NYC Foreclosure Rescue Operator Has 36 Civil Lawsuits Against Him

In New York City, a recent story in the New York Daily News makes reference to a former South Jamaica, Queens homeowner who, behind on her house payments, went to a local broker for help in resolving her problem, only to end up being screwed over in a foreclosure rescue, equity stripping, sale leaseback transaction that included an option to buy back the home:

• "Bishop" Desmond Grenardo, the broker, arranged a deal where the owner would sell the house but with an option to buy it back in the future by making payments to the new owner. [The homeowner] had a secure job and only $69,000 left to pay off on her mortgage, but said she needed money from the sale. At the closing, she saw the new price tag would be $189,000. "I should've got up and walked away," she said, but when she balked, Grenardo "got really mad." "He screamed, 'What are you thinking? Now you're asking questions?' I punked out," she said about buckling to sign. Payments ballooned from less than $600 to $2,000 a month as Grenardo's attorney flipped the house again and again. Too broke to pay for lights or heat, the family finally moved. "I tried to keep up on the grocery bill because my kids had to eat, but it was rough," she said. She now lives in her brother's co-op in Jamaica. The attorney representing Grenardo in many of the 36 civil cases against him did not return calls seeking comment. There was no answer at a phone number for Grenardo in Brooklyn.

For the story, see Forced from homes in subprime ground zero.

For posts on criminal prosecutions of foreclosure rescue operators, see:

• Criminal Prosecutions Of Foreclosure Rescue Operators II,
• Foreclosure Rescue - For Criminal Prosecutors Only.