Feds Score $3.89M Judgment Against Loan Mod Scammer For Clipping Homeowners For Upfront Fees In Exchange For Phony Promises To Ease Mortgage Payments

From the Federal Trade Commission:

• At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has imposed a court order with a $3.89 million judgment against defendant Samuel Paul Bain and three of his companies for their role in an allegedly fraudulent mortgage modification and foreclosure relief scheme.



• The court order also bans Bain and his firms from telemarketing, and from providing, or claiming to provide, debt relief and mortgage relief services to consumers. It also bars the defendants from making any unsupported claims about the benefits, performance, and efficacy of financial products, and from misrepresenting any relevant fact about a product or service, or about the terms and conditions of a sale.



• This default judgment concludes the FTC’s case against the U.S. Homeowners Relief defendants, six of which have already agreed to settle FTC charges. The settlement orders against those defendants require the payment of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains, and permanently ban all six from selling any mortgage assistance or debt relief products or services.



• The action against the U.S. Homeowners Relief defendants is part of the agency’s ongoing crackdown on frauds targeting consumers in financial distress.



• The scheme allegedly charged consumers up to $4,250 for a promise to reduce their mortgage payments, interest rates, and sometimes even their loan balances.

For the FTC press release, and links to court documents, see FTC Action Leads to Court Order Banning Final "U.S. Homeowners Relief" Defendants from Debt and Mortgage Relief Business.