Florida AG Brings Civil Suit Against Another Central Florida Loan Modification Foreclosure Rescue Outfit

From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:

• Attorney General Bill McCollum [Friday] sued a Kissimmee-based company over allegations it targeted Hispanics in a foreclosure rescue fraud scheme. JPB Consulting Inc. and its president, Juan P. Bordali, allegedly charged up front fees of more than $1,000 per customer to homeowners about to lose their homes, but never performed any services. Charging fees up front before completing foreclosure rescue services is a direct violation of Florida’s Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act. [...] An investigation conducted by members of the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division, working as part of the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force, determined that JPB Consulting and Bordali marketed the company’s services primarily to those in the Hispanic community(1) using posters and signs in neighborhood stores and flyers handed out on sidewalks and street corners. The company also used radio and TV ads to solicit clients.

• According to the lawsuit, unsuspecting consumers were charged up front fees ranging from over $1,000 to $3,500 and were promised foreclosure relief. No foreclosure rescue services or loan modifications were performed by defendants. The Attorney General’s investigation further revealed the company was advised by a law firm in February that it was acting in violation of the law, but the company continued to collect the illegal up-front fees. The Attorney General’s Office knows of over 30 victims, but believes the company may have hundreds of clients.(1) JPB Consulting, Inc. is also known as JB Consulting, which sometimes does business under the name “Mortgage Modification Solutions.”

For more, see Kissimmee Foreclosure Rescue Company Sued for Fraud (Company purportedly targeted the Hispanic community with foreclosure rescue scam).

For the lawsuit, see State of Florida v. JPB Consulting, Inc., et al.

(1) Among the Florida AG's allegations is that the foreclosure rescue operator violated Section 2-2.002, Florida Administrative Code (2008), Advertising in Languages other than English (see Lawsuit, paragraph 49):

• [B]y advertising to homeowners in Spanish but providing contracts drafted only in English, defendants have violated Section 2-2.002, Florida Administrative Code (2008) and have thus committed acts or practices in trade or commerce which offend established public policy and are unethical, unscrupulous or injurious to homeowners in violation of Sec. 501.204(1), Florida Statutes (2008).

(2) Homeowners who feel they may have been screwed over by this outfit are urged to file complaints against them with the Florida Attorney General's Office. Complaint forms are available online:

• In English at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7V5H7X/$file/JPBAffidavit.pdf, and
• In Spanish at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7V5H8H/$file/JPBAffidavitSpanish.pdf.