South Florida Mortgage Broker, Others Accused In Foreclosure Rescue, Equity Stripping Lawsuit

An elderly South Florida homeowner currently has a civil lawsuit pending alleging that (1) she was victimized by a foreclosure rescue group in a sale-leaseback-option to repurchase deal that resulted in her being stripped of most of the equity in her home, and (2) she was scammed allegedly:

• through the use of false statements and representations,
• through the imposition of false charges on a HUD-1 closing statement,
• through the use of a forged document, and
• by taking advantage of her lack of financial sophistication.

The homeowner named as defendants in her lawsuit Boca Raton, Florida mortgage broker Nicole Smith, her husband Mauricio N. Smith, mortgage brokerage Signature Lending Group, Inc., Deborah O'Hara (with addresses in Coral Springs, Florida and Brooklyn, New York), and two instituitional lenders among others in which she is seeking relief for:

• violations of the Federal Truth In Lending Act and Regulation Z,
• violations of the Federal Home Owners Equity and Protection Act,
• violations of the Florida state law prohibiting usury,
• common law fraud (seeking rescission and damages),
• breach of contract, and
• quieting the title to her home (quiet title action).

Representing the homeowner in this lawsuit are The Law Offices of Sherri B. Simpson, P.A. of Fort Lauderdale, FL and James A. Bonfiglio, P.A., of Boynton Beach, FL.

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