Arizona AG Squeezes $75K In Penalties, Restitution From Woman Suspected Of Running Loan Modification Racket; Refused Giving Refunds On Failed Assistance, Saying Homeowner Payments Were Donations To Her Church

From the Office of the Arizona Attorney General:

• Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has obtained a Consent Judgment against Rosa Galope in a consumer fraud lawsuit in which the State alleged that Ms. Galope engaged in a scheme designed to defraud homeowners looking for assistance in obtaining mortgage loan modifications and forestalling foreclosure on their homes.
  
  The State alleged that Ms. Galope charged distressed homeowners thousands of dollars in advance fees for her services and, when she was unable to obtain results for her clients, refused to refund their money while claiming that their payments were donations to her church, Nation to Nation Ministries.
  
  The State also alleged that Ms. Galope instructed her clients to not communicate with their lenders and to send their mortgage payments to her so that she could forward them to the consumer’s mortgage lender, while keeping the money for her own use.

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• The terms of the judgment require Ms. Galope to pay full restitution to consumers who filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, an amount of nearly $65,000. Ms. Galope was also ordered to pay $10,000.00 in civil penalties and is prohibited from engaging in any loan modification activities in Arizona or on behalf of Arizona consumers.
  
  In entering into the Consent Judgment Ms. Galope did not admit that she violated the law nor did the court make findings that she did so.

For the Arizona AG press release, see Consent Judgment for West Valley Woman Who Claimed "Church Donations" as Part of Alleged Mortgage Modification Scheme.