As struggling homeowners search for any way to ease their mortgage problems, fraudsters looking to take advantage of vulnerable homeowners are popping up everywhere.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force recently said it had filed criminal, civil, and regulatory actions against more than 250 people and companies in 2009.
“Our priorities include pursuing mortgage brokers, lawyers, accountants, appraisers and other professionals who generate fraudulent loans as well as con artists who market fraudulent ‘foreclosure rescue’ and ‘loan modification’ services,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
Danna Newball of Northwest D.C., who was foreclosed upon Dec. 1, fell victim to such a scheme.
Newball said she gave $1,000 to a scam artist who told her a lender could get her a modification on her loan. But the supposed papers from her bank never came.
“I constantly was waiting for that, waiting for that,” she said.
The D.C. law firm Howrey LLP is representing more than 140 families in Virginia who fell victim to a mortgage modification scheme.
About a year ago, a group of people were targeting Hispanic families via Spanish radio stations, said Martin Cunniff, who is in charge of the matter.
Howrey has filed suits charging that the Shmuckler Group, Nova Key Financials promised to help them modify their mortgages, but then essentially did nothing after collecting thousands in upfront fees. Some were told not to make payments or to talk to a mortgage company.
“Besides losing their fee payments, the scam often led to foreclosure or suffering other adverse consequences, such as significant lowering of their credit rating,” Cunniff said.
But in at least one case, a foreclosure may lead police to a criminal.
Manassas police’s “Fugitive of the Week,” Isaias Alejandro Marroquin, is wanted for using a victim’s Social Security number to buy a home on Carlton Avenue in Manassas. The house was foreclosed upon and the scam was discovered during the foreclosure proceedings.
