Ventura County DA Charges Four In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Racket That Targeted Primarily Non-English Speaking Homeowners For Upfront Fee Fleecing

In Ventura County, California , the Ventura County Star reports:

• Ventura County prosecutors have filed a felony complaint against four people alleging they ran a fraudulent home foreclosure rescue program from an Oxnard office. Prosecutors allege that Maria Victoria Santos, 55, of Ventura, along with Felipe Carlos Segovia Castro, 67, of Moreno Valley; Laura Cecilia Carlson, 64, of Hacienda Heights; and Margie Joanna Vargas, 22, of Orange, targeted predominantly monolingual Spanish-speaking clients facing foreclosure on their homes.

• The four defendants collected thousands of dollars in upfront fees from their clients after promising to save their homes from foreclosure. However, prosecutors allege their clients received no actual services and lost thousands of dollars in addition to their homes.

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• Santos faces 11 counts of foreclosure consultant fraud and seven counts of grand theft. Castro is charged with one count of foreclosure consultant fraud. Carlson, a licensed real estate saleswoman, and Vargas, a licensed notary public, are both charged with two counts of foreclosure consultant fraud.

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• The charges arise out of what authorities say was a fraudulent home foreclosure rescue business called USA Home Recovery Service, run by Santos out of an office on Fifth Street in Oxnard. Prosecutors said Santos advertised her services on local radio stations broadcasting in Spanish to Spanish-speaking residents in Ventura County.

• Those who suspect they were victimized in this operation are asked to contact the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit at 662-1750 and file a complaint.

Source: 4 accused of foreclosure rescue fraud.

Go here for the Ventura County DA press release.