said Gary Gottlieb of Bay View Investments in Westlake Village, which has been hired to sell the house. “I told one of our people about [the trustee’s sale], and he asked, ‘Did she offer silver dollars?’ This is not the first time this has happened.”

Gottlieb said he is waiting until attorneys from Texas Commerce Bank serve Oxx with an eviction notice before he begins trying to sell the house. He added that he has received a letter from Oxx warning him to stay away from the property because she is planning to pursue legal action.

Gottlieb said he is glad Oxx refinanced her original $450,000 mortgage in 1994, because his company was the lender.

“We’re just happy we got our money from her before she decided not to honor loans anymore,” Gottlieb said. “All the neighbors on that street are my friends now. They just want her out.”

Oxx, a 65-year-old widow, has attended court hearings in support of Broderick, a Palmdale woman whose views on the federal government, monetary system and checks in particular closely resemble those of Montana Freeman leader Leroy Schweitzer.

The Freemen and other members of the so-called Patriot movement believe the federal government is illegal and has no power over them once they renounce their citizenship. They also believe that paper money issued by the government is worthless.

Broderick has hosted numerous seminars teaching people how to write a “comptroller’s warrant” against the U.S. government--worthless documents that have been converted into free money by her disciples, according to court documents. Broderick and her supporters believe the checks--backed by millions of dollars in unsettled claims against the government--should be valid. Oxx has said she has attended Broderick’s seminars and shares her views about the government.

Earlier this year, Oxx attended a court hearing in Los Angeles where U.S. attorneys obtained an injunction against Broderick to stop issuing the checks.

“She’s got a very generous heart,” Oxx told The Times in April, explaining her support of Broderick. “Isn’t everybody in the United States in debt?”