Florida has been one of the hardest-hit states by the nation’s housing crisis as almost 15% of mortgages were delinquent this year alone. With so many delinquent mortgages there are thousands of homeowners across the state being fooled into loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams.
Yesterday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, had filed a lawsuit against two foreclosure prevention companies for convincing homeowners they could live in their home for up to three years rent free. They encouraged homeowners to begin what is called a “strategic default” in which a borrower purposely stops making their mortgage payments. The firm also said that property taxes, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance no longer need to be paid.
MGD Management, LLC, and CRS Marketing, LLC, received a temporary injunction from AG Bondi and a limited asset freeze for misleading struggling homeowners.
“These companies preyed on Florida’s distressed homeowners who were already experiencing financial hardships,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The laws that protect Floridians from deceptive practices and homeowners during the course of a residential foreclosure must be abided by, and I am pleased that the Court granted our motion to stop these companies from defrauding Floridians.”
According to Bondi’s complaint, the two firms told their clients to ignore any and all communication from their mortgage servicer unless it came from certified mail. The fees the clients paid to obtain their service were promised to cover all legal fees in the foreclosure prevention practice, other than a filing for bankruptcy. However, no legal services were provided to the homeowners and many ended up in foreclosure.
Following the lawsuit, a temporary injunction was placed against the firms to prohibit future advertising, or providing foreclosure prevention related services until further notice from the court. Bank accounts of the two companies have also been frozen.
COPY OF LAWSUIT
http://myfloridalegal.com/
