California Woman Charged With Clipping Homeowners For Upfront Fees For Foreclosure Rescue Services & Allegedly Doing Nothing

In Santa Cruz County, California, The Mercury News reports:

• A Watsonville woman already accused of defrauding an elderly Salinas woman out of thousands of dollars now faces charges she scammed at least seven South County homeowners in a bogus refinancing scheme. Most lost their homes.

• Melissa Dawn Garcia, 27, allegedly told homeowners nearing foreclosure that she could save their property if they paid her $2,500, according to prosecutor Kelly Walker with the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office. He called the alleged scams "keep your house out of foreclosure deals."

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• "Almost all of them have lost their homes," Walker said. As many as 40 Monterey County residents in danger of losing their homes also may have fallen victim to Garcia, Walker said. John Hubanks, a prosecutor in the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, said his office has not filed any charges against Garcia and declined to comment about their investigation.

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• The allegations against Garcia surfaced in May when a 76-year-old Salinas woman told police that Garcia had convinced her to invest $66,000 a year prior. Police there contacted authorities in Santa Cruz and they began probing the alleged phony investment. [...] District Attorney's offices across the region have started a real estate foreclosure task force to look into this type of crime.

For more, see Watsonville woman accused in foreclosure scam.