County Prosecutor's Office Has Foreclosure Rescue On Its Radar Screen

In Ventura County, California, the Ventura County Star reports:

• [P]rosecutors are seeing a rise in the number of complaints from people who have been wronged in real estate transactions. "We generally categorize it as foreclosure rescue fraud," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Miles Weiss. "Basically, false promises about being able to save people, their credit, the equity in their home, etc." [...] As head of the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Unit, Weiss is working with people [facing foreclosure] who feel they were cheated ... .

In one active case being investigated, a couple facing foreclosure responded to an offer of foreclosure help. Reportedly, it wasn't until some time after the transaction was consummated and the couple again fell behind in their payments that they learned that they no longer owned their home and had been unknowingly renting the house from the foreclosure rescue operator. They ultimately found out that they had sold their home to the operator for $55,000 less than the market value and paid him an additional $50,000 fee for doing so.

Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten vowed at a news conference to end the type of deals that snagged the couple. For more, see Realty fraud gripes rising (Coalition to help owners in distress).

Go here for Ventura County DA's:

• Description of Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Program (go here for Spanish version),
• Real Estate Fraud Complaint Form (go here for Spanish version).

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.).