News Clips

• FTC Settlement Requires "U.S. Homeowners Relief" Defendants to Pay Millions, Bans Them from Debt and Mortgage Relief Business
  The FTC approved $9.6 million dollars in settlements against several suspected mortgage rescue scammers.
• Feds target HAMP scammers bilking owners
  Once again, mortgage servicers are hitting ordinary New York homeowners where it hurts. The latest evidence is widespread scams tied to the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, which was supposed to help up to 4 million troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure...
• Mortgage Scams in a Weak Housing Market
  Via WSJ: Schemes that prey on struggling homeowners heading toward foreclosure are "the cash cow right now," says Yolanda McGill, senior counsel for the Fair Housing and Fair Lending Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Some fraudsters are peddling services such as preparing documents for a loan modification. Others claim to be an attorney or say they are working with an attorney. Often, these offers sound legitimate, echoing some of the same language used by government programs and lenders to gain a homeowner's trust.
• Changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program
  The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will allow more homeowners who owe more than their home is worth to refinance their mortgages to lower rates.
• Independent Foreclosure Review Program
  Under the terms of a settlement, Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve required 14 affected mortgage servicers to hire independent consultants to investigate foreclosures that were in process in 2009 and 2010 to determine which homeowners should have their foreclosures reviewed for possible wrongdoing by the servicer.
• How to Avoid Becoming a Financial Scam Victim
  As financial scams evolve to keep pace with the changing American economy, it is important that consumers educate themselves about common scams, which you can do here. Additionally, here are five steps you can take to avoid finding yourself the victim of financial fraud.
• Weak Economy Is a Boom Time for Financial Scammers
  Consumer fraud -- the intentional deceit of a consumer -- is nothing new, unfortunately. For decades there are have been scams related to mortgage loans, credit cards, employment opportunities, lotteries and identity theft, to name just a few. But in recent years, as the American economy has struggled with a high rate of unemployment, a collapsed housing market and a stubborn recession, scammers have seized on Americans' financial fears in new ways.
• Federal Trade Commission, Court Shut Down Deceptive Mortgage and Debt Relief Operation
  At the Federal Trade Commission's request, a U.S. district court has shut down two related operations as a result of settlements with defendants who allegedly failed to provide promised debt relief services and jeopardized their clients' privacy by tossing their personal information into unsecured dumpsters. In addition, one of the operations allegedly charged consumers a $1,495 up-front fee based on phony promises that they would get mortgage relief assistance.
• Law and Order: A group of pro bono lawyers are pursuing fraud cases
  The October 2011 issue of American Lawyer includes a "Bartalk" spotlight on the great work of the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network and the cases it has brought with pro bono partners Davis Polk in New York.
• Loan Scam Case Featured on Newsday: Borrowers win $68G award against loan modifier
  Nine borrowers have won a $68,000 judgment against a now-defunct loan modification company that illegally charged upfront fees -- and did little to lower mortgage payments...
• Loan Scam Network Featured on MarketWatch
  Realty Q&A, a weekly column in the Dow Jones's MarketWatch, prominently features the Loan Modification Scam Prevent Network's Yolanda McGill.
• Tying Health Problems to Rise in Home Foreclosures
  The threat of losing your home is stressful enough to make you ill, it stands to reason. Now two economists have measured just how unhealthy the foreclosure crisis has been in some of the hardest-hit areas of the U.S.
• Nevada Says Bank Broke Mortgage Settlement
  The attorney general of Nevada is accusing Bank of America of repeatedly violating a broad loan modification agreement it struck with state officials in October 2008 and is seeking to rip up the deal so that the state can proceed with a suit against the bank over allegations of deceptive lending, marketing and loan servicing practices.
• Older Homeowners Getting Scammed
  A new report by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law found the proportion of older people victimized by foreclosure rescue or loan modification scams is growing. In June 2010, 26 percent of all fraud reports were from people older than 51. That number grew to nearly 45 percent in July 2011. The average amount people in that age group lost to scammers was $3,358, more than $300 higher than the average for all victims.
• Court Shut Down of NY Loan Scammer Homesafe America Picked Up By Reuters, New York Daily News, etc.
  This week the Nassau County Supreme Court issued a sweeping order shutting down one of New York's largest mortgage scam operations pending trial. The order is the most substantial victory to date in a year-long legal campaign against "loan modification scams" in New York and nationwide. The court order ceases the operations of Homesafe America Inc. and its successor corporation, United Solutions Law Firm, which are alleged to have scammed more than a thousand low- and middle-income homeowners by falsely promising to help customers modify the terms of their mortgages. News coverage on this case after the jump.
• DOJ: Four Florida Men Charged with Defrauding Homeowners in Home Loan Modification Scam
  Four Florida men were arrested today on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam called Home Owners Protection Economics Inc. (HOPE), announced the Justice Department.
• 5 Signs of a Foreclosure Rescue Scam
  On July 31, the National Bar Association held a panel to discuss the impact of the foreclosure crisis on communities of color at its 86th annual convention and exhibits. Black Enterprise spoke with two of the panelists -- Yolanda D. McGill, senior counsel of the Fair Housing and Lending Project with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Vicki King Taitano, director of the Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project with the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau...
• Loan Scam Modification Network Issue Brief Featured in Seattle P-I, Others
  Seattle P-I: "As of July, homeowners nationwide have reported more than $40 million in losses from fees paid to fraudulent and deceptive "rescuers," complaints submitted to the Lawyer's Committee's for Civil Rights Under Law since February 2010 show. Homeowners age 51 and older reported losses of more than $16 million, a 41 percent of the losses reported."
• 50-plus Americans a favorite of mortgage rescue scammers
  "Older Americans are among the hardest hit by scams preying on distressed homeowners by offering foreclosure counseling or loan modification assistance for a fee..."
• Loan Scam Project Releases Issue Brief, "Seniors Among Hardest Hit by Foreclosure Rescue Scams"
  The Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, a joint initiative of the Lawyers' Committee's Legal Mobilization and Fair Housing & Fair Lending Projects, released an Issue Brief highlighting the plight of senior Americans, one of the many groups of homeowners in real distress who are particularly vulnerable to suffering at the hands of foreclosure rescue scammers.
• Initial Victories in New Cases Filed against Two of New York's Largest Mortgage Scammers
  The Lawyers' Committee is pleased to report on two sweeping court orders from the New York State Supreme Court that restrain the activities of alleged loan modification scammers, providing early victories for financially vulnerable homeowners. The rulings pertain to two new cases filed last week by the Lawyers’ Committee and its pro bono counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York.
• CA Lawsuit Goes After Loan Modification Fraud
  Bay Area attorneys and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in June filed one of California's first class-action lawsuits against alleged loan-modification scammers in the San Jose area. SFGate reports: "The complaint said the defendants collected up to $4,995 each from victims for the promised loan modifications, and offered a 100 percent money-back guarantee, but then neither delivered the loan modifications nor refunded the payments. At least 90 Santa Clara County families were victimized, the complaint said..."
• SAN JOSE FORECLOSURE CONSULTANTS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS & EIGHT MONTHS IN PRISON AND ORDERED TO PAY BACK $312,450.00
  The defendants operated a business called Legal Support Services that claimed to help financially-distressed homeowners modify their mortgages. From September 2008 to February 2009, the defendants had employees call homeowners on the “foreclosure list� and promise to negotiate with the banks to modify their mortgages. Victims generally paid $3,100; no services were provided.
• Lawyers' Committee Files Lawsuit Against California Mortgage Scam Scheme
  On June 8, 2011, the Loan Modification Scam Prevention litigation team of the Lawyers' Committee, in conjunction with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, filed a class action lawsuit in California on behalf of vulnerable local homeowners victimized by a network of scam artists. The plaintiffs believe that over 90 California homeowners have been injured by this scam. This complaint is the second case brought by the Lawyers' Committee as a part of its nationwide legal campaign to combat foreclosure rescue fraud and mortgage modification scams.
• HUD Launches Anti-Scam Campaign
  HUD launches a campaign against loan modification scams in targeted cities called 'Know It. Avoid It. Report It.' LMSPN's Yolanda McGill traveled to California to help launch the program.
• For many homeowners, false hope
  "Marlon Hernandez was sick with worry that he would lose his Malden home to foreclosure two years ago. Then the Salvadoran immigrant heard a Spanish-language radio advertisement that sounded like the answer to his problems. In the ad, Revere lawyer David Zak said he helped troubled homeowners negotiate with banks. Hernandez paid Zak $5,600 to help lower his unmanageable monthly mortgage payment. But Hernandez said he never got the promised services..."
• Reuters: Homeowners, don't be fooled by this foreclosure scam
  The state of California has issued a warning about a scam that involves getting these vulnerable homeowners to pay fees up front with the idea of winning a lawsuit that will get them their homes free and clear. The cost to participate in this heavily marketed scam is $5,000.
• Huffington Post Article Featuring New York Loan Scam Case and LMSPN
  "Shukran is one of nine plaintiffs in what a lawsuit filed last week in Nassau County Supreme Court describes as an "elaborate network" of affiliated companies that have operated under such names as "Save My Home," "Save My Home Now," "Express Modifications" and "Express Home Solutions."..."
• NY Loan Scam Lawsuit Featured in WSJ, NY Daily News, Nat'l Mortgage News
  Since February 2010, when the Lawyer's Committee began keeping track of modification fraud complaints, more than 10,000 homeowners nationwide have claimed they were victims of similar scams resulting in more than $27 million in losses. About 500 of those complaints are from New York, which the claimants said resulted in more than $2 million in losses.
• LMSPN Files Lawsuit against "Elaborate Network" of NY Scam Companies
  This lawsuit against "Save My Home" is the first action brought in a nationwide legal campaign to target foreclosure rescue fraud and mortgage modification scams.
• Spotlighting Loan Scams for National Consumer Protection Week
  Beware of Scams: The Prevent Loan Scams online resources appear on the official website created for National Consumer Protection Week, March 6-12, 2011.
• Loan Scam Special Report Featured on My Carolina Today
  The Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network's Yolanda McGill appeared on My Carolina Today, a morning show produced at the WNCN NBC-17 studios in Raleigh, NC.
• Complaints Filed Against Florida Firms that Help Stop Foreclosure
  Regulators in Florida have reported that complaints against foreclosure rescue businesses or those firms specializing in helping borrowers stop foreclosure are still coming in despite new laws designed to weed out illegal activities by such companies.
• NYT: New York Courts Vow Legal Aid in Housing
  New York court officials outlined procedures Tuesday aimed at assuring that all homeowners facing foreclosure were represented by a lawyer, a shift that could give tens of thousands of families a better chance at saving their homes.
• Homeownership Preservation Foundation Awarded $1 Million HUD Grant to Assist Victims of Foreclosure Scams
  HPF has received a Mortgage Modification and Mortgage Scam Assistance (MMSA) grant from HUD, to assist homeowners who may have been victims of of loan modification scams.
• FTC's Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Advance Fee Ban Takes Effect
  As of January 31, 2011, under the FTC's Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, companies that offer to help homeowners get their loans modified or sell them other types of mortgage assistance relief services are no longer allowed to charge up-front fees.
• North Carolina AG Bans Foreclosure Rescue Company
  National Mortgage Professional Magazine reports North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has banned a California foreclosure assistance company, People's First Financial Inc., from offering foreclosure assistance services in North Carolina.
• PBS Airs Loan Scam Alert TV Special featuring the LMSPN Campaign!
  Texas PBS in cooperation with the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force and NeighborWorks America continues to air a 30-minute special which debuted in December concerning the ongoing morass of loan modification and foreclosure scams.
• Home foreclosures in 2010 top 1 million for first time
  Banks foreclosed on 69,847 properties in December, bringing the year's total to 1.05 million, topping the prior record of 918,000 homes seized in 2009, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said.
• PreventLoanScams.org Highlighted by National Coalition as a Valuable Consumer Tool
  The Lawyers' Committee's Prevent Loan Scams project, a key component of the national Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network campaign, has recently been highlighted by a national consumer protection coalition as a valuable resource in the fight against foreclosure rescue/loan modification fraud.
• Federal Trade Commission Issues Final Rule to Protect Struggling Homeowners from Loan Modification Scams
  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule on November 19, 2010, which will protect homeowners from deceptive mortgage relief and foreclosure rescue companies. As a result of the recent mortgage and foreclosure crises, scammers claiming to provide mortgage modification and relief services have targeted vulnerable homeowners throughout the country.
• Persistent Scammer Moves Across State Lines
  As states become more aware of the loan modification scams that are running rampant throughout the country, scammers are being shut down by state and local officials. However, this does not mean these scammers won't be back with another company. According to Florida Times-Union; Global Equity Solutions, a Florida based company run by Brian Lozito, was shut down and assets seized by Florida authorities. Three weeks later, Lozito set up shop again just 60 miles away in the state of Georgia.
• First American Law Center gets sued for Scams
  According to Daily Pak, Krause, Kalfayan, Benink & Slavens, LLP filed a class action lawsuit against First American Law Center on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers. The California based company is alleged to have charged homeowners upfront fees for loan modification services. This practice violates a year-old law in California, California Civil Code Section 2944.7. The homeowners involved in the suit did not receive loan modifications or refunds from First American Law Center.
• California Attorney General Brings Scamming Companies to Court
  According to The Sacramento Bee, two companies and the attorneys who helped them are being sued for $60 million by the State of California. The companies, both located in Rancho Cordova, are charged with defrauding homeowners and causing many to lose their homes. These companies charged homeowners upfront fees for a "forensic loan audit" which they said could reveal fault on the part of the lenders and would lead to a loan modification. Charging as much as $6,000 per audit, hundreds of homeowners were pushed father into debt and even into foreclosure. Homeowners should know that even if a mistake is found in their mortgage paperwork, this is not grounds for a lender to re-negotiate the terms of the loan.
• DC Attorney General Files Action against Loan Scammer
  A recent press release form the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General announced a Superior Court enforcement action against Vincent L. Abel, charging him with violating consumer protection law after scamming homeowners in DC. The complaint reports that Abel misled distressed homeowners into believing he was offering them loans that would save their homes from foreclosure.
• Scammers Devise New Tactics as Homeowner Distress Grows
  Deceptive Loan Scammers are using new tactics to lure distressed homeowners into misleading agreements. At the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators' annual conference Yolanda McGill, Senior Counsel for the Lawyer Committee's Fair Housing and Lending Project, shared stories of loan scammers and their attempts to "pick off" borrowers while attending legitimate modification events.
• Chicago Attorney Convicted of Mortgage Rescue Fraud
  According to the Chicago Tribune, Norton Helton has been charged with 9 counts of bankruptcy fraud and three counts of wire fraud related to mortgage loans. A former Chicago attorney, Helton is facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for scamming homeowners seeking debt alleviation and loan modifications. Although Helton began his schemes prior to the foreclosure crisis, his actions can still serve as a warning sign to homeowners currently facing foreclosure.
• FTC Broadens Mortgage Fraud Case to Include Forensic Audits
  According to LoanSafe.org, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has added several defendants to a lawsuit against alleged loan scammers charged with deceiving homeowners seeking foreclosure rescue. In its new complaint, the FTC broadened its case to include defendants accused of offering the very misleading "forensic audit" scam to homeowners. John W. Smith and Glenn E. Gromann are now defendants along with other alleged scammers from the Debt Advocacy Center, LLC and CreditLawGroup.
• New Financial Regulations may do little to Stop Loan Scams
  According to The Grio, a leading online publication for African American news, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will have little impact over mortgage rescue scams. While the new agency will have the ability to enforce and regulate new rules concerning mortgage lenders, it will have little influence over scam artists who target communities of color and the elderly.
• Loan Scammers Arrested for Scamming Hundreds of California Homeowners
  The California Attorney General's office issued a press release announcing the charging of 9 men with 97 criminal counts for scamming $2.3 million in upfront fees from homeowners seeking mortgage relief. According to the Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., these men promised loan modifications to over 1,500 homeowners across the United States and delivered little or no relief.
• Loan Scams are Financial Fraud
  Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force makes PreventLoanScams reporting tools available at StopFraud.gov
• Scammer Preys on Latino Immigrants
  According to the Chicago Tribune Eliseo Carrillo, who marketed himself as a "Champion of Latino immigrants", is accused of scamming immigrant homeowners of up to $86,000. Posting his smiling face on billboards throughout Chicago's Mexican-American neighborhoods, Carrillo promised that he and his real estate companies were "friends and guardians of immigrants in need." Instead homeowners were scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars and some are still facing the risk of foreclosure. At least four of Carrillo's former clients have filed lawsuits claiming they were victims of a complex mortgage fraud rescue scam.
• One Last Place to Get Fleeced on a Mortgage
  According to the New York Times the State Supreme Court in Manhattan issued a permanent injunction to stop Sal Pane, Jr. and his companies, Amerimod Inc. and the American Modification Agency, from continuing to scam homeowners looking for foreclosure assistance. Using well-known tactics of false promises and grandiose success rates, Pane scammed some 3,000 homeowners in the State of New York.
• Prevent Loan Scams Website to Help Track Loan Modification Fraud
  The Herald Tribune recently announced the debut of the www.preventloanscams.org website. Highlighting the unique resources found on the website such as individual state resource pages and the national complaint database, the Herald displays the depth and importance of the project. The Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network (LMPSN) is focusing many of its resources and efforts in the state of Florida due to the impact on homeowners statewide.
• U.S. Attorney General and Arizona Attorney General Pledge Aggressive Fight against Mortgage Fraud
  RealEstateRama Arizona reported on the $1.7 million joint federal and state effort to fight against mortgage fraud. United States Attorney General Eric Holder and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard pledged to join resources at a summit attended by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force members, law enforcement and regulatory officials.
• Homeowners Urged to Report Loan Scams
  Newsday reported on the gathering of 200 faith-based and social service organizations in Long Island, New York to learn how to fight against loan scams from a panel of foreclosure rescue scam experts. Neighborworks America, a leading partner in the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, joined state and local enforcement officials to publicize the coalition's efforts.
• Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee Testifies: Loan Scams are a Civil Rights Issue
  Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a leader of the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, testified before House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing entitled "Protecting the American Dream: A Look at the Fair Housing Act."
• Coalition Aims to Protect Homeowners from Scams
  BlackAmericaWeb.com, a leading source for news in the African American community featured the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network in an interview with the Lawyers Committee Executive Director, Barbara Arnwine and Yolanda McGill, Senior Counsel for the Housing and Fair Lending Project. The LMSPN is paying particular attention to states with significant Black populations and is dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable communities.
• New Scam Targets Homeowners in Arizona
  According to a story by Jodie Heisner from ABC 15 in Phoenix, Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard, is expecting a new scam to impact homeowners in Arizona. The "forensic loan audit scam," a new tactic being employed by scammers, involves charging a high upfront fee to perform an "audit" that supposedly gives the homeowner leverage in their modification process, but really just takes money from the homeowner that they can't afford to lose.
• Consumer Complaints Soar on Mortgage 'Rescue' Schemes
  On February 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report that documented a dramatic rise in the number of consumer complaints about companies advertising foreclosure rescue services, including loan modification consulting. In 2009, victims of these scams submitted nearly 8,000 complaints to the FTC's Sentinel database, up from only one such complaint in 2008. Complaint information has been invaluable for the FTC and other state and federal government agencies as they have sought to put a stop to the unscrupulous practices of the scammers.
• HUD Touts PreventLoanScams.org Website
  Touting it as, "a major step in the fight against loan modification scammers," the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a press release announcing its partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network in launching the www.PreventLoanScams.org website and national scam complaint form.
• Attorney General Masto Announces Indictment with Five Felony Counts in Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Scam
  On February 19, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced the indictment of Jeffery Tye Brown of Henderson, Nevada on four felony counts of theft and one felony count of forgery for his leadership of DB Financial Services, a loan modification consulting firm. Brown allegedly charged distressed homeowners $999 in upfront fees for loan modification assistance that he then failed to provide.
• Struggling California Homeowners Warned against Phony Foreclosure Audits
  As the foreclosure crisis persists, unscrupulous scammers continue to devise new ways of defrauding distressed homeowners. On February 22, the California Attorney General's office teamed with the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar of California to warn homeowners about forensic loan audits, a scheme that is unfortunately becoming more prevalent.
• New Federal Report Highlights 7.5% increase in Scam Reporting
  According to a press release from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the agency received nearly 16,000 reports of mortgage loan fraud scams in the third quarter of 2009 - a 7.5 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, nearly half of all reports (42 percent) came from California and Florida, two of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.
• 5 Sentenced for Foreclosure Scam in LA Fed. Court
  On February 17, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge George King of the Central District of California sentenced five people to prison terms for their roles in a foreclosure rescue scam that stripped over 100 distressed homeowners of more than $12 million in equity. The convicted scammers' victims were trying to avoid foreclosure but ended up losing their homes after having surrendered title to their homes to the scammers.
• FTC Proposes Regulation to Address Loan Modification Scamming
  The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule to protect distressed homeowners from loan modification scammers. The new rule would ban for-profit loan modification service providers from charging up-front fees to homeowners. If this rule is implemented, companies would only receive payment once the services they promised are delivered.
• Ex-Lawyer, 2 Others Arrested in $1.25 Million Loan Modification Scam in California
  Christopher Lee Diener, a former attorney, and one of his business partners, Terrence Green Sr., were arrested in Orange County, CA for defrauding more than 400 homeowners seeking loan modifications out of $1.25 million. A third man, Stefano Joseph Marrero has a $1.5 million warrant issued for his arrest in connection to the scam.
• Couple Share Mortgage Nightmare
  In 2008, Philip and Woodley Jenkins of Sandston, Virginia, paid Real Estate Negotiation Services $1,000 to help them modify their mortgage. The Florida-based loan modification consulting firm took their money and advised them to stop making mortgage payments but did not secure them a modification. Now, in 2010, the couple is struggling to keep up with mortgage payments that are higher than ever as a result of the payments they missed due to the firm's bad advice.
• Pinellas County, FL to host Foreclosure Seminars
  The Pinellas County Department of Justice and Consumer Services will host a series of seminars throughout the area to educate the public on foreclosure fraud schemes. Officials will use a $100,000 federal grant towards the effort to thwart the rising number of loan modification scammers targeting local homeowners in crisis.
• Florida Law Requires Licensing, Forbids Up-Front Fees
  Florida has been particularly hard hit by both the foreclosure crisis and the loan modification scam crisis. The Florida legislature passed a law last year in an effort to curtail this trend.
• California Department of Real Estate Stops Loan Scammers
  Over the past year the California Department of Real Estate has dramatically increased its investigations into loan modification scam companies. In July 2008, the DRE had fewer than 10 complaints, now there are over 1300 pending investigations. Additionally, the department has fielded over 440 Desist and Refrain Orders and accusations involving loan modification scams.
• Florida's Foreclosure Rate is Nation's Highest
  Florida has the nation's highest inventory of homes in distress, accounting for nearly one out of every four foreclosure properties in the country, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• Bank of America Unit's Utah Foreclosures Violate Law, State Says
  A Bank of America Corp. unit is breaking the law by foreclosing on homeowners in Utah because it doesn't meet state requirements, the state attorney general's office said in a federal appeals court case.
• Homeowners' Advocacy Group Gets $1 Million Federal Grant to Help Victims of Foreclosure Rescue Scams
  The Homeownership Preservation Foundation has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development to continue its work protecting struggling homeowners from fraudulent foreclosure-rescue groups and bogus mortgage loan modification programs.
• FTC Mails Redress Checks to Victims of Foreclosure Rescue Scam
  An administrator working for the Federal Trade Commission is mailing 1,455 refund checks to consumers defrauded by a mortgage loan modification and foreclosure rescue scam. The FTC alleged, and the court found, that operators of the scam falsely told consumers they would prevent their homes from being foreclosed and negotiate lower mortgage interest rates, monthly payments, and principal balances.
• Foreclosure Fines May go to Loan Modifications
  Financial penalties extracted from large banks over their mortgage servicing practices may be used for loan modifications, a top Obama administration official said .
• Senate Committee Delays Foreclosure Mediation Bill Again
  The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed voting on a bill that would authorize bankruptcy courts to establish a mediation program in foreclosure cases nationwide. It is the second delay in as many months.
• Loss of $88 Million in HUD Funds Raises Concerns About Counseling, Rise in Scams
  Housing agencies in Chicago and across the country find themselves scrambling to determine how they will serve their communities with dwindling resources after $88 million in housing counseling funds was eliminated from the federal budget.
• Foreclosure Prevention Aid Loses Funding
  Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed money for foreclosure prevention services, shocking housing advocates who say the funding is crucial for helping at-risk homeowners.
• Homeowners Should Look Out for "Helpful" Scammers
  Out-of-state companies are luring Virginia homeowners into trusting them with their mortgage troubles with false promises and too-good-to-be-true scenarios, according to a National Fair Housing Alliance report. The report, which was released Wednesday, details the methods in which 84 companies across the nation take advantage of struggling homeowners.
• ACLU to Seek Appeals Court Review of Circuit Foreclosure Courts
  Lawyers with the national ACLU will ask a Lakeland appeals court to pass judgment on the 20th Judicial Circuit's foreclosure proceedings, the foundation announced Wednesday.
• AG Subpoenas New York's Biggest Foreclosure Firm and Processing Company Spinoff
  Subpoenas have been issued by New York's attorney general to the state's biggest mortgage foreclosure firm, Steven J. Baum, P.C., and a spinoff processing company, seeking information about their practices.
• California Expands Its Foreclosure Relief Effort
  California homeowners who refinanced their properties for cash or took out home equity lines of credit will now be allowed to participate in parts of the state's $2-billion foreclosure relief initiative.