Oregon AG Settles Suits With Two Firms, Begins Probe Into At Least Six Others In Effort To Find & Prosecute Crooked Loan Modification Rackets

From the Oregon Department of Justice:

• Attorney General John Kroger [Wednesday] announced a new enforcement effort to protect Oregon homeowners by targeting loan modification companies that engage in deceptive and misleading business practices. [...] The attorney general announced that his Financial Fraud and Consumer Protection Unit has opened more than half a dozen investigations related to loan modification companies and mortgage fraud. Kroger also announced the results of two cases.

• [Wednesday's] settlements are with National Homeowners Assistance Services, Inc. [$4,000 in legal costs reimbursement], based in Lake Forest, Calif., and American Mitigation Group [$4,000 in restitution], based in Newport Beach, Calif. The companies offered loan modification assistance and related services to homeowners facing foreclosure. The companies purposefully used tactics that could confuse homeowners, including implying they were affiliated with government agencies or programs.

***

• [Wednesday's] settlements are one part of an overall Oregon Department of Justice strategy to protect Oregon homeowners. The Department of Justice will vigorously pursue crooked loan modification companies.

For the Oregon AG press release, see Attorney General John Kroger Cracks Down On Loan Modification Scammers (Two California loan modification companies must stop misleading Oregon consumers).