According to the Federal Trade Commission, the agency responsible for preventing fraudulent, unfair and deceptive business practices, foreclosure rescue scams are actually not as difficult to spot since they usually take the following forms:
It seems that wherever there is an easy buck to be made (or stolen in this case) scam artists are on the prowl catching unsuspecting victims in their deceitful webs of misinformation. Earlier this year the biggest scams being perpetuated were around the IRS stimulus checks. Now with the housing slump and resultant spike in foreclosures around the country, foreclosure rescue scams have come to the
In the following press release Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced a settlement with Harvest Properties Inc. of Tucson, resolving a consumer fraud lawsuit that alleged foreclosure rescue fraud and mortgage fraud by the company and its owners. The settlement was filed on Friday, September 19. The settlement, which comes in the form of a consent judgment and does not constitute an
With the nation suffering from the high national foreclosure rate, it is only right that the federal government is busy looking for a long-term solution to this crisis. Among its efforts is the foreclosure rescue bill that will allow troubled homeowners to re-finance their existing mortgages and avail of government-backed loans instead.
Brockton, MA attorney Alec G. Sohmer, Timeless Funding Inc., and Carteret Mortgage ran a foreclosure rescue scam targeting homeowners in dire economic straights.
Sohmer deceived the homeowners into signing documents supposedly allowing them to stay in their homes by making monthly payments to Sohmer, and then to "repurchase" their homes from Sohmer by obtaining new financing through Tim
The following press release the Minnesota Attorney General, Lori Swanson, announced the filing of six new lawsuits in Hennepin County District Court against foreclosure consulting companies that charged Minnesota homeowners up to $2,375 to save their homes but failed to provide promised assistance that would help them retain home ownership. “We do not tolerate mortgage foreclosure consultants taking advantage of struggling homeowners who are already between a rock and a hard place in the worsening mortgage meltdown,” Swanson said. The lawsuits filed today are against: (1) National Foreclosure Relief, Inc., a Nevada corporation with a California business address; (2) Lewis Loss Mitigation, Inc. of Alabama, which also does business as Stop Foreclosure Center and Lewis and Associa
Homeowners’ Assistance Association, Lender’s Foreclosure Relief, Inc., and United Home Savers, LLP, were sued by Ohio Attorney General Lisa Madigan based on allegations that these three companies falsely promised to help consumers save their homes after falling behind on their mortgage payments. The Homeowners’ Assistance Association complaint was filed against the company and Casimar Cerniaukas (also known as ”Casey Cerni”) and Jim Hamilton. The complaint also names as …Read More...
Highland Financial, a Post Falls, Idaho business that offers mortgage foreclosure rescue services, will change its business and advertising practices. Under the terms of a legal settlement, Highland Financial agrees to comply with the Idaho Consumer Protection Act in its future advertising and promotions. According to RealtyTrac, an organization that compiles foreclosure statistics, Idaho has experienced a 158% increase in foreclosure filings since October 2006. Due to the mortgage foreclosure crisis, foreclosure …Read More...
Maurice McDowall, Andrea Moore, Aleksander Lipkin, a/k/a “Alex”, Marina Dubin, Kerri Clarke, and Michael Irving were charged with participating in a wide-ranging “home foreclosure rescue” scheme, in which they defrauded homeowners of the titles to their homes and caused lenders to hold millions of dollars of bad loans. Moore, Lipkin, Dubin, and Irving were arrested earlier today, and McDowall was arrested on the charges earlier in Puerto Rico. Clarke …Read More...
In the following press release the FBI in Cincinnati, Ohio announced that Randall L. Webb, age 50, of Springboro pleaded guilty in United States District Court here today to mail fraud for soliciting homeowners who were in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure, and falsely promising them he could provide affordable solutions and assistance to enable the homeowners to keep their homes and not put them in a more difficult position. Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Habbo G. Fokkena, United States Trustee, Region 9, (Ohio/Michigan); Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Division; and Gerald A. O’Farrell, Assistant Inspector In Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced the plea entered today before Senior United States District Judge Walter Herbert Rice. Judge Rice set Webb’s sentencing for February 4, 2008, at 11 a.m. Mail fraud carries a maximum possible se
In the following press release Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (pictured left) today obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against an unlawful Texas-based foreclosure rescue operation targeting struggling homeowners in the state and across the country. According to court documents, Southern Residential, LLC, and its director and manager, Edward Casey, fraudulently advertised that the company could save homeowners from imminent foreclosure. The enforcement action also names affiliated defendants National Homeowners Assistance, Stephanie Casey, Matthew Casey and Linda McCann. Under the temporary restraining order, the defendants must stop falsely soliciting distressed homeowners immediately. Although the order only applies in Texas, homeowners nationwide are protected by the asset freeze. “At a time when regulators, policy makers and stakeholders are working to help struggling homeowners, a few unscrupulous operators are scheming to profiteer at homeowners
In the following press release Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the September 14, 2007 filing of a lawsuit against a Florida–based mortgage rescue company for allegedly violating Illinois ’ recently-enacted Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, as well as the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The new act was initiated by Madigan in 2006 and became law in January 2007. It prohibits mortgage rescue companies from requiring payment from consumers prior to completing all the terms of a rescue contract. It also requires rescue businesses to fully disclose to a homeowner the exact terms and nature of the proposed rescue services and their rights to cancel the contract. Madigan’s suit alleges that Florida-based Mortgage Assistance Solutions, LLC, and its managing member Michael Thomas Stoller, of Beverly Hills , California , defrauded desperate Illinois homeowners who enrolled in its “Fresh Start” program by falsely promising to negotiat
In the following press release Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a proposed settlement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston with five mortgage lenders that funded loans which facilitated fraudulent foreclosure rescue transactions orchestrated by Brockton attorney Alec Sohmer. The Attorney General, together with the Chapter 7 trustee in Sohmer’s bankruptcy case, have requested bankruptcy court approval of the settlement, which impacts 26 residential properties that are part of Sohmer’s bankruptcy case. On Monday, the Attorney General filed a Motion to Amend the Complaint to add the closing attorney who conducted the transactions, another attorney who referred distressed homeowners to Sohmer in exchange for a fee, and a mortgage broker who arranged financing for many of the deals. “These fraudulent foreclosure rescue transactions never would have occurred without the participation of mortgage lenders and closing attorneys that represented mor
In the following press release North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper today announced the end to a scheme by a Charlotte company that promised to buy homes from people who needed to sell quickly but instead left them vulnerable to foreclosure.“This scam hurt both homeowners and people who hoped to become homeowners,” said Cooper. “We’ve put a stop to their phony ‘We Buy Homes’ promises so no more consumers will be caught up in this scheme.”Under a consent judgment approved today by Wake County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Titus, Cooper has put a stop to a scheme by Charlotte Home Solutions and its manager William Keaton that purported to buy homes and then resell them to buyers with poor credit. Keaton is barred from operating this “We Buy Homes” scam and must pay the state $100,000 if he fails to comply with today’s judgment. Cooper previously won a consent judgment against Keaton’s partner Steven Huff in May. Huff
In the following press release United States Attorney Rachel K. Paulose announced that A Prior Lake, Minnesota, mortgage broker and his assistant have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly bilking vulnerable homeowners. Michael Fiorito, formerly a mortgage broker at American Allian Mortgage Company in Wayzata, and Kristin Louis Jerde of Minneapolis, who worked as Fiorito’s assistant, were charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of engaging in a financial transaction with criminally derived property. The indictment was unsealed late Wednesday, following the arrest of Fiorito and Jerde. After making their initial appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon, Jerde was released on bond.The indictment in this case alleges that from January of 2004 through February of 2007, Fiorito and Jerde schemed to defraud homeowners who were either in foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments. Specifically, they allegedly caused home
Idahoans facing foreclosure on a home mortgage should be wary of fraudulent “foreclosure rescue” scams according to Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Department of Finance Director Gavin Gee. Wasden and Gee encourage anyone who may be facing foreclosure to become informed about their options. ”Talk to your lender as soon as you realize there may be a problem meeting your mortgage payments,” Gee advised. ”Letting time pass, with the mortgage unpaid, will only …Read More...
Peter Torkild, 43, and Julia Torkild, 46, husband and wife, were charged with theft, forgery, money-laundering and use of proceeds of criminal profiteering in connection with an alleged foreclosure rescue scheme. ”Abusive foreclosure rescue schemes are becoming more common as foreclosures mount. ” Washington Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Jacobsen said. “It’s a problem nationwide. We have seen it become more of a problem in Washington state.” The alleged victims in the case, …Read More...
Preliminary injunctions were issued in Massachusetts against nineteen individuals and companies, allegedly involved in mortgage fraud and a foreclosure rescue scheme, to stop them from unfair and deceptive business practices. These individuals were named in two separate lawsuits filed as part of a continued effort to uncover predatory conduct in mortgage brokering and lending. The first of the two lawsuits filed alleges a foreclosure rescue scheme. The suit was filed against 19 defendants: …Read More...
Ramzy Moumneh, a/k/a Ramsey Moumneh, Kamal Moumneh, a/k/a Kamal Renno, Chuong X. Dam, Demetrios J. Voiklis, a/k/a James Voiklis, and Kimberly Brothers were all found guilty of multiple counts stemming from an indictment alleging a foreclosure rescue scheme. The jury found the five defendants guilty as follows: Ramzy Moumneh, a/k/a Ramsey Moumneh, 37, Tampa, Florida - Conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire …Read More...
A settlement was reached with three Washington-based businesses and their owners accused of taking unfair advantage of homeowners and other property owners facing tax foreclosure. At the same time, the office filed civil charges against two other individuals connected to the case. Fiscal Dynamics, Inc. and Cumulative LLC, Tacoma, Washington, and Northwest Assets, Seattle, Washington, denied the state’s allegations but agreed to pay a total of $290,000 in consumer restitution. Two …Read More...
Sammy Quick, 29, Brookpark, Ohio, and Brian Cicerchi, 29, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, partners at First Primary Mortgage Inc., deceived a woman out of her home through a “foreclosure rescue scheme” according to court records. The victim got behind in mortgage payments and sought help from mortgage broker, First Primary Mortgage, Inc, located at 6902 Pearl Road, Brooklyn, Ohio, in hopes of keeping her home. Sammy Quick was indicted …Read More...
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against multiple businesses and individuals who operated a mortgage rescue scheme that targeted Illinois homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure. The suit, filed against Eyes Have Not Seen, Inc. (EHNS), its president, Charles T. White, Jr., Debra Gray and Darius K. Monroe as agents of EHNS, Mutual Trust Funding, formerly known as Greater Investment …Read More...
