It's a milestone of sorts. Since the start of the foreclosure crisis, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she has sued 50 companies or individuals for running fraudulent foreclosure schemes.
The most recent actions were filed this week. Madigan says the 50 lawsuits have so far resulted in 28 injunctions against scam operations and the courts’ ordering defendants to pay back $2 million to affected homeowners.
Additionally, Madigan has issued 622 cease and desist letters to mortgage operations ordering them to stop charging homeowners upfront payments for rescue services. In Illinois, it is illegal to accept upfront fees for assisting homeowners with loan modification services.
“These entities are nothing more than scam operations, illegally charging consumers huge sums in return for no help,” Madigan said. “They’ve scammed families out of thousands of dollars while putting them at even higher risk for foreclosure.”
Promises, promises
Commonly referred to as “mortgage ‘rescue’ consultants,” the schemes are run by con artists who promise help but don't deliver it. They claim that, for a hefty fee, they can save a distressed borrower’s home by negotiating deals with a homeowner’s lender, when in reality, these “consultants” do nothing they promised. As a result, homeowners typically get further behind on their mortgage payments and wind up on a faster track to foreclosure.
In three lawsuits filed Monday, Madigan alleges companies took more than $44,000 upfront from consumers with promises to help them obtain a loan modification on their mortgage, when in fact, no work was performed on the consumers’ behalf.
The lawsuits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court against Acceptance Financial Corporation, in Northbrook, Ill., and Elite Outsourcing Services Inc., based in Midlothian, Ill. Madigan also filed suit in Kane County Circuit Court against International Embassy Realty Inc., in Elgin, Ill.
The lawsuits ask the court to shut down the operators and obtain restitution for consumers. They also seek to bar the defendants from providing mortgage rescue services in Illinois and to order the defendants to pay civil penalties for violations of the Consumer Fraud or Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act.
