Virginia AG Squeezes Settlement From Loan Modification Outfit Allegedly Making Bogus Guaranties To Stop Foreclosure In Exchange For Upfront Fees

The Washington Post reports:

• A mortgage modification company that had been illegally charging customers fees before providing emergency foreclosure help has agreed to refund customers and pay a $5,000 fine, [Virginia] Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) said.

• In November, Cuccinelli filed suit against the American Neighborhood Housing Foundation, a Chesapeake-based company that also operated a Richmond office for three years, charging that the fees violated the Virginia Foreclosure Rescue and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, by guaranteeing the company could halt foreclosures.

• In a statement, Cuccinelli said the company has agreed to refund more than $94,000 to 273 customers nationally, as well as pay the fine and $10,000 to cover attorney fees. The company has also agreed to stop charging $1,500 in advance of providing foreclosure services and to stop guaranteeing that it can save people's homes.

Source: Mortgage company to pay fine for illegal fees, Cuccinelli says.