David Feingold, a lawyer out of Florida, who I first reported about in relation to Elimadebt, has surfaced again as part of a reported FTC $18.8 million settlement regarding his actions in the loan modification business.
The Balm Beach Post is reporting that David J. Feingold, Sean Zauser, and David Zauser have agreed to pay back $18.8 million which will be distributed to victims of their First Universal Lending company.
According to the federal complaint, the company violated telemarketing sales rules by assuring clients it could modify mortgages in “all, or virtually all” cases, yet actually doing so in very few.
In most cases, the FTC said after a customer paid a fee, the company ignored phone calls or falsely claimed that loan negotiations were going well. Clients also allegedly were told to stop paying their mortgages as a way to influence lenders to reduce payment amounts.
Feingold is named in the complaint as an officer or manager of First Universal Lending, and also represented the company in the federal case. In testimony he disputed his depth of managerial involvement, but acknowledged he helped First Universal get started and paid the company’s rent when its initial business of home loans fell apart following the real estate boom.
The boom, however, was good for First Universal.
“As [Sean Zausner's] business exploded and grew, my law practice also did fairly well,” Feingold testified. “I was very fortunate and had very good results in trials, and, you know, life seemed pretty darn good, pretty darn good.” – Source
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