It looks like the $hit is hitting the legal fan for some more Orange County loan modification scams and I couldn’t be happier. Maybe some of their counter parts will see the news and realize that it is only a matter of time before they too are raided, sued and shut down.
Agents served search warrants on two homes on Roshelle Lane and one on Merrill Hill. The homes are connected to Terence Green Sr. and Stefano Marrero of Home Relief Services and Christopher Diener of the Diener Law Firm.
Home Relief Services, LLC
Brown Monday sued Home Relief Services, LLC., its executives Terence Green Sr. and Stefano Marrero, the Diener Law Firm and its principal attorney Christopher L. Diener for bilking thousands of homeowners out of thousands of dollars each.
Home Relief Services charged homeowners over $4,000 in upfront fees, promised to lower interest rates to 4 percent, convert adjustable-rate mortgages to low fixed-rate loans and reduce principal up to 50 percent within 30 to 60 days. None of the known victims received a modification with the assistance of the defendants.
In some cases, these companies also sought to be the lenders’ agent in the short-sale of their clients’ homes. In doing so, the defendants attempted to use their customers’ personal financial information for their own benefit.
Home Relief Services and the Diener Law Firm directed homeowners to stop contacting their lender because the defendants would act as their sole agent and negotiator.
Brown’s lawsuit contends that the defendants violated:
- California Business and Professions Code section 17500 by claiming a 95 percent success rate and promising consumers significant reductions in the principal balance of their mortgages;
- California Business and Professions Code section 17200 by failing to perform on promises made in exchange for upfront fees;
- California Civil Code section 2945.4 for unlawfully collecting upfront fees for loan modification services;
- California Business and Professions Code section 2945.3 by failing to include cancellation notices in their contracts;
- California Civil Code section 2945.45 by not registering with the Attorney General’s office as foreclosure consultants; and
- California Penal Code section 487 for grand theft.
Brown is seeking $10 million in civil penalties, full restitution for victims, and a permanent injunction to keep the company and the defendants from offering foreclosure consultant services.
Two other companies with the same management were also involved in the effort to deceive homeowners: Payment Relief Services, Inc. and Golden State Funding, Inc.
Links:
FTC – Operation Loan Lies:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/07/090715casesummary.pdf
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-diener/13/1a7/492
More from the OC Register:
The district attorney has two prosecutors, two investigators and a paralegal focused just on real estate fraud, she said.
The real estate squad is paid for, at least partially, with money from a $3 fee on the filing of certain real estate documents that was approved by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year.
Henderson was more blunt in her speech and in a later interview.
“We want to send people to jail,” she said.
PLEASE HELP ! BACK IN FEB, 2009 I CONTACTED NATIONAL
MORTGAGE COUNSELING GROUP FOR A LOAN MODIFICATION. I WON’T GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS HERE, BUT AS OF NOW, ALL I HAVE IS THE RUNAROUND. DIENER LAW FIRM WAS SUPPOSE TO NEGOTIATE THE LOAN AND NOW I FIND OUT IT’S ALL A SCAM. WHAT SHOULD I DO ?
I would contact the FTC and attorney general. You could also locate the attorneys and threaten to turn them into the California BAR because that always seems to work in getting a refund. Be thatsqueaky wheel that calls and emails them daily and you should get help or paid to go away.
The lawyer Christopher really has to go to the hell because
he has taken advantages of people who are barely making living and yet try to keep their houses by paying money that they can barely afford or even borrowed from others. Since they go on a bankruptcy we have no way to get our refund from them. I wonder if there is anyway to sue them as a criminal case.
You can possibly call the Orange County DA and also file a complaint with the California BAR which is the governing authority for attorneys.
I hope these jerks pay big time for the things that they have done. My husband has been battling cancer and a loan modification could have helped us instead these assholes took advantage of us. I hope there is justice.
I have also been scammed!!! I have been trying to get my refund since last Dec. They took my money in Oct.08′. I cant believe this happened to me. I will retaliate!! I will call the OC DA and the General attourney for my area and call the board on the lawyer that was working alonge with the scammy business. Dont let them get away with this. Lawyer fees may cost a bit, but it will be a business that wont get away with criminalizing innocent homeowners.
I got scammed to by Home Relief Services. Back in Oct 08. I tried to get my money back from them two months after the bank draw and still am trying to get it back! I have faxed them multiple refund demands and was in contact with Caroline Timoteo who was part of the, “The Diener Law Group” that was helping HRS with the scams. I flooded her emails and she never could give me a straight answer, then all of a sudden her email had been shut down. I am still waiting for my $2000.00. HRS stole from me and my husband.
To all those people ripped off! Don’t wait to file civil actions against the people who have ripped you off. The DA can not get you your money back. They file criminal charges and send people to jail and only file large class actions. If you want your money back you need to file your own civil action. The DA can not represent private citizens in civil actions and can not get money back in criminal actions. Make sure you file a complaint with the DA though, the more they have on file the more likely they will pursue the scammers.
GOOD DAY MY NAME IS THOMAS JANULEWICZ, I HAD PAID $2500 TO HOME RELIEF SERVICES THAT WAS ON LAST FEBRUARY AND I WAS TOLD THAT I SHOULD NOT PAY IT FOR LAWYER FEE. I AM DEAF AND SENIOR CITIZEN AND FINALLY I GOT A LOAN MODIFCATION BUT IT WAS ON AUGUST, PRETTY LATE, HUH? I REALIZED THAT AURORA LOAN SERVICES HAD WORKED WITH HOME RELIEF SERVICES, I HAVE NO WAY TO KNOW IF THESE ARE LEGAL OR NOT BUT AURORA WORKS ON MY CASE, WHAT ABOUT MY $2500 TO HOME RELIEF . SHOULD I GET REFUND AND LEARNED THAT HUD STATED BAN ON LAWYER FEE.
Christopher Diener is located at 18881 Van Karman Ave suite 1600 Irvine CA 92612…he took 1500 from me (a single mom) and three kids. I am still trying to get a modification. At the time I had filed for a modifcation with his firm my mother-in-law was also trying – she had five houses as a retired 72yr old…and she now lost them all. And a fellow parent from my kids school. What a devastation, we are all struggling so much.
home relief services..is a scam..how can one try to get there refund…i tried to take them to small claims but, its hard to get the subpoenaed or served.. they probably went out of business and don’t have a physical address or anyone to represent them..so how the hell i’m I supposed to take H.R. S..to court if there’s no one to sue….I just think the law sucks…that scams can rip hardworking people off and it is so hard to try and get your money back…i spent too much time and money trying to sue these crooks…any suggestions from anyone whom had success would be..welcomed…
any suggestions on how to sue Home relief services..and has anyone been successful in getting there refunds back..i tried taking them to small claims ..but..have not gotten them subpoenaed or served… there’s no one to sue….and even if you win there’s no guarantee that they’ll pay you back….any suggestions…
Chris Diener better be disbarred or I will fly out there personally. I also want him in jail where he belongs. Being a lawyer places him in a better position to do time being a “lawyer.”
Voters Be Aware! Jerry Brown is a liar!!!
I consider my self a very savvy person and when I saw that Jerry Brown was doing against load modification scammer I was interest to say the least. But as I’m researching more I’ve notice that he is using this lawyers names creating case against them with FALSE information and paying people to come with FALSE accusation against attorney for the only purpose of creating his political campaign I was absolutely disgusted.
California State Attorney is using his position and abusing his power, he is creating a false sense or security in all of us. DO NOT VOTE FOR HIM!!!! Most of this attorneys are being wrongly accused of things they did not do. If he is doing this to them to get ahead imagine what he is willing to do to the rest of the community.
Jerry Brown doesn’t care if you got scammed or not what he cares is that he generates publicity so he can win election votes all on our tax dollars. He is not fighting for you or me he is fighting for a political office. HE IS A SCAMMER!!
You must be the lawyer accused in these blog posts or he paid you to comment on the internet. The attorney referenced in these blog posts, Christopher Deiner has not only been named by the California AG as a con man, but also the California Bar has called him a substantial threat to the public. AG Brown has done his job to protect the public and it appears that Attorney Diener has made victims of the public.
Maybe next time he has a chance to make a living honestly he will think twice about doing business with a bunch of mortgage broker scum and hopefully he will place the public’s best interests before his pocket book?
Please correct the story above. The organization in California is named the Diener Law Group. The Diener Law Firm is a law firm in North Carolina not affiliated in any way with the Diener Law Group.
I paid $2500 back in 2008. Come to find out my lender never received my proposed monthly motrgage. What Home Relief Srevices should have promised is pain and suffering for you and your family. My house eventually foreclosed and now Im currently renting. Am I going to get my money back? If so how?
Home Relief Services took 1500dollars from to do a loan modification with wells fargo to save my home back jan 09. I trusted them. They told me if i didn’t get my loan modification i would receive all my 1500dollars back. I did do what wells fargo wanted for months and then they said owe that isn’t your loan mod and you aren’t getting one. Then only thing left to do was a short sale which mortg company rejected all;house foreclosed on oct 5 2010. I didn’t get what was promised to me so i should receive my money back.
tracie lay
I had to deal with the bank my self while trying to deal with this law firm. Finally got a modify thru my bank, cause of myself. Diener had made 2 phone calls in a 9 month period. BS is what Diener was dishing out and took my $2500, just another good lesson learned, don’t trust anyone but yourself.
To Jared Hammett on his above message, Diener Law Firm is the name on my visa statement (not group). North Carolina might be interested in that as well.
Best of luck to everyone trying to contact this guy Christopher Lee or Christopher Diener. I had his cell number at one time, I will try to find it.