Friday, May 09, 2008
Idaho Dept of Finance Issues Shuts Down Bait And Switch Scheme
Assurity Financial Services, LLC, was issued an Order to Cease and Desist by the Idaho Department of Finance for sending mailers to Idaho residents entitled “Refund Notice,” suggesting that recipients’ current adjustable-rate mortgage may have been the subject of errors in principal and interest calculations. The mailer indicates that “A Refund Audit Specialist will be able to help you determine your correct principal and interest payment and assist you in collecting any refund that you may be legally entitled to.” In fine print at the bottom of the document, the homeowner is informed that their consultation may include a solicitation for a home loan.
Assurity does not appear to possess any specific information suggesting that those homeowners receiving the Refund Notice did in fact have errors in their principal and interest calculations. Consumers responding to Assurity‘s Refund Notice report that they were advised to refinance their mortgage through Assurity Financial.
“This is a classic bait and switch,” Gavin Gee, Director of the Idaho Department of Finance, said. “This marketing ploy takes advantage of the fact that when lenders record certain mortgage loan documents with the county, they become public records. Mailings are then targeted to homeowners and contain just enough correct information to mislead a consumer into thinking the sender actually is knowledgeable about the consumer’s loan. In this case, if the consumer takes the refund ‘bait’ and calls, they are ‘switched’ to a solicitation to refinance their mortgage with Assurity.”
The Department determined that the mortgage loan solicitations were misleading and deceptive and in violation of the Idaho Residential Mortgage Practices Act. The order directs Assurity Financial to cease violating the Idaho law and cease engaging in advertising that is misleading, confusing, false and deceptive.
mortgage fraud
I was one of these people that was contacted by Assurity Financial Services regarding a Refund and when I contacted them they said that I qualified for a 30 year fixed rate and they were scheduling to have an Appraiser come to my home. I told them that I did not want my credit run because I had already had numerous hits on my credit and he guaranteed me that my credit would not be run. After scheduling the appraiser to meet me at my home the representative from Assurity Financial called me and told me that since I had a previous BK on my credit file that they could not help me. I did not give him permission to run my credit yet he knew what my credit file revealed. He never asked me on the phone if I had a BK so he had to have run my credit without my permission. Isn’t there a law against this as it takes points off my credit file and makes it difficult for me to get approved because of my credit score and the number of inquiries on my credit file. What rights do I have regarding this pressing charges against this company?
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Some Sources require Registration.
Erie Area Mortgage Broker Gets Prison in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Shortly before receiving a nearly three-year federal prison sentence, former mortgage office manager Francis R. Conti told the judge he never meant to defraud any of the homeowners caught up in a widespread local mortgage-fraud scheme.
Three Former Portland-Area Mortgage Brokers Face Fraud Charges
OregonLive.com - Portland, OR
Joel D. Surprenant, Michael Duc Han and Benjamin Lucian Lucescu all were charged with one count of obtaining mortgage loans through materially false and fraudulent pretenses.
Shaker Pair Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Charges
Cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Two Shaker Heights residents recently pleaded guilty to charges involving a mortgage scheme with seven area houses and $3 million in fraudulent loans.
Feds File Charges in Five Mortgage Fraud Cases
Chicago Breaking News - Tribune - Chicago, IL
Federal charges were filed today against 37 people and four companies in five separate mortgage fraud cases.
Feds Fighting Back
Contra Costa Times - Walnut Creek, CA
Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back.
Private Investigator Sees Rise in Mortgage Fraud Due to Economy
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
In the past 12 months his firm has been retained to conduct over 300 mortgage fraud investigations, a 100% increase from 2007.
Former UGA, NFL Football Player Arthur Marshall Charged With Mortgage Fraud Claims
WJBF-TV - Augusta, GA
He is also accused of defrauding three banks in obtaining loans for seven different properties in Columbia and Richmond Counties.
Cuomo Subpoenas Loan Modification Companies
New York Times - United States
“The entire industry is a scam, in my opinion,” Mr. Cuomo said Tuesday. “These are services that homeowners don’t need to pay for in the first place.”
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Relating to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Scavitti admitted that between 2003 and August 2008 he unlawfully diverted mortgage funds that were wire transferred into his client office account to his own personal benefit, resulting in losses in excess of $2.5 million.
Fed Drug Report: Double Trouble for Metro Chicago
ABC7Chicago.com - IL
...Chicago street gang members run a network of legitimate businesses and have engineered mortgage fraud schemes, both to launder drug proceeds...
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
Update - US v. F. Jeffrey Miller, et al.
Miller II: Judge Julie Robinson has ruled in favor of the defense motion granting a continuance for sentencing of the 3 convicted defendants: F. Jeffrey Miller, Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin. The three will now be sentenced after ruling on post trial motions set for August 10, 2009.
Vanatta has been in custody for over 2 years. Vanetta filed a motion for his release pending sentencing. That motion was denied.
Miller remains free pending his sentencing. He has hired a new attorney who filed a motion to delay Miller's sentencing. In one post trial motion, the defense argues as to what assets are subject to seizure.
Defendant Todd Earnshaw is a Kansas City real estate Broker (and brother in law of Miller). Earnshaw has been indicted in what is commonly referred to as Miller I. A trial date for that matter has been set for January, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
The Government filed a motion to revoke Earnshaw's bond and remand him to custody while he awaits trial after learning that he allegedly committed the state crimes of Driving Under the Influence, Handicap Parking Violation and Failure to Control Speed to Avoid a Collision while on pretrial release. Notwithstanding finding that probable cause existed to believe that Earnshaw committed the aforementioned state crimes, Judge Robinson denied the motion, but ordered several strict conditions that Earnshaw must follow pending his trial.
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Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. 
