Government Returns $2.3M to Victims of Foreclosure Rescue Scam

The ""Federal Trade Commission"":http://www.ftc.gov (FTC) has mailed 1,410 refund checks totaling $2.3 million to consumers allegedly defrauded by Home Assure LLC, a so-called mortgage foreclosure rescue service.
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The FTC alleged that the company charged consumers an up-front fee of $1,500 to $2,500, and falsely claimed its ""special"" relationships with lenders would enable the company to secure favorable loan modifications or stop foreclosure altogether.

A ""settlement order issued"":http://dsnews.comarticles/ftc-orders-phony-mortgage-mod-company-to-repay-customers-24m-2010-08-02 by the federal agency last August imposed a monetary judgment and banned Home

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Assure from selling mortgage loan modification and foreclosure relief services.

The commission approved the order with a unanimous 5-0 vote. The ""order was filed"":http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0823192/100729homeassureorder.pdf in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

The FTC states in its complaint that the company conducted a “nationwide marketing campaign designed to take advantage of struggling homeowners.”

One of the claims on Home Assure’s Web site was, “If we are unable to negotiate a plan with your lender that improves your situation or gives you a viable strategy to avoid foreclosure, we will refund 100% of your money. . . No questions asked!”

According to the FTC, however, Home Assure did little or nothing to help consumers avoid foreclosure. In numerous instances the company refused to pay refunds, sometimes claiming that consumers did not meet the terms of the contract for a refund or that they had breached the contract by contacting their lender or filing for bankruptcy.

The $2.3 million being returned to consumers represents the total amount of money consumers paid into the scam, FTC officials said.