Two local businessmen will have to pay more than $3 million for defrauding a disabled woman out of her home in a so-called “foreclosure rescue scam,” the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled.
When Maria-Theresa Wilson was facing foreclosure in 2003 she was approached by former convict and preacher Calvin Baltimore, who said that he could help her keep her house, court records show.
Wilson thought she was getting a loan from Baltimore’s boss, Vincent Abell, but unwittingly signed over the title of her house to Abell. When Wilson asked why she was being asked to sign forms signing over her house to Abell, he told her they were part of a necessary “legal fiction” to stave off foreclosure, records show.
Wilson became a renter in her own home while still being on the hook for her mortgage, which Abell had paid $42,000 to make current. When Wilson — who suffers from seizures due to a head injury and was caring for her elderly mother — couldn’t make the rent, Abell evicted her.
Wilson sued Baltimore, Abell, and his company Modern Management Company and won. A jury awarded her damages of $3.3 million.
Baltimore and Abell appealed the case saying the award was too high, in part because the jury was trying to punish them for previous deals with other homeowners.
Five District residents reached an out-of-court settlement with Abell in 2008 that let them get their homes back, plus gave them a share of $455,000, according to the Washington Post.
The appeals court disagreed that the jury acted improperly, and said Adell and Baltimore had acted with “reckless indifference.”
The pair’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
Tom Connally, Wilson’s lawyer, said he was “delighted” with the high court’s ruling.
“It was an important ruling both for our client and for similarly situated victims of foreclosure scams,” Connally said.
Baltimore and Abell are also being sued in federal court over a similar alleged scam that involves a man who became delinquent on his mortgage payment after losing his job.
Abell spent time in prison 20 years ago for playing a role in loan-insurance fraud case. He is now operating under a new company called Phoenix Real Estate, according to a woman who answered the phone at a number listed for Modern Management.
