Group Suspected Of Running Loan Modification Racket Agree To $18M+ Settlement With Feds

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

• Three Palm Beach County men, including a Palm Beach Gardens attorney, have agreed to an $18.8 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission following charges the trio preyed on struggling homeowners seeking loan modifications.
• The FTC, which filed suit against First Universal Lending in 2009, believes 13,500 people nationwide suffered losses because of company practices that included charging upfront fees as high as $7,000 and failing to contact lenders to negotiate lower mortgage payments.
• Named in the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida are Palm Beach Gardens attorney David J. Feingold, 44, Delray Beach resident Sean Zausner, 39, and his brother David Zausner, 43, most recently of Wellington. The agreement has yet to receive a judge's approval, but FTC attorney Gideon Sinasohn, said he's not expecting a problem with receiving the final sign-off.

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• A 2008 Florida law prohibits businesses from collecting upfront fees for foreclosure rescue or loan modification services.

For more, see Palm Beach Gardens mortgage mod firm to pay $18.8 million to help distressed homeowners.