From the category archives:

Homeowner Scams

Help Modify Now & Consumer Resource Law Services: Homeowner says they are a scam!

by Moe Bedard

Submitted by a Ripped Off Homeowner
Dear Moe,

My advice to all who read this would be to beware of anyone claiming that they can do better then you at negotiating with your lender. I paid $3,000 to “Help Modify Now” out of Newport Beach, California last April and am afraid that I have become yet another [...]

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California DRE Looking Into 1,3000 Loan Modification Scams

by Moe Bedard

“These people were taking advantage of people at the end of their ropes,” said Davi, speaking at the O.C. Coastal Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors. “And they are so prevalent.”
Many scam artists see the issuance of a desist-and-refrain order as a cost of doing business, Davi said. Often, they’re able to reopen under [...]

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30 Nevada Loan Modification Companies Face Closure

by Moe Bedard

Nearly 30 loan modifications companies will be shut down Tuesday for not following a new law.
The Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending is closing the companies because they failed to meet their obligations to get a minimum $75,000 surety bond. The bond is a provision meant to protect consumers who may have been hurt by the [...]

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Government Wants School Children and Homeowners to Spot Scams

by Moe Bedard

And it is one of the first places targeted in the homeowner education campaign launched on Monday by government agencies, local leaders and housing advocates to stop scammers preying on desperate borrowers nationwide.
Officials do not know how many scams have been perpetrated among millions of American families who have lost their homes or face foreclosure. [...]

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Loan Modification Employees Beaten and Tortured

by Moe Bedard

Prosecutors have charged five people in Los Angeles in the torturing and robbing of two men who operated a loan modification business. Apparently the two men had promised to save their home and when these promises failed, they sought revenge.
Daniel Weston and Mary Ann Parmelee, both 52, allegedly sought loan modifications from Lamond Dean and [...]

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California Attorney Christopher L. Diener Labled Substantial Threat by State Bar

by Moe Bedard

You can call it lazy, but in reality this is theft by deception. Attorneys using their licenses to steal under the guise of helping consumers avoid foreclosure are the lowest form of scum on the earth. They prey on the weak for their financial gain.
‘Substantial Threat’
The State Bar said Diener, principal attorney for Home Relief Services [...]

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Loan modification scams continue in Nevada

by Moe Bedard

Boxes of complaints have poured into the state’s Business and Industry Department on people scamming homeowners out of thousands, claiming they can help modify loans but instead never do a thing.
“Weed out bad actors. When you put requirements in place, a lot of them will drop off, hopefully, because they have no intention of operating [...]

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Lincoln Lending Services & 1st Loan Modification of America: Lawsuit alleges owner scammed homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Back in March, Lincoln Lending’s Miami office was shut down by state prosecutors following numerous consumer complaints. Tuesday, Miami Attorney Ricardo Corona announced he’s filed a class action lawsuit against the company to get his clients’ money back.
“There’s an estimated there could be as much as $15 Million from the business missing and unaccounted for,” [...]

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Parsa Law Group’s James Parsa no longer allowed to practice law

by Moe Bedard

California attorney James Parsa of the Parsa Law Group has been ordered by the State Bar to stop practicing law effective immediately on October, 16, 2009.
Mr. Parsa was operating a large loan modification firm out of Orange County since 2008 and it is unknown at the time what will happen to the many homeowners who may [...]

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California Bar targets attorneys Paul Lucas and Sean Rutledge

by Moe Bedard

Last month the California Bar announced a formal investigation of 16 licensed attorneys that are suspected of possible fraud. Yesterday, the State Bar of California filed petitions against two of those attorneys to officially put them out of business during the investigations.
The targets of the Barr are Paul Lucas of the Lucas Law Center and Sean [...]

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Maryland mortgage & credit scammers sentenced to prison

by Moe Bedard

President and Vice President of Financial Service Firms Sentenced in Metropolitan Money Store Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Father and Daughter Who Served as Officers of Mortgage Foreclosure Consulting Companies Responsible for Over $6 Million in Losses Under the Scheme, Including Almost $800,000 Deposited by the Daughter Into Her Personal Bank Account
FBI – GREENBELT, MD—U.S. District Judge Roger [...]

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Company banned by NC AG operating under new name

by Moe Bedard

The investigations Green told her about are part of what the AG’s office calls “Operation Loan Lies,” a nationwide crackdown on loan modification and foreclosure relief companies that local and state officials call “scams.” The office has obtained a preliminary injunction against 21st Century Legal Services. They also got a temporary restraining order for a [...]

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Record Number of Complaints Target Florida Loan Modification Lawyers

by Moe Bedard

As the state’s foreclosure crisis continues, loan modification and foreclosure defense have been become hot specialties for some attorneys. The state attorney general has received a record 756 complaints through August of this year about loan modifications involving attorneys. That compares with 61 similar complaints in all of 2008.
“There has definitely been a trend in [...]

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Bail denied for California mortgage fraud suspect

by Moe Bedard

SACRAMENTO, California—A federal judge has denied bail for a 28-year-old Sacramento man who was returned to California after an international manhunt.
Garret Griffith Gililland III remains behind bars after pleading not guilty to 24 charges alleging he participated in a $100 million mortgage fraud ring.
Gililland had requested bail, even though authorities said he fled the country [...]

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Nevada enacts law to stop loan modification scams

by Moe Bedard

The State of Nevada has ruled that every single loan modification consultant in Nevada will have to stop operations on Thursday if they don’t meet new requirements.
This stems from a law passed in May, which created new regulations for loan modifiers. Before that, anyone could call himself or herself a modifier. That led to a [...]

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Foreclosure chicanery not a funny lawyer joke

by Moe Bedard

But filing fake documents to establish the right to take possession of someone’s home? That’s not something a lawyer should do.
So what if that were suddenly happening in cases all over the nation? What if some law firms that specialize in bulk handling of mortgage foreclosures for the lending industry were having so much trouble [...]

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The Mortgage Machine Backfires

by Moe Bedard

The system also led to confusion. When MERS was involved, borrowers who hoped to work out their loans couldn’t identify who they should turn to.
As cases filed by MERS grew, lawyers representing troubled borrowers began questioning how an electronic registry with no ownership claims had the right to evict people. April Charney, a consumer lawyer [...]

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Scammers prey on homeowners looking for help

by Moe Bedard

Locally, a Pico Rivera business specializing in home modification loans drew the attention of sheriff’s fraud detectives when several clients showed up Sept.17 demanding answers.
The next day, deputies raided Your Dreams Come True Inc. on Slauson Avenue and later arrested Frank Candelaria, 47, for theft when he allegedly collected an advance fee in East Los [...]

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Why Authorities Haven’t Stopped the Foreclosure ‘Rescue’ Boom

by Moe Bedard

Four states have sued 21st Century, and at least three more have open investigations. Over 150 consumers from more than 30 states have filed complaints against 21st Century with the Better Business Bureau. No active firm has more complaints.
Yet the company forges on. Operating under a new name, Fidelity National Legal Services, it continues to [...]

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Is ACORN the bank’s propaganda puppets?

by Moe Bedard

The facts are that I have studied the foreclosure crisis for over two years and have kept an watchful eye on the non-profit industry to see what they were actually doing to help struggling homeowners. Many large non-profits like NACA and Neighborhood Works have done a fairly good job at combatting foreclosures and getting the [...]

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Cops raid California loan modification firm

by Moe Bedard

As I have stated many times before, if you are operating an illegal loan modifiction company, you will eventually get busted. If you are still in business, you are playing Russian Roulette. The HEAT that is on this industry is unbelievable and if you think that you are going to continue flying below the legal authorities radar, [...]

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California State Bar: 16 attorneys under investigation for loan modification disservice

by Moe Bedard

STATE BAR TAKES ACTION TO AID HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE CRISIS
MEDIA CONTACT:  Diane Curtis   415-538-2028   diane.curtis@calbar.ca.gov
San Francisco, September 18, 2009 — The State Bar of California, alarmed by the number of lawyers preying on vulnerable homeowners, today identified 16 attorneys who are under investigation for misconduct related to loan modification.
“In my 21 years in attorney discipline, [...]

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Suspect Loan Modification Firm Hit with Civil Charges, Accused of Scamming Consumers

by Moe Bedard

Following an ABC News investigation that exposed a suspect California loan modification company taking thousands of dollars from desperate homeowners while providing little to no help with their lenders, civil charges have been filed against the Nations Housing Modification Center (NHMC), the Federal Trade Commission announced today.
Former NHMC employees told ABC News the company was [...]

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Is the FBI getting ready to arrest the remaining loan mod cons?

by Moe Bedard

Living here in Southern California, I get to see all the same perps who sold subprime slime now selling loan modification snake oil. Some are doing it above board, but most of these companies are not and many of them are well known to be operating massive illegal operations across the whole United States.  As [...]

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New head of State Bar of California assails mortgage modification scammers

by Moe Bedard

The proliferation of complaints against lawyers who said they could help rescue clients threatened with foreclosure has hurt tens of thousands of people and confronted the bar with a mounting and costly disciplinary burden, said Howard Miller, a partner with the Los Angeles plaintiffs’ firm of Girardi & Keese.
“There are at least hundreds, and perhaps [...]

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California loan modification company CEO’s arrested for scams

by Moe Bedard

Maybe this story and video will wake up some of the remaining rogue loan modification companies that seem to be defying the law and operating in California like it is still the Wild, Wild, mortgage West.
Police from Santa Clara County, California arrested two San Jose loan modification company CEO’s in what is being reported as [...]

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Martin Andelman, ML Implode & Green Credit Solutions – A marriage made in homeowner hell?

by Moe Bedard

Submitted by a former ML Implode Blogger and Truth Speaker/Seeker:
If you are looking for information on Green Credit on the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, don’t expect to get straight answers and don’t expect your post not to be deleted.
I’ve been posting probing questions on the site, and my posts have either been moved to Idle Chatter [...]

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Mod by Lawyers – Moe, you saved us a lot of money and grief

by Moe Bedard

I would like to thank Moe and all of you for your posts. I went to Mod By Lawyers (aka The Firm) last week and I have to say they were very convincing. – Leslie the Homeowner
I get chills sometimes when I read these comments and emails. The awesome feeling I get from helping someone [...]

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Family loses home to Fed Mod loan modification scam

by Moe Bedard

Looks like another family will loose their home to the Federal Loan Modification Center/ Fed Mod nation wide scam. There must be thousands of families that are in the exact same position as the family below.
My only advice to victims of  the Fed Mod scam is to seek help immediately from a non-profit and cut your [...]

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Loan modification industry insider comments on Green Credit

by Moe Bedard

My clients are calling me like crazy, we as agents have done everything that we could, even at this very moment, while Green credit solutions is gone, and operating under different name. In my opinion that’s unethical, and more close to a scam. – Green Credit Ethnic Agent
I have worked very closely with Green Credit [...]

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Green Credit Solutions continues to elude homeowners & questions

by Moe Bedard

The Green Credit Solutions mystery continues as the loan modification rumors continue to fly around online around this shady Orange County, California company.
Are they still in business? Have they changed their name? Did the owners take off to Mexico? Can I get my money back? Why haven’t they been shut down?
So many questions and still [...]

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ABS Solutions – City of Carson in business with loan modification firm?

by Moe Bedard

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this article below from a local Southern California paper and I don’t think you will either.
Apparently the City of Carson (which is in Los Angeles County, California) has a foreclosure relief program that involves referring Carson city homeowners that are in foreclosure to a private “for profit” mortgage [...]

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New Scam of the Day – Do it yourself loan modification kits & $97 books

by Moe Bedard

I fricken knew this would happen and I failed to blog this prediction on my blog last week. But better late than never and maybe I can help you avoid getting scammed by what appears to be the new loan modification snake oil of choice for the remaining mortgage brokers (AKA cockbrokers) that are still very [...]

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I help people modifying their loans

by Moe Bedard

This comment was just left on my blog by a lady named Irene and I wanted to point out the claims made by this poster. Basically it is an advertisement for her services and not really a comment or anything of value.
ATTENTION HOMEOWNERS: DO NOT CALL IRENE OR THIS NUMBER BELOW!
This is only being posted to [...]

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Intellichoice Mortgage & Realty Services – DRE serves firm with cease and desist order

by Moe Bedard

This email about Intellichoice Mortgage and Real Estate Services  just came to me from either a worried homeowner or loan modification scam whistle-blower. I thought I would post the information on my blog to alert other homeowners and to also obtain feedback on the firm.
If you have any information about this company or have been [...]

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STATE BAR CONTINUES PURSUIT OF ATTORNEY LOAN MODIFICATION FRAUD

by Moe Bedard

California State Bar Press Release | San Francisco, August 12, 2009 — Continuing its aggressive pursuit of lawyers who commit professional misconduct by taking advantage of vulnerable homeowners, The State Bar of California announced today that it has obtained the resignations of two lawyers and filed charges against a third for their loan modification activities.
The [...]

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Green Credit Solutions / Law Center out of business?

by Moe Bedard

I have been blogging about Green Credit Solutions for the past few weeks.  This loan modification firm out of  Orange County California has been a major player in the Southland and across the US for the past year.
A few homeowners have been emailing me and I have been receiving many anonymous comments about the firm. So [...]

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Loan Modification attorney sues California Bar

by Moe Bedard

The loan modification industry is starting to resemble the mortgage industry’s infamous battlefield of blown up companies and unemployed or jailed salesmen. Only this time it was more like Hiroshima than Iraq and the once alive streets of snake oil salesman and sham law firms are starting to look more like a nuclear bomb just exploded.
The FTC, state AG’s, [...]

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Green Credit speaks

by Moe Bedard

Green Credit Solutions, Law Center, Holding or PacWest Funding (not sure what their true name is?) reached out on my blog in regards to a post I did two weeks ago called, Green Credit Law Center, Solutions – Tell us your story!
Not to my surprise, I received a lot of comments and what appeared to [...]

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The Williams Law Center is looking for more brokers – Cons still in business?

by Moe Bedard

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly.
This is how these rogue attorneys and brokers are marketing on the internet. I found this advertisement on a popular mortgage broker forum and it looks like they are aggressively looking for ambulance chasers to bring them business.
I even located (after only 10 minutes of research) that the FTC [...]

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Federal Loan Modification Center swindling homewowners again?

by Moe Bedard

It looks like the Federal Loan Modification Center/ Fed Mod may be back in business under a new name in Irvine, California. I received the tips via comments left on this blog and other forums on the internet.
http://loanworkout.org/2009/04/federal-loan-modification-center-aka-fed-mod-ftc-lawsuit/#comment-16002
Devastated by these CROOKS August 5, 2009 at 8:55 pm [edit]
After the FEDMOD doors were SHUT. Many of [...]

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“Home Savers” and Misbehaviors! FBI Arrests Two in Foreclosure Scheme

by Moe Bedard

NEWARK, NJ FBI Press Release—It’s the type of  story that is becoming increasingly more common: FBI Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced today the arrests of GARTH CELESTINE, age 44, of 535 Dean Street, Apartment 515, Brooklyn, New York; and PHIL A. SIMON, age, 34, of Brooklyn – both better known collectively as “Home [...]

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21st Century Real Estate – Beware of Realtors doing loan modifications

by Moe Bedard

I just blogged the story about 21st Century Legal Services operating illegally in several states. Now I want to show you how these creeps get business and swindle homeowners.
Not only is this company using notaries, but they are affiliated with or are the same owners that operate a real estate and investment brokerage in Rancho Cucamonga, California called 21ST [...]

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21st Century Legal Services – Loan Mod company gone wild?

by Moe Bedard

Journal Sentinel -
Officials with the state attorney general’s office said they are considering taking action against 21st Century after receiving complaints from Wisconsin residents.
But nothing has happened yet, and 21st Century is likely still doing business in the state, even though it’s not registered to do so.
 

The facts are that most of these mortgage brokers [...]

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American Loan Modifications – Are they legit?

by Moe Bedard

Homeowner Question:  Do you know anything about a modification company known as American Loan Modifications in FL? They are out of Pinecrest, FL on the east coast south of Tampa.
My Answer:Many of these loan modification companies are hard to locate on the internet because they all seem to sound alike. I know because there are several [...]

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