Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Low Cost Legal Services Available to Eligible Consumers

For those victims of consumer frauds (ie. foreclosure rescue scams, deed thefts, home improvement scams, home repair scams, etc.) who are looking for looking for low cost legal services, LawHelp.org may be a good starting point in finding these services. LawHelp.org helps low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs in their communities, and answers to questions about their legal rights.


The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) website is another source of civil legal assistance to those in need. LSC funds 138 legal aid programs with 700 offices around the nation to help poor Americans gain equal access to the judicial system. For a list of those legal services providers that are funded by LSC throughout the country click here, then pick "All States" & "All Counties" from the two dropdown menus, then click "Proceed" (those providers with website links can be found here).

To find an LSC-funded program by specific state, select your state here.


Examples of the type of legal aid help that is available to eligible consumers throughout the country


In Delaware, the Legal Services Corporation of Delaware handles a variety of consumer and housing type cases, including consumer fraud, foreclosures, and evictions.

In Illinois, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago has been providing free legal aid to eligible individuals in a variety of cases, including (through their Home Ownership Preservation Project) representing clients facing the loss of their homes through foreclosure or tax sale, focusing on homeowners who have been victimized by predatory lending or by some other type of fraud or overreaching. Illiinois Legal Aid provides a search engine allowing an individual to locate low cost legal assistance throughout the state based on their zip code.

In Nevada, Clark County Legal Services (Las Vegas) handles many types of cases, including those involving consumer fraud scams and housing issues. A list of sources of low cost legal assistance to eligible individuals all over Nevada can be found at NevadaLawHelp.org.

In Ohio, Ohio Legal Services provides a search engine that individuals can use to find low cost legal help throughout the state by county, zip code or by keyword.

In Massachusetts, Massachusetts Legal Services also provides a search engine that can be used to find legal assistance throughout the state by county, city, or town. A list of sources of low cost legal assistance throughout Massachusetts can be found here.
In Florida, Legal Services Of Greater Miami, Inc. has served Miami-Dade & Monroe Counties for 40 years. Click these links for samples of the types of real estate consumer fraud cases they handle:
For individuals in any state, using LawHelp.org and/or the Legal Services Corporation website should facillitate your search for low cost legal services throughout the country.

Eligibility requirements for these legal services providers are generally based on income. Be sure to ask what the eligibility requirements are in your area. These organizations generally handle only civil cases. Legal services in criminal cases to those who cannot afford an attorney are provided by your local county Public Defender's office.


For those seeking legal assistance but don't qualify for low cost Legal Aid, The National Association of Consumer Advocates provides a list of their members on their website who practice "consumer law" and may possibly be a source of legal assistance. Their membership list, by state, can be found here. Click the "View Details" button next to the specific attorney's name to find their contact information.

Keep in mind that, generally speaking, violations of Federal & State Consumer Protection Laws are written in a way so as to encourage private attorneys to take on Consumer Fraud cases on behalf of individuals (either rich, poor, or in between) on a "contingency fee basis", where he/she only gets paid if the case is won.

What that means, in the context of a consumer fraud case, is that if a private attorney takes your consumer fraud case and wins, the attorney can ask the judge to order the company you sued to pay your attorney his/her legal fees.

Bottom line is that, win or lose, even being represented by a private attorney experienced with consumer fraud matters on this basis should cost you little or nothing (whether you're rich, poor, or in between), even though you may not otherwise qualify for a local Legal Aid Attorney (who generally represents only those who are elderly, low-income, disabled or children).
In conclusion, keep in mind that not all attorneys handle all types of cases. You may have to contact several legal services providers to find one who handles the "predatory lending", "consumer fraud" and/or "real estate / foreclosure prevention" issues that typically exist in "foreclosure rescue", "home equity theft", and home improvement and repair scams.

Q & A About Home Equity Loan Fraud

This manual, published by Consumer Action (California) for community and consumer advocates working to educate senior, low income and minority home owners, warns about the dangers of home equity loan fraud. Topics covered include:
  1. home improvements,
  2. hiring a contractor,
  3. warning signs of fraud, and
  4. the possibility of losing your home through a home equity loan.

It specifically describes, in easy to read language, some of the ways homeowners have been defrauded by mortgage fraud scams and gives some homeowner tips when considering having home repairs & improvements done on your home. One important warning is that even if you do not borrow money for the repairs, most home repair contracts can result in a lien on your home.

While written by a California consumer advocacy group (presumably for California consumers), the information in this manual is generally valuable for consumers throughout the U.S.

Monday, December 11, 2006

FBI Investigate NY Attorney For Alleged $600,000+ Theft Of Home Sale Proceeds

(orig. post 12-11-06; revised 6-28-07)
A Queens, NY single mother, who successfully sold her home for $678,000, reportedly received over $600,000 in bad checks from the home buyer's attorney at the sale closing and now no longer owns the home and has no sale proceeds, according to this report at thejournalnews.com (The Journal News - Westchester, NY).

The alleged victim, who used her earnings from working two jobs (as a waitress & bokkeeper) to build up the equity in her home, was planning on starting a new life in Orlando, FL. Unfortunately, checks totaling over $300,000 paid to her directly, as well as a check for $286,000 paid to the mortgage company on her behalf to satisfy the outstanding mortgage on her Queens home bounced.

She now finds herself making monthly payments on her Orlando home as she struggles to continue paying the mortgage on the Queens home that she no longer owns.

The FBI and the United States Attorney's Office are investigating.

Reportedly, there is one other incident involving the disbursement of bad checks by this same attorney. A real estate agent involved in the other incident claimed that he received a $10,000 bad check, his client's $20,000 check was no good, and the title company involved in the real estate closing lost more than $100,000 through bad checks received from the same attorney.

Click here for the full story.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Elderly California Couple Allege $485,000 "Home Theft"

An elderly Tracy, California couple have allegedly been victimized by a "home equity theft" involving a "reverse mortgage" scam, according to this report in the Tracy Press.

Police have arrested and jailed the alleged scammer, who has been susbsequently released on $63,000 bail. The criminal charges involved are suspicion of:
  1. forgery,
  2. grand theft,
  3. financial elder abuse, and
  4. conspiracy.

Reportedly, the homeowners believed they were obtaining a reverse mortgage loan when, in fact, they were unwittingly signing over ownership of their home to the suspect. They found out that they were no longer the record owners of their home only after a neighbor made a comment to them about the couple "moving".

After recovering documents from the suspect's office pursuant to a search warrant, Tracy police believe that (1) there could be several more victims, (2) other individuals and businesses appear to have collaborated with the suspect, and (3) there may be more arrests made and charges filed.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office has joined the investigation.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Go here for other posts on reverse mortgage problems.

Go here , go here , and go here for other posts on elder financial abuse. zeta zebra

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Colorado AG Obtains $1.1 Million Judgment Against Foreclosure Rescue Operator

This 2003 case illustrates how far state Attorneys General can go in going after fraudulent foreclosure rescue operators. These operators have been put out of business and have agreed to pay over $1.1 million in restitution to approximately 80 homeowners.

According to the allegations in the original complaint filed by the Colorado Attorney General:


  • the "rescue" operators, through their unlawful foreclosure "rescue" program, acquired title to over 100 homes from homeowners facing foreclosure under the guise of "rescuing" their homes from foreclosure,

  • the estimated market value of the homes in the Denver metro area exceeded $15 million,

  • the homeowners were misled into signing over title to their homes in exchange for defendants advancing money for back-payments to bring their mortgage payments current and unwittingly became renters in their own home,

  • the homeowners then leased their homes back from defendants with an option to repurchase their houses at an inflated price,

  • consumers believed these complicated transactions were second mortgage loans and not the sale of their homes,

  • within months, numerous homeowners were evicted after entering the "rescue" program,

  • consumers were targeted through door-to-door solicitations and direct mail flyers advertising their "rescue" program as “absolutely free” and with “no cost to you,”

  • in-home sales presentations were made to homeowners through high-pressure sales tactics aimed at convincing the homeowners that defendants’ "rescue" program" would allow families to stay in their homes, rebuild their credit, and keep their monthly payments low,

  • homeowners were required to transfer title to their homes by quit claim and warranty deeds to the defendants and enter into lease option agreements obligating the homeowners to monthly rental payments sometimes hundreds of dollars more than their original mortgage payment,

  • any missed rent subjected the homeowners to eviction and loss of equity,

  • defendants would arrive at the homes with numerous contracts, deeds, and other pre-printed documents, ready to transact business,

  • once the homeowner signed as instructed defendants would take the papers and refuse to leave any copies,

  • homeowners were not given the opportunity to confer with advisors or to rescind the loan transactions within three business days, nor to cancel their credit repair service contract within five days, both rights of cancellation afforded by Colorado law,

  • neither of these rights was disclosed to the homeowners, as required by law. The homeowners were not given numerous other disclosures of their rights, such as their right to redeem the foreclosure, stay in their home 75 days after foreclosure, and the ability to sell their property even after foreclosure,

  • promises of credit repair were unfulfilled and homeowners were unable to refinance their homes, as they no longer had title to their properties.
Of the 120 homeowners who participated in the "rescue" program, approximately 30 retained private attorneys to settle their claims against the foreclosure operators.

For ColoradoAttorney General's 8/07/2003 News Release, click here.

For ColoradoAttorney General's 12/22/2003 News Release, click here.

For ColoradoAttorney General's 12/19/2001 News Release, click here.

For text of the Colorado Attorney General's Original Filed Lawsuit, click here.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

California Prosecutors Add 26 Charges Against Alleged House Swindling Trio

Three defendants, already facing numerous criminal charges involving a "foreclosure rescue" operation, will now be facing 26 additional charges, according to this report at modbee.com (The Modesto Bee).

Prior reference to this case in this blog was made in my November 21 post.

Links to prior articles on this case:
  1. Novenber 21, 2006
  2. November 17, 2006
  3. July 4, 2005