Horne
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has reached a settlement agreement with a consumer mortgage loan and debt reduction company that allegedly defrauded consumers.
The Scottsdale-based Principal Reduction Group LLC and Brian Cutright, the owner and operator of the company, agreed to no longer engage in any activity, directly or on behalf of a third party, involving originating, closing or modifying any term of a consumers loan.
"Consumer fraud targeting homeowners who are facing difficulties paying their mortgages is a problem that must be dealt with and I am committed to finding and prosecuting those people who use predatory schemes," Horne said.
The settlement bars the defendants from obtaining a reduction on a consumers debt of any kind in the state of Arizona on behalf of any Arizona consumer.
The defendants also agreed to provide full restitution to consumers who filed complaints. Those consumers, on average, paid $5,500 each for principal reduction services. Additionally, the defendants will pay $25,000 in civil penalties and $5,000 for attorney costs and fees.
The settlement is pursuant to a consent judgment that is currently awaiting court approval.