Kern County Deputy DA On Loan Modification Rackets: "They Are People Very Worthy Of Criminal Prosecution!"

In Bakersfield, California, KBAK-TV reports:

• When the economy and real estate market went south, many families went to home loan modification companies to save their homes. But, more than a dozen Kern County families contacted Eyewitness News after one modification company took their money and didn't do anything it promised. Each family paid Los Angeles-based Loan Modification Group ["LMG"] $3,000 to get a home loan modification, and each family had their own reason for wanting a modification.(1)

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• Eyewitness News went to Kern County Deputy District Attorney Gordon Isen, who specializes in real estate fraud, to ask about home loan modification scams. Isen said, "When there's a downturn in the real estate market this type of crime has arisen in the past, but it's now reached proportions I've never seen before and I don't think anyone's seen before." He added that not only is it a serious crime, but an intentional one. "It's not a crime of passion, it's not a crime of the moment. People doing this type of criminal conduct think about their crimes, they prepare for their crimes, they consult with others and conspire. I think they are people very worthy of criminal prosecution."

For the story, see Home loan modifiers scam families out of $3,000 each.

(1) According to the report:

• Eyewitness News decided to ask LMG what happened to our homeowners' money, but that was easier said than done. When Eyewitness News went to the address where our homeowners mailed their payments and paperwork, it didn't exist. The search took us all over Los Angeles and we finally found the company in Chatsworth. When Eyewitness News asked an office employee if the company's name was Loan Modification group, she said it was Balboa company. Turns out, Loan Modification Group is also known as MBM and Balboa Law Group. [...] Since the encounter, Eyewitness News learned that the company is no longer offering home loan modifications.