Michigan Appeals Court Lowers Restitution Liability For Loan Modification Scammer Currently Doing 3 To 20 In State Prison, Saying Only Those Five Victims Named In Charges Are Entitled Payment From Defendant

In Allegan County, Michigan, mlive.com reports:

• Alleged victims of the "foreclosure rescue" -- a scam described by the Michigan Attorney General as a "one-woman crime wave" -- will not see restitution from the business owner because of a Michigan Court of Appeals decision.
  
  In a decision released Wednesday, Oct. 21, the Appeals Court ruled that only the five victims actually named in the racketeering charge substantiated against Fennville resident Tanya Raisbeck could receive compensation of about $4,225.
  
  That compares to the more than $23,000 that was ordered by Allegan County Circuit Judge Kevin Cronin, who also sentenced the now 40-year-old woman to three to 20 years in prison on Oct. 25, 2013.
  
  Raisbeck had a "foreclosure rescue" business that took thousands in advance fees from desperate homeowners, according to state Attorney General Bill Schuette.
  
  Raisbeck incorporated Mobile Modification, Inc., as a for-profit corporation that allegedly would perform mortgage modifications. Customers were promised lower mortgage payments and foreclosure prevention by paying $795, plus assorted other fees.
  
  The AG's office said victims often wound up in worse shape than when they started. Some lost homes.
  
  "Raisbeck was a one-woman crime wave, defrauding at least 85 victims struggling to keep their homes during an economic downturn," Schuette said in a prepared statement.
  
  At sentencing, the court determined there were an additional 26 claims that had not been charged, but had been substantiated.
  
  However, three members of the Court of Appeals ruled that only the five victims named in the charges could receive restitution from the defendant.
  
  But what, if any, restitution would be forthcoming from Raisbeck is questionable since she will not be eligible for parole consideration for another year and could remain in prison until Oct. 23, 2033.
  
  Raisbeck has been spending at least some of her time in Ypsilanti's Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility filing complaints against the prison because she allegedly had to share a single cell with three other women.
  
  Other victims of the mortgage scam can potentially find relief by applying to the [Michigan] Victim Restitution Program, established with funds from the National Mortgage Settlement.

Source: Appeal lowers restitution for victims of 'mortgage rescue' scam.