D.C. AG Files Suit Against Foreclosure Rescue Operator Metropolitan Money Store

The Washington Post reports:

• "The D.C. attorney general filed a lawsuit yesterday against Metropolitan Money Store Corp., hoping to recover lost home equity and prevent foreclosure for city residents who dealt with the Prince George's County-based mortgage company. [...] "We have the evidence to make the case," [Washington, DC] Attorney General Linda Singer said in an interview yesterday. "Once we have proof, we're going to move forward." Singer said she was driven to file the lawsuit to keep at least 27 District residents from losing their homes. Investigators say Metropolitan promised to rescue homeowners from foreclosure but instead drained the equity from clients' homes. "We think it's an outrage," Singer said."

Reportedly, there are over a dozen defendants named, among whom are Joy Jackson and Kurt Fordham. The defendants are accused of unjustly enriching themselves in a scheme that used misrepresentations and unconscionably high fees to strip equity from the homes of the alleged victims.

The lawsuit seeks to (1) stop the homes from being foreclosed, (2) void the contract between the homeowners and the foreclosure rescue operators, (3) order restitution from the defendants, and (4) require the defendants to pay civil penalties up to $1,000 for each violation of the District's Consumer Protection Procedures Act.

For more, see District Sues Mortgage Company Based in Prince George's County (Goal Is to Help Clients Retain Equity and Homes).

Go here for other posts and links to other media reports on Metropolitan Money Store.

For cases involving the criminal prosecution of foreclosure rescue operators, see Foreclosure Rescue - For Criminal Prosecutors Only.

For more on equity stripping scams, generally, see DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams (4.61 MB approx.).