FTC Targets Loan Modification Outfit With Civil Contempt Action; Accuses Firm Of Ripping Off Homeowners Facing Foreclosure With Upfront Fees

From the Federal Trade Commission:

• The Federal Trade Commission has filed a civil contempt action charging a deceptive mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification operation with violating a 2001 court order.(1) Many homeowners paid the defendants up to $5,500 in advance and ultimately lost their homes to foreclosure. The FTC has asked the court to halt the unlawful practices, freeze the defendants’ assets, and seek compensation for victims.

• According to papers the FTC filed with the court, the defendants told consumers that they would stop foreclosures. They claimed they were “100% successful and had never lost a customer’s home to foreclosure” and advised consumers to pay them instead of making mortgage payments. They also claimed that they would negotiate modified mortgages with lower interest rates, monthly payments, and principal balances. The FTC charged that, in fact, they obtained few, if any, loan modifications for customers.

• The defendants also claimed that their selectivity in choosing customers helped them succeed, but they took on nearly every consumer willing to pay, according to the FTC. In addition, the defendants falsely claimed that they would provide experienced real estate attorneys who would represent customers nationwide, and would review consumers’ loan documents to look for fraud and other lending violations.

For the entire press release, see FTC Charges Foreclosure Prevention and Loan Modification Marketers with Contempt.

Go here for the FTC's Temporary Restraining Order With Asset Freeze, Appointment of a Temporary Receiver and Other Equitable Relief.

Go here for links to other court documents available in connection with this case.

(1) According to the FTC, Bryan D’Antonio and three companies he controls, The Rodis Law Group Inc., America’s Law Group Inc., and The Financial Group Inc., doing business as Tax Relief ASAP, violated a 2001 order that banned D’Antonio from telemarketing and misrepresenting material facts about goods or services. The FTC obtained the order against D’Antonio and his former company, Data Medical Capital Inc., for operating a work-at-home medical billing opportunity scheme. D’Antonio pleaded guilty to mail fraud for his involvement in the scam and served almost three years in prison.