No Rescue For Philly Couple After Dealings With Local Foreclosure Rescue, Sale Leaseback Peddler End In $180K Home Equity Fleecing

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran a story of the plight of a local couple who, finding themselves in a financial pinch, made the ill-advised decision to turn to local foreclosure rescue operator Anthony J. DeMarco III and his outfit, DeMarco REI, to refinance their home through what allegedly ended up being a sale leaseback ripoff that took the couple for $180,000. DeMarco's alleged racket is described in this excerpt:

• [T]he U.S. attorney in Philadelphia alleged in an indictment last month, DeMarco kept that money [$180K], as well as proceeds from the sales of at least 113 additional houses in a foreclosure-rescue scheme that netted him $11 million.

• The scheme operated from mid-2006 into 2009, but most of the $31 million in new, fraudulent mortgages from 19 banks, including three that were subsequently closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), were obtained in 2007 and 2008, when banks were in the jaws of a fierce financial crisis sparked by sloppy mortgage lending.

• The U.S. Attorney's Office, as part of its civil lawsuit against DeMarco REI, plans to set up a mediation program between the original homeowners and the new lenders to help as many of DeMarco's victims as possible regain ownership, though some may have lost their houses anyway. A federal court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday in Philadelphia.

For the story, see Rescue scheme called a fraud (U.S.: DeMarco REI took $11 million from homeowners).

For the U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia) press release announcing their actions against DeMarco and others, see Charges & Civil Complaint Filed In Foreclosure Rescue Scheme (Civil Complaint Seeks Help For Scam Victims Facing Foreclosure).

For the charges brought in this criminal/civil, 'dual' prosecution, see:

• Criminal Indictment: U.S. v. DeMarco, et al.,
• Civil Complaint: U.S. v. DeMarco REI, Inc., et al.

See Criminal Prosecutions Of Sale Leaseback Peddlers In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Deals for other incidents that led to criminal prosecutions in sale leaseback deals.