Missouri AG Tags Loan Modification Outfit In Civil Suit; Phony Promises Of Attorney Involvement, Unlicensed Practice Of Law Among Allegations

From the Office of the Missouri Attorney General:

• Attorney General Chris Koster [] filed a lawsuit against two related businesses that purported to provide loan modification and mortgage relief to desperate homeowners.
  
  Koster’s suit is against Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, LLC and Mortgage Law Group, LLC, as well as the companies’ managing partner, Jason Edward Searns; senior partner, Thomas Macey; and senior partner, Jeffery Aleman.
  
  The lawsuit alleges that the defendants preyed on vulnerable Missouri consumers who were already dealing with difficult financial circumstances, especially during the economic downturn. The defendants allegedly lured consumers with promises of mortgage modifications or debt settlements, then encouraged them to pay the companies, rather than their creditors. As a result, many consumers defaulted on their obligations and never received the services the defendants promised.

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• Specific allegations in the lawsuit state the businesses broke Missouri’s consumer protection laws by:
  
  (1) Misrepresenting to consumers the results the defendants could achieve and the time necessary to achieve promised results;
  
  (2) Persuading consumers to stop making payments to their lenders and creditors while failing to inform the consumers of the legal consequences that could result from withholding those payments;
  
  (3) Taking upfront payments from consumers for debt relief and loan modification services;
  
  (4) Failing to provide services as promised to consumers;
  
  (5) Failing to place legally required notifications of consumers’ rights in contracts;
  
  (6) Misrepresenting that the defendants’ services would be performed by attorneys licensed to practice law in Missouri, and:
  
  (7) Engaging in the practice of law in Missouri without a license to do so.

For the Missouri AG press release, see Attorney General Koster sues businesses that had promised foreclosure modifications and debt relief.