Illinois AG Brings Civil Suit Alleging Deceptive Practices In Equity Stripping, Home Repair Scam That Duped 36 Chicago Homeowners

In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:

• The Illinois attorney general's office filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday against a Chicago man and five home repair and mortgage companies for allegedly defrauding 36 Chicago homeowners, including two who lost homes to foreclosure. The complaint charges Mark Diamond and several companies to which he is linked with coordinating a scheme to strip almost $1.3 million in equity from the homes of elderly and African-American homeowners on the city's West and South Sides.(1) The actions allegedly violated the state's consumer fraud act.

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• The suit charged that Diamond offered to refinance mortgages at lower interest rates or lower monthly payments and encouraged homeowners to take equity out of their homes for repairs, with the work performed by the affiliated companies. After persuading homeowners to sign the checks over to Diamond, he pocketed a portion of the funds instead of completing the repairs, the state said. The state also accused Diamond of putting homeowners into mortgages they could not afford and, in some cases, forging consumers' signatures on loan documents. As a result, 12 consumers have defaulted on their mortgages and two people have lost their homes to foreclosure, the state said.

Source: Chicago man and five companies are sued in consumer fraud case (Lawsuit says Mark Diamond defrauded elderly and African-American homeowners on the city's West and South Sides).

For the Illinois Attorney General press release, see Madigan Cracks Down On Chicago Mortgage And Home Repair Fraud Scheme ($1.3 Million Swindled from Elderly, African-American Homeowners in Subprime Loan Scam).

(1) According to the story, also named in the suit were three home repair and remodeling companies, United Construction of America Inc., United Residential Services and Real Estate Inc., and Skyway Builders #1 Inc.; and two finance companies, OSI Financial Services Inc. and Harbor Financial Group Ltd. Diamond is president of United Residential Services and OSI Financial Services and "fronts for all the companies," the lawsuit reportedly said. StiffingContractorsTheta