Illinois Regulator Hits 11 Outfits With Cease & Desist Orders, $275K In Fines For Allegedly Peddling Unauthorized, Crappy Loan Modification Services

In Greater Chicago, Illinois, the SouthtownStar reports:

• With a rise in foreclosure activity in the Chicago area as a backdrop, the state said Thursday it had cracked down on firms that promised homeowners breathing room with their mortgage companies, only to charge large fees for doing little or no work.

• The state's Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said it had fined 11 mortgage modification companies, [...] $25,000 each for illegally charging upfront fees to homeowners with the promise they would renegotiate mortgage terms with their lenders.(1)

• The companies never sent in required paperwork or even contacted banks in some cases, according to the department.

For more, see State slams mortgage firms (Collected fees, but offered little help to struggling homeowners).

See also: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation press release: Mortgage Fraud Task Force Investigation Finds Violations by Mortgage Loan Modification Firms ($275,000 in Fines Imposed on Unlicensed Firms).

(1) The companies ordered to cease and desist offering loan modifications without a license and fined $25,000 each are (click name to see C&D order)): Opportunity Consultants, Carrey Services, American Accurate Services, Gamez & Associates Ltd., Juan Hernandez, Home Loan Modification, Homeowner’s Advocates Centers, Imperium Realty Group, Mortgage Mitigators, Mi Familia, and Loan Rescue Corp.