State AG Charges Michigan Woman With Racketeering, False Pretenses For Allegedly Running Loan Modification Scam That Ripped Off Dozens Out Of $250K

From the Office of the Michigan Attorney General's Office:

• Attorney General Bill Schuette [] announced charges against a Holly woman for her role in a foreclosure-rescue fraud operation that scammed at least 60 victims across the state out of $250,000. Tashia Winstanley, 38, of Holly, and her company, TLW Mortgage Solutions, face criminal charges for collecting upfront fees and impersonating a mortgage modification company.

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• The criminal charges come as the result of an investigation by the Attorney General after complaints against the company were filed with Attorney General Schuette's Consumer Protection Division. The investigation revealed that from September 2009 through January 2012 Winstanley allegedly operated TLW Mortgage Solutions as a mortgage modification business.
  
  
• It is alleged Winstanley offered prospective clients mortgage loan modifications for a fee. Winstanley allegedly promised victims she would secure a mortgage loan modification for them. Some victims even made their mortgage payments directly to Winstanley instead of their lenders, but instead of remitting those payments to the banks, Winstanley allegedly pocketed the funds for her own personal use. Investigation subsequently revealed that Winstanley allegedly made no efforts to secure loan modifications for any of the victims.
  
  
• Affected victims reside in the following counties: Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Roscommon, Oakland, Genesee, Benzie and Macomb. Winstanley and her company, TLW Mortgage Solutions are each charged in Grand Traverse County's 86th District Court with the following:
  
  One count of Conducting Criminal Enterprises (Racketeering), a felony punishable by up to twenty years in prison;
  
  One count of False Pretenses - More than $20,000, a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and
  
  Three counts of False Pretenses - $1,000-$20,000, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or three times the value of money or property involved.
  
  
• Winstanley is currently incarcerated in Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility serving time for previous convictions for Larceny by Conversion - $1,000-$20,000 charged in Leelanau and Kalkaska counties.

For the Michigan AG press release, see Schuette Announces Charges for Northern Michigan Foreclosure-Rescue Fraud.