Con Artists Hone in to Scavenge on the Killing Fields of Foreclosures
Like vultures, the con artists and fraudsters are honing in to scavenge on the killing fields of foreclosures. They are getting caught but in most of the cases they manage to escape going to jail.
The fraudsters have named themselves loan modifications consultants or negotiators and even specialists. Some of them have the mask of legitimacy while others are straightforward con artists – out hunting for those in the desperate throes of foreclosure. They are picking the bones from the wreckage of the housing market. Business for them is not bad because in the majority of the states there is little chance that they will end up in jail. Roy Cooper the Attorney General of North Carolina said, “It’s difficult for us to get prosecutors to do the investigations on misdemeanors.”
Recently some of the states have tightened their penalties for those who have had a good hand in perpetrating the business of foreclosure scams. In other states the prosecutors are making use of fraud statues to press home criminal charges. But in most instances the prosecutors are bringing civil suits against these con artists.
The focal points of consumer protection efforts are the offices of the attorney generals. Some of these are willing and capable of bringing criminal charges and put the fraudsters into jail. It would go a long way in reducing these fraudulent practices if criminal charges were directed against them and they were put behind bars. Civil suits and penalties are too mild.
Tom Bartholomew, the President of Better Business Bureau in North Carolina said, “You’ve got to do something to get their attention. Because what’s being done — these civil actions — isn’t.”
The foreclosure fixers who operate fraudulently, target localities that have rich residents. In 2008 over 2 million homeowners faced foreclosures. This year the number is expected to increase. These people are drawn to billboards set up in localities like Las Vegas that shout about helping to save property by expert help. Radio advertisements echo similar sentiments. The stock answer encouraging the borrowers to fall into the trap is that their responses have been reviewed and they are eligible for loan modification.
Hugo Malara is one such victim. He lost his job and consequently defaulted in his mortgage payments. In desperation he contacted one Derric Robinson who claimed to be a specialist in loan modifications and advertises himself with confident phrases like “money back guarantee.” He paid a fee of $800 but since then Robinson has vanished.
