Sunday, October 19, 2008

Foreclosure Rescue Victims May Have Been Scammed Again By Woman Accused Of Unauthorized Practice Of Law

In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:
  • [L]ike dozens of other Hispanic residents across Florida, they faced eviction because of their dealings with now-closed mortgage company 4 Solutions of Tampa. And like many of those 4 Solutions customers, they called Barbara Hernandez of Orlando after reading an ad in Spanish newspaper El Nuevo Dia where she offered to help people involved with the company.

  • The residents say that she promised they'd get their houses back. That she said she'd lead them in a class-action lawsuit. That for only $50 a month, she'd help them file papers and go to court with them. About 80 families turned to her. The problem? She isn't a lawyer.

***

  • Roberto Cruz, an attorney with the [non-profit law firm] Legal Advocacy Center of Central Florida, recently filed the [Florida Bar] complaint against Hernandez alleging unlicensed practice of law.(1) Cruz of Sanford represents several residents hurt in deals worked out by 4 Solutions.

For more, see Victimized homeowners' advocate is not a lawyer.

(1) Go here and go here for other posts on issues relating to attorneys, loan modifications, and the unlicensed/unauthorized practice of law. UnauthPractOfLawKappa