Loan Modification scams are in full force and the FEDS, State Attorney Generals and prosecutors can not even keep up with the amount of disgusting fraud, stealing, identity theft and intimidation tactics that are going on right now! 
Please, please, please- DO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY OUT TO LOAN MODIFICATION COMPANIES without making sure the attorney general is not investigating the company that is soliciting your business.
This is even more disgusting and be aware of this for your clients and you as homeowners. The big Sub-Prime bankers and mortgage brokers that did your loan for you of course went out of business because they no longer can do sub-prime mortgages and they have turned into the Loan modification companies who are now going back to the very customers they did the loan for to do their loan modification with up front charges of $1000 to $3000 and then TAKING THE MONEY and leaving town! This is criminal! Please contact your attorney general if this has happened to you.
But even MORE DISGUSTING! is that after they steal the money from homeowners who are trying to stay in their homes; they are laughing at YOU! They are laughing at the very people they are stealing from! They think it is funny! So I hope the last laugh will be on them as they sit in jail.
After having their money stolen and the loan modification never worked on, the bank comes to foreclose. People are standing outside of their homes with all their suitcases packed calling the loan modification company asking where it their money. Women are crying on the phone, leaving messages because of course these loan modification scam creeps are not answering their phones. Then they take these messages and play them over the intercom so everyone of these disgusting creeps can laugh at the people begging for help. They have been caught saying things like: "Hey, listen to this ding bat lady crying!"
I can't even type all that they were doing because my heart rate is heating up from anger towards these people who have taken advantage of other people and then making fun of it. Sometimes you wonder why people will fall for these scams. But this particular company trains their employees to work on people's anxieties telling them horror stories about how the bank is going to kick them out unless they give them this money upfront. Then they don't even pay their employees. They bounce checks and steal from anyone they can.
This one company even has the name: FEDERAL LOAN LAW CENTER. According to the FTC's complaint:
This is to trick you into thinking they are with the government to help you and that they are some great attorney center that would not do you any harm. It is just a scam! They have you call an 800# that they misrepresent as being a part of a federal program, which it is not. There are over 839 complaints just on this company alone.
The FTC and the California Attorney General have already filed suit against these guys.
One of the main partners is California Attorney, Nabile Anz who also owned (part owner Mortgage Link, a California subprime lender, who now is belly-up but sold $30 million in loans a month. It appears that the California State Bar has taken action on Nabile Anz, but he is still active and allowed to practice law. You can read more in the FTC's complaint here.
But don't just look for this name because these guys just went to Irvine California and opened up their same operation under a different name. They move around and make up different names and continue to steal your money.
Remember in the state of Florida it is illegal for a loan modification company to take money from you upfront. They can only make their money by completing your loan modification. That is when you pay, not before.
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Loan Modification Scammers Are Laughing At You After They Steal Your Money! was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.
Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset- Realtors®, CIPS, ABR, SFR, GRI, REOS
Please pass this post on to your friends and family members. Please help stop people from being scammed out of their money when they are trying to save their homes.
Nestor you cannot tell people this enough. There are probably some people doing this legitimately; but I cannot sort them out. My broker started to go in this direction; but we all told him to drop it. (He was doing it legitimately). I do not even want to be associated with this kind of business.
When a lot of this began, I mentioned to my husband that predators just took on a new shape and form but with the same result.
This is a horrible practice and I hope that they all get caught. Unfortunately there's not much homeowners can do to get their money or their homes back by they time they figure out they were scammed.
Gene- What is even scarier is that there are a lot of attorneys involved in these companies also. Look at this guy, the managing partner was a bar approved attorney! Disgusting! People always trust attorneys, I don't know why, I suppose because of the idea that they have a fiduciary duty to their clients? SAD! Katerina
Kate- They are the SAME people! WOW, Gretta was talking about this with a man who investigated this all and wrote a book about it. They actually play the messages and laugh at people crying! How Cruel! Katerina
Brian- It is one thing to steal your money which is criminal in itself but to then turn around laughing at the people you are ripping off, like it is some kind of game. They are evil people. And sad to say, some of them are even attorneys. Katerina
Katerina,
I have even received calls personally from attorneys saying they can lower my house payments and I always like to investigate further. The simplest way to spot a possible scam is asking them if they charge an up front fee. I do the same to lead generation companies. They always fall all over themselves trying to find an answer.
Brian- Up front fees is a sure signal of a scam especially if you are in a state where they are no longer allowed to do that, but attorneys are exempt so these companies funnel their monies through attorneys. My attorney says she gets at least 5 calls a week with scam partner offers.
In Maryland, they need a license. Few do.
Katerina, Same names different game. These scammers are smart and very good at what they do. Makes you wonder why they just don't go legit. I guess they wouldn't have the thrill if they did that.
Its a shame that this happens. We had (or have) the same issues with credit reports. Agencies not fixing credit reports completely or forging results. And even goes back to Hurr Katrina when builders were taking money and then not showing up for work. Where ever people see an opportunity to scam helpless people out of money they do.
This is so sad that they would prey on someone who is down! Sad thing it sounds like they often helped the home owner get in to that position. I'm not sure how someone like that sleeps at night!!
Marchel- I wonder how they sleep at night also, no conscience I suppose. But to rub it in by laughing at the messages goes beyond cruel for me.
There are so many notices to people now to avoid paying anyone up front and to start by trying to deal directly with the lender first.
My company offers loan modification but I refuse to have anything to do with it because they also take money up front, even though they will refund it if they cannot help.
There have always been snakes in the grass and I guess there always will be. It just tears my heart out that folks who NEED the help so much are taken for a ride. We all need to scream, DON'T PAY MONEY UP FRONT
I haven't encountered one yet that was really up and up! It's a shame because folks are grasping at straws and hoping for a miracle! I'm going to repost this and send it out to my mailing list! It's a great blog! Thanks!
Lisa- Thanks so much for reblogging! I want people to know about this! They have to stop giving money up front! This is horrid!
Jane- We have been approached so many times and the answer is always no.
Dick and Dixie- We do have attorneys we work with that do foreclosure defense and of course they charge a retainer as all attorneys do. But it is those loan modification companies that really make me mad. Have you seen that stupid commercial where they make it look like it is a news update and a government program! Makes me sick! Katerina
Katerina - I read an article last month that made my jaw drop. It is on the same line as what you are writing about here and I hope you don't mind that I post the link as it is worth the read - Subprime Brokers Resurface as Loan Adjusters.
I just spoke with a client that I will be meeting with that has already been approached by several of these companies promising guaranteed results. They must be prowling the lis pendens. Absolutely shameless!
Katerina,
A timely post. There are so many scam operations out there that the regulators can't keep up with them. It's a shame. Anyone thinking of seeking their help ought to be extra cautious.
Katerina, thanks for this important information. Even though I know many of us want to hope that Loan Modifications in general can have a realonable measure of success, it seems that too many of the ex-ENRON crew has infiltrated the inner workings of it all. John (years ago the Snohomish County PUD in Washington, a tiny customer of ENRON obtained the audio tapes of the ENRON traders and broke the case wide open in favor of those who had been harmed. I hope an insider can help bust this next gen of enron'ers)
Katerina - It always amazes me that when we are in troubled times, more scammers come out of the woodwork. They try and take advantage of people who are desperate, and need help. It is a real shame.
Great blog! You're so right that people are being scammed by the same sub-prime companies that already took their money. I wrote a column earlier this summer about other types of mortgage fraud and housing scams: http://www.thinkglink.com/article/2009/07/30/real-estate-fraud-real-estate-broker-takes-the-home-but-not-the-mortgage
Like we don't have enough to worry about in the housing market without scammers on top of it all.