Idaho AG Settles Allegations With NJ Upfront Fee Loan Modification Outfit; Firm To Cough Up $19K In Refunds To 12 Homeowners

In Boise, Idaho, The Associated Press reports:

• Attorney General Lawrence Wasden says Idaho homeowners who were duped into paying a New Jersey company to help them modify their mortgages will get more than $19,000 in a settlement. Wasden says the investigation into Weston, New Jersey-based Best Interest Rate Mortgage Co. LLC began with a complaint about a direct-mail advertisement.

• The ad offered a special loan modification programs as part of the "Economic Stimulus Act of 2008" and appeared to have come from the U.S. government. The attorney general's office says the company charged Idaho homeowners upfront fees ranging from $1,000 to $1,800 before the mortgage modifications were completed, which Idaho law prohibits. The company, which has denied wrongdoing, was ordered to pay the 12 homeowners $19,710.

Source: Idaho AG: Cheated Homeowners Get $19K Settlement (Idaho's attorney general says homeowners win $19,000 in settlement with New Jersey company).