Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and Melinda Haag, United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, today announced that on November 26, Walter Bruce Harrell, 72, of Montara, Calif., was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for bankruptcy fraud and for providing false statements in ... Read More »

Federal authorities have charged a former Los Angeles man with aggravated identity theft and having operated a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that promised to postpone foreclosure sales for more than 800 distressed homeowners. Glen Alan Ward, 47, of Canada, was indicted today in the Central District of California on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of ... Read More »

It’s probably a bad idea to start off with a negative but here it is, people in the debt relief industry are going to hate this article. Even friends of mine in the industry will be bummed. And why, because this article will tell you everything you need to look for when checking out a debt relief company to work ... Read More »

A recent article by the Florida Bar seems to also be relevant to those attorneys that are selling mass joinder litigation to go after banks that issued mortgages. The mass joinder sales reps frequently say it is a solution to help avoid foreclosure. Here is an excerpt of what the Florida Bar has said: The Florida Bar’s Ethics Hotline has ... Read More »

Charlotte “Dear Steve, I want to know how to find a credible loan modification company. Is there a list of fraudulent companies as to the consumer will know who not to do business with? I am having the hardest time trying to find anything on the internet which will inform me of fraudulent companies. I have a sell date on ... Read More »

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox recently announced the filing of 19 criminal complaints and a total of 69 charges against illegal advanced fee “foreclosure rescue” operations accused of defrauding Michigan families of thousands of dollars. Nine Michigan mortgage companies are accused of illegally charging homeowners facing foreclosure upfront fees for mortgage modification assistance. The defendants claimed they would help homeowners ... Read More »

As part of the agency’s continuing crackdown on scams that prey on financially distressed homeowners, the Federal Trade Commission announced legal actions against more than a dozen marketers accused of pitching bogus mortgage modification or foreclosure relief services. FTC settlement orders ban 16 marketers from the mortgage modification or foreclosure relief business. The promoter of a similar scam has been ... Read More »

Here is the latest report out from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network regarding loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams. – Source Early reports of loan modification/foreclosure rescue scams identified subjects purporting to be loan modification or foreclosure rescue specialists. These subjects targeted financially troubled homeowners with promises of assistance. These scams involved the homeowners signing quit claim deeds, and resulted ... Read More »

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that nine men engaged in a Southern California boiler room, tricked out in high-roller style with a roulette wheel and other casino equipment, have been charged with 97 criminal counts for stealing at least $2.3 million from more than 1,500 desperate homeowners who were promised loan modifications but received no relief. ... Read More »

A Brooklyn man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he and a partner made about $1 million by scamming Bergenfield, Paterson and Elizabeth homeowners in a foreclosure scheme. Garth Celestine, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role as the co-owner of Home Savers Consulting Corp., a now-defunct company based in Brooklyn and Long Island, the ... Read More »

The ringleader in a Carlsbad, California-based scam that tricked mostly Spanish-speaking homeowners into paying for a bogus service to stave off foreclosure was convicted of 160 felony counts by a San Diego jury Tuesday, according to the district attorney’s office. William Hutchings, 62, of San Diego faces 49 years in prison on the convictions that included conspiracy, grand theft, rent ... Read More »

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today joined the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) and the State Bar of California in warning Californians to avoid forensic loan audits, the loan-modification industry’s latest “phony foreclosure-relief service,” in which homeowners pay up-front fees for a forensic review of their lender’s practices, but are provided no actual foreclosure relief. “Forensic loan audits ... Read More »

The Federal Trade Commission moved to protect distressed homeowners from the promoters of bogus foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification services by proposing a new rule that would forbid companies to charge up-front for these services. Instead, companies could only collect payment after providing services. “Homeowners facing foreclosure or struggling to make mortgage payments shouldn’t have to contend with fraudulent ‘companies’ ... Read More »

In a look into the future when more lawyers are going to find themselves in hot water from current foreclosure avoidance scams, yet another lawyer has been found guilty of running a foreclosure rescue or mortgage rescue scam. This time the show unfolded in Pennsylvania. The government alleged that Doherty and four others targeted homeowners facing foreclosure, promised to help ... Read More »

So there’s this company, Core Pac Solutions that promised to be a big help if you were facing mortgage trouble. Let us share with you how we can help. For most Americans your most important purchase and most valuable investment is your home. When experiencing a financial hardship and the threat of losing your home, protecting your most expensive investment ... Read More »