Wasden
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced on Monday that he has settled with a mortgage modification company that allegedly defrauded customers around the country.
Wasden filed a lawsuit against Derek Oberholtzer, owner of the Idaho-based Apply 2 Save in April 2009, alleging that the defendants took money for services that they never performed.
Although the defendants filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy soon after, Wasden recovered $45,000 in restitution from Apply 2 Save, which will be distributed to those who filed complaints against the company in 2008 and 2009.
"Apply 2 Save operated for less than a year, signed up hundreds of clients and took in millions of dollars," Wasden said. "Yet few consumers ever received the mortgage modification services they purchased."
Under terms of the settlement, Oberholtzer is banned from engaging in any mortgage modification business practices, including mortgage lending, brokering or offering credit counseling within the state.
The settlement will also keep Oberholtzer from obtaining a license to engage in any activity that the Idaho Department of Finance regulates. Additionally, the settlement incorporates the terms of the Federal Trade Commission's consent decree with Apply 2 Save, Sleeping Giant Media and Oberholtzer.
Oberholtzer received a discharge of his debts in April, but Apply 2 Save's bankruptcy is ongoing.
Over the last 16 months, Wasden has been committed to going after fraudulent mortgage modification companies and has resolved five cases resulting in more than 420 consumers receiving $84,110 in restitution.