Zoeller
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced on Monday that additional foreclosure rescue fraud victims will receive compensation because of the most recent distribution from the state's Consumer Protection Assistance Fund.
The fund's new payout of $22,571 is just the second round of distributions. In December, more than 70 victims received CPAF payments that totaled $60,000. Fraud related to foreclosure involves scammers who say they can save homes from foreclosure. The scammers then charge an upfront fee and fail to render the services that were promised.
"Scammers prey on homeowners desperate for assistance and vulnerable to the promise that these companies will 'stop foreclosure now' using their so-called special relationships with banks," Zoeller said.
"Unfortunately, these promises are made to get your attention and separate you from your money. These fraud victims will be receiving payouts because they helped the attorney general's office warn others and helped us pursue violators by filing consumer complaints."
The scams frequently result in consumers losing their payments, not receiving the services that were promised and being foreclosed upon. The 13 victims who are receiving their first payment from the fund were scammed out of amounts between $998 and $4,795.
Indiana homeowners affected are from Shelby, Marion, Lawrence, Lake, Kosciusko, Henry, Elkhart, Cass and Boone counties. Four victims from Marion County will receive compensation totaling $8,750 to aid in recovering their combined financial losses of $10,545. Zoeller's office will mail payments to affected consumers this week.
Zoeller's office filed a lawsuit on Thursday in Marion County against 1st Continental Mortgage Inc., a Fla.-based company. The company allegedly contracted with at least one consumer in Indianapolis who paid $500 in upfront fees and failed to give the consumer the services that were promised. Another lawsuit was filed in Johnson County against US Mortgage Solutions Inc., a California-based company that allegedly contracted illegally with an area consumer who paid the company $795 upfront.
Both lawsuits allege that the companies do not have surety bonds on file with Zoeller's office and are in violation of the Home Loan Practices Act, the Mortgage Rescue Protection Fraud Act, the Credit Services Organization Act and the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.