Alleged $2,500 Loan Modification Ripoff Leaves Denver Senior Facing Foreclosure; Ownership Of Home Of 25 Years In Jeopardy

In Denver, Colorado, KDVR-TV Channel 31 reports:

• 70-year-old Connie Somerhalder thought she was going to stay in the home she has owned for 25 years. Instead, she just found out she got scammed out of $2500.00 and her home is in foreclosure. "I've been here almost 25 years, then somebody comes along and takes it all away, it hurts," Connie said. Connie lives on her Social Security income. She wanted to modify her existing home loan to reduce her monthly payment and contacted "American Mortgage Consultants," after hearing an advertisement on a local radio station.

• "I thought they were helping me out."American Mortgage Consultants told Connie she would have to pay $2500.00 up-front, and she was told to stop paying her mortgage and don't contact the bank. "They told me not to contact the bank. They were taking care of everything." Six months later, Connie found out her home was in foreclosure and she had been scammed. "I cried a lot, believe me, I cried a lot," Connie told us.

• We went looking for answers at the company's Aurora location. The door was locked and when the receptionist opened the door she wouldn't let us in."Please leave," she said. "I only work here. Oliver Maldonado (the company owner) is not here."

For more, see Loan modification scams running rampant in Colo.