Straw Buyer Suing South Florida Foreclosure Rescue Operator

Lawsuits against foreclosure rescue operators typically take the form of civil lawsuits pitting the financially strapped homeowner who signed away a home with the operator, or criminal charges where the government alleges the commission of a crime by the operator (see Foreclosure Rescue - For Criminal Prosecutors Only).

A recent article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports on the story of an investor, who apparently participated as a straw buyer in a foreclosure rescue "opportunity," who is suing the operator who put the rescue deal together. Straw buyer Matthew W. Anderson has sued well-known South Florida foreclosure rescue operator Jack Moussa, along with companies he controls, Equity Investment Capital Management, and Florida Housing Council, on Aug. 23 in a state court in Broward County, Florida.

Also named in the suit is Star Enterprises and its owner Rose Moussa (Jack Moussa's ex-wife), Jerome Weinstein, and the financially strapped homeowners who had sought help from Moussa and Florida Housing Council in the first place. According to the story:

• "The latest suit alleges that Weinstein and the Moussas conspired to defraud Anderson as they solicited him to put more than $80,000 into real estate investments. Anderson, who's seeking unspecified damages in the civil lawsuit, claimed the investments did not yield any profits."

Moussa and Florida Housing Council have been sued by South Florida homeowners in recent years, alleging fraud and deceptive practices. They have been accused of creating the impression that Florida Housing Council is a federally funded agency that helps homeowners in financial distress.

For more, see Delray Beach investor sues Broward foreclosure rescue firm (Investor's lawsuit follows actions by homeowners).

Go here for other posts on the foreclosure rescue activities of Jack Moussa and Florida Housing Council.

For links to stories involving criminal prosecutions of foreclosure rescue operators, see Foreclosure Rescue - Criminal Prosecutions.

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.).