- New York State Attorney General takes on the crooks
- The publicity generates more complaints
- How bad is the situation really?
Given the flocks of vultures landing on the roofs of underwater American citizens facing foreclosure, it’s good to know that a few knights in armor are still around. One such crusader for justice is New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, previously United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Bill Clinton, and a tough guy too, who knows a lot about the mortgage business.
Cuomo posted off a further 31 letters this week to so-called mortgage rescue companies suspected of cheating New York State’s desperate households out of money they don’t have. These messages are referred to as cease and desists – if the suspected felons fail to cease, then they may rest assured that Cuomo won’t desist either. So hats off to the gentleman and a round of applause please.
Thus far, a total of 213 New York firms have been served notice for the following particularly nasty crimes of which Cuomo has accused them:
- Collecting money up-front from households fearing imminent foreclosure in return for providing anti-foreclosure assistance (including loan modifications and general advice) and then nothing further to help them save their homes.
- Failing to either provide a contract, or allow a five day cooling off period. Some firms also offered false guarantees, falsified client testimonials, and valueless one hundred percent money-back promises.
The firms concerned are accused of having scammed thousands of New York State families between them – easy picking when just a hard-sell is all that is required.
“Many of these companies take money from homeowners who cannot afford to pay it and make a bad situation worse,” Cuomo said. “We are telling these companies to immediately cease any wrongdoing and to make sure their business practices are all above board, or they are going to be held accountable by my office.”
Last week, the New York State Attorney General’s Office sent similar letters to over 180 mortgage rescue firms as well, who similarly had been ripping off American citizens. The publicity that this generated attracted even more complaints: hence the further 31 cease-and-desist notices sent out this week. Business is obviously brisk, and it’s easy to make friends with desperate people. As of May 2010, New York State boasted almost 65,000 foreclosed homes, with over 1,900 joining the collection in that month alone.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who will be standing for New York Governor in the next elections, has requested that New Yorkers contact his office directly, in the event that they require advice on their mortgage situation. It’s good to know that at least some politicians are there to help their people, when the chips are down.
This information was provided by www.foreclosuredatabank.com.
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Written by Alex Rolim.
