Upstate NY Widow Falls Victim To Foreclosure Rescue Operator; Files Suit To Preserve Equity

In Orange County, New York, the Times Herald-Record reports:

• [A] Long Island man who identified himself as Paul Jean, said he could save [Helen] Wargo's house from foreclosure. She believed him. But now the 64-year-old widow is losing her home. Wargo is among thousands of Americans who have fallen victim to a foreclosure rescue scam. The scam artist usually says he will buy out a family's mortgage and then have them pay rent, according to a study by the National Consumer Law Center. Other predators come in and strip the house of its equity. Many families end up evicted as a result of either scam, according to the study.

[...]

• Wargo has turned to civil courts for help. In a lawsuit filed last year in state Supreme Court, Wargo alleges Jean forged her signature and misrepresented and/or concealed the purpose of documents, including the deed to her house. The lawsuit seeks to get her house back in her name. "Instead of soliciting permission, he bought the house from right under her," said David Maho, Wargo's lawyer. "He left her with nothing."

Reportedly, Paul Jean has disappeared. A phone number on Jean's business card was out of service when called [recently]. Other attempts to contact Jean for comment were not successful. For more, see Widow losing home after foreclosure scheme ('Rescue' scams usually involve mortgage buyout).

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.).