It looks like this loan modification firm that was sued by the FTC is still very much in business
I wrote about the FTC actions against Crowder Law Group last month.
The FTC is suing these people and companies below involved in this operation that seems to doing business across the country.
FTC
VS.
- WASHINGTON DATA RESOURCES, INC.,
a Florida corporation, - OPTIMUM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, LLC,
a Nevada limited liability company also known
as Attorney Finance Services, LLC, and doing
business as Attorney Finance Services, - CROWDER LAW GROUP, P.A., a Florida
corporation, formerly lmown as Jackson, - Crowder & Associates, P .A., and doing business
as Legal Support Services, - RICHARD A. BISHOP, individually and as a
member of Optimum Business Solutions, LLC, - BRENT MCDANIEL, individually and as an
officer of Washington Data Resources, Inc., - TYNA CALDWELL, individually,
- DOUGLAS A. CROWDER, individually and
as an officer of Crowder Law Group, P.A., - BRUCE MELTZER, individually and as an
officer of Crowder Law Group, P .A., - KATHLEEN LEWIS, alicia Kathy Lewis,
individually and as a member of Optimum
Business Solutions, LLC,
Apparently this loan modification firm and its co-defendants allegedly misrepresented their company as a government agency or affiliate when in fact they are far from it. Their sales postcards to homeowners stated, “You may qualify under the new government bailout to refinance your current mortgage . . . ”
The court immediately barred the practices and froze the defendants’ assets pending a hearing. You can view the actual FTC actions here.
Today there is an ad on the Inland Empire Craigslist legal services section that proves they haven’t froze any legal and possibly deceiving practices. In fact, if they are practicing anything, it is probably on how to defy the FTC orders and fly under the radar.
Here is the latest marketing ad for what is now, “Crowder Law Center.”
Service Offered: Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Personal Bankruptcy, Business Bankruptcy, Debt Reduction, Debt Settlement, Loan Modification, Mortgage Modification, Judgments, Credit Card Debt Reduction, Stop Foreclosure, Garnishment, Creditors, Help for Legal Matters, Help in Filing Bankruptcy Forms.
Bankruptcy Attorney & Lawyer Serving Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, Los Angeles County
This is an Advertisement
•Location: Corona
•it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID: 1493775238
Known phone numbers and adresses:
951-898-0875
Law Offices of Douglas A. Crowder
1307 West Sixth Street Suite 218
Corona, CA 92882
Ph: 951-898-0875
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law. Stipulated court orders are for settlement purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an admission by the defendants of a law violation. Stipulated orders have the full force of law when signed by the judge.
The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m currently cleaning up a mess left by Mr. Crowder and his cronies. If all of his assets were frozen, how can he afford to send out more post-cards? I’m contacting the FTC in the morning. Thanks for ferreting this out.
These people took $2500 FROM ME said they would help me so I wouldn’t loose my home. My morgage Company just stated forclosure. Becuase people feel they can scam people I am going to loose my home.
Moe: This is Bruce Meltzer who was named along with the others in this FTC action. I owned Crowder Law Group for only three months and frankly was also scammed by Mr. Crowder and I did not realize the extent of the problem until it was too late. I did everything possible to try to change things but they were already too far gone. It is very disheartening to see Mr. Crowder advertising again as if there were nothing wrong. I am trying to save what is left of my reputation and would welcome the opportunity to speak to you further and see if there is anything I can do to help people who have had problems. I look forward to hearing from you.
Moe: This is Bruce Meltzer, who was named along with the others in the above FTC action. I owned Crowder Law Group for only three months (from August 09 until November). Frankly, I believe that I was also scammed by Mr. Crowder since I did not realize the extent of the problems until I became more involved. I tried to do everything possible to change things but they were already too far gone. It is very disheartening to see this advertisement as though nothing was wrong. I am trying to save what is left of my reputation and would welcome the opportunity to talk to you further. Perhaps I could help some of the people that have had problems. I hope to hear from you soon.
Bruce never changed one word in the deceptive advertisement pieces in his 3 month tenure. He turned over management of this company to the woman responsible for many people losing their homes. Under Bruce’s tenure, the woman running the company had her 17 year old daughter calling up mortgage companies for workout plans after collecting 2,000.00 in fees, and representing to clients that attorneys actually did the negotiations. Tyna Caldwell, executive director, instituted a policy when clients called in to complain about hearing nothing from their “paralegal”, we were not to give the message from the client to the “paralegal” department. Under Bruce and Tyna, they instituted a new policy to call the mortgage company immediately upon collecting money from the poor client, so even if a person decided not to go through with their phony workout plan and cancel,and had not sent in their paperwork, the company could say they had contacted the lender and would not have to give out a refund. Now this “phone call” many times was made by Tyna’s daughter, who I believe is 17 years old. Does that sound like cleaning things up,Bruce?
Bruce,
Make sure you tell them in court how Jon and Tyna changed the qualifications to accept any person who called in and had money was “automatically” approved, no matter the circumstances, while YOU owned the company. Instead of having a deliberate system of actually looking at the client’s financial situation and attempting to see if they even qualified, your henchmen decided, in their words, to ” enroll them all, and let the paralegal department sort them out”. It just burns my backside watching you run the ” I had no clue what was going on ” bit your note suggests.
Be advised that this website is also part of this scam. It seems to managed by Tyna Caldwell.
http://www.virtuale-partners.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tynacaldwell