Scammer Pleads Guilty To Eight Felonies For Running Upfront Fee Loan Modification Ripoff Fleecing Thousand$ From Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

In Ventura, California, the Ventura County Star reports:

• A Ventura woman will have to pay $76,000 in restitution after pleading guilty this week to grand theft and unlawful acts by a foreclosure consultant stemming from a real estate case, authorities said.

• Maria Victoria Santos, 55, pleaded guilty to eight felony charges for her involvement in a foreclosure-rescue operation she ran out of an office at 1701 W. Fifth St. in Oxnard, the District Attorney's Office reported Thursday. Prosecutors said Santos victimized predominantly Spanish-speaking residents by promising to save their homes from foreclosure and collecting thousands of dollars in upfront fees.

• Under terms of her plea agreement, Santos will have to pay $76,000 in restitution to 15 victims, prosecutors said. She paid $15,000 of it when she pleaded Tuesday. She is scheduled for sentencing on May 24. Prosecutors said residents should never pay an upfront fee to an individual or business claiming they will rescue them from a pending foreclosure.

Source: Woman pleads guilty to 8 felonies (Will have to pay $76K in restitution).