Feds Move In On South Florida Loan Modification Peddler; Seize Luxury Cars, Boat In Criminal Probe As State Court Judge Upholds Temporary Injunction

In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports:

• Jason Vitulano reached out to troubled homeowners with the promise that he could save them for foreclosure, an investigator for the Florida Attorney General said in Palm Beach County Circuit Court [Wednesday]. But when Vitulano of Boca Raton received their checks for up to $5,000, he cashed them at a check cashing store, investigator Arnold Sherman said. He paid his telemarketers in cash.

• Nearly 500 people have complained to the Attorney General that Vitulano's companies took their fees up front but did nothing in return, Sherman said, and the Boca Raton man has had his luxury cars and boat seized as part of a federal criminal investigation into his businesses. At [Wednesday's] hearing, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jack Cox decided to uphold a temporary injunction that prohibits Vitulano and his companies - FHAAllDay.com, Safety Financial Services Inc., Housing Assistance Law Center and Housing Assistance Now - from doing business. He also appointed a receiver to take over whatever is left of the business.

For more, see Judge continues block on Boca Raton man's foreclosure rescue operations.