Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Notorious Foreclosure Trash-Out Contractor Faces Racketeering Accusation In Federal Civil Suit Alleging Repeated Illegal Break-Ins; Homeowners' Lawyer On Clients: "They Weren't Even In Foreclosure!"

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Tribune Review reports:

  • A Bethel Park couple claim in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that a national property management company that handles foreclosure services had a local contractor repeatedly break into their home in 2012.

    Alexandra and Anthony Hlista claim that Safeguard Properties of Valley View, Ohio, and the local contractor violated federal racketeering laws because they used the mail and electronic communications in setting up the break-ins and also violated state and federal consumer protection laws.

    Michael Malakoff, their lawyer, said the contractor nailed windows shut, damaged screens and storm windows and changed the lock on their back door without any type of court order. “They weren't even in foreclosure,” he said. A company spokeswoman and the local contractor couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

    The couple have a pending federal class-action lawsuit filed in 2011 against Citi Mortgage of New York, IBM Lenders Business Process Service of Oregon and a Philadelphia law firm over mortgage-related fees that they claim are prohibited by state law.

(1) For those homeowners who've been screwed over by wrongful lockouts by foreclosing lenders (and their confederates) and seek some possible guidance on how much their cases might be worth if they seek to sue, see:
For examples of filed lawsuits involving illegal bank break-in, "trash-out" lockout cases, see:

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