FTC Launches First Wave Of Smackdown On Scammy Loan Consultants
Yesterday, as part of "Operation Loan Lies," the FTC and 19 states filed 189 lawsuits, cease-and-desist orders, and other legal actions to shut down loan modification consultants who prey on desperate homeowners. The scammers offer to help solve foreclosure problems for a hefty fee; instead, they fail to modify the loan at all while collecting payments for their services, sometimes even encouraging homeowners to stop communicating with their lenders completely or to send payments to the consultants instead of the bank.
You can read all of the companies and parties here (PDF).
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz says this is the beginning of the crackdown, and there will be more legal actions in the coming months. From USATODAY:
Leibowitz used the announcement to put scam artists on notice and urged homeowners to protect themselves from being exploited. He said fraudulent loan modification consultants are "full of hollow promises designed to fatten the pockets of criminals and con men."
Here are the big warning signs, courtesy of the FTC:
- Be cautious of people who:
- Make any guarantee
- Ask for money up front
- Tell you to make your mortgage payments to them
They also provided the following video about foreclosure rescue scams, which includes stories from real homeowners.
If you think you've been approached by a fraudulent foreclosure rescue consultant or company, you can report it to the FTC via either www.ftc.gov or by calling 877-FTC-HELP.
If you do indeed need counseling on how to prevent foreclosure, call the FTC's free counseling service at:
888-995-HOPE(4673)
Or check out the resources on the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website: www.hud.gov
"FTC, 19 states act to stop sham loan consultants " [USATODAY] (Thanks to Snarkysnake!)
"Foreclosure scams targeted in U.S., state and local crackdown" [Los Angeles Times]
RELATED
Consumerist Posts About Foreclosure Scams
(Photo: Podknox)
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Comments:
Maine ordered all of them to C&D as well.
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@Megladon: If you pay me your next month's house payment, I'll take care of getting that video to you.
Wow, this is the equivalent of hyper-drive light speed for the FTC to act this quick...
i work in the mortgage collections business, and these companies are sooo annoying... i continuously tell people, no other company can do a modification except their mortgage company, all they are paying for is well nothing, since we give no special treatment to 3rd party companies or attorneys, and if they do it themselves, well its free..
The FTC is useless. If you read the FTC press release, you will find that although they have been shut down, the perps get to pay nothing since they allege that the money is all gone. (It's probably stashed in offshore accounts.) No criminal charges, no consequences for the perps other than they have promised to go forth and sin no more.
I'll be more impressed when these clowns actually start getting thrown in jail for their crimes.
C&D 's are not enough. They send the message that crime pays. Get caught, pay a small fine and work on the next scam. Lawsuits are worthless ;these people have made themselves and their ratbag companies judgement proof .Time to put these people behind bars for practicing mortgage lending (by putting themselves between the owner and the real lender)without licensure or oversight. Time to put them in jail for mail fraud. Until the law has real teeth and the crooks that do this go to a federal penitentiary, they will continue to prey on the people least able to afford it.
We have a criminal legal system. We need to use it to protect victims.
All that said, this is till more action than we would have had under the lazyasses that we just ran out of office.
@Snarkysnake: "...this is till more action than we would have had under the lazyasses that we just ran out of office."
Amen to that. I hope this is the start of some severe "smakdown" on the scumbuckets that are out there.
@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon:
Just so you know , the "s" on my keyboard is sticking. Should have read "still more action"...
Are some companies that promise to "help" with your mortgage truly legit? And if so, why would ppl legitimately use or need them?
Thank you. I've always wanted to know this.
@SugarMag:
"Are some companies that promise to "help" with your mortgage truly legit?"
In a word ,no. Think about it - Why would a lender want to add another moving part to a mortgage gone bad ? They are already looking at a 60-70 % haircut on the loan , so why hand these jokers any money ? The fact is ,these people prey on a lot of lazy ,stupid people that just want to push the EASY button. It doesn't work that way. At best ,these people will ruin your credit with their techniques (stop paying your mortgage and let them "negotiate" with your lender). That's if they 're honest. The reality is,they set up a few phones and a website in a rented suite somewhere and collect as much money as they can before the game is up and then disappear. I say that if you have $3500-$5000 cash to give them ,you can tough it out and pay your house payment.
@Snarkysnake: I agree with what you've said. I also believe that a small percentage of the people using these companies are shady as well. I am sure some of them look at the $3000-$5000 payment these sleaze companies want as worthwhile because they figure they'll save more than that when the mortgage company re-negotiates their loan. Their greed then winds up biting them in their rear end.
Those are the people I don't feel sorry for.
I dont see a video and i've refreshed the page 3-4 times