FTC closes down scam mortgage service

“At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has halted a bogus mortgage foreclosure prevention operation that misrepresented both the “loss mitigation” services it offered and the earnings potential of the business opportunity it sold. The FTC seeks to end this deceptive scheme and make the defendants give up their ill-gotten gains.”

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The defendants are Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services, LLC, Loss Mitigation Training Center of America, LLC, Jeffrey C. Segal, and Michael R. Workman. The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaint was 4-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. On June 1, 2009, the court entered a temporary restraining order against Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services, Loss Mitigation Training Center of America, and Segal. The court entered a preliminary injunction against those defendants and defendant Michael Workman on June 18, 2009.”

Article:

Lawsuit: Mortgage scam led by pastor

JP Morgan Chase is suing Pastor Michael Wilkerson, his wife, some members of his church, the lending company, American Group Mortgage, title company, real estate agents and others for setting up straw men buyers of several parcels of property at inflated prices and then selling them for much less than the mortgage price at which Chase purchased them for, from the original lender.  Chase attempted to force AGM to repurchase the loans as required under the agreement but they have refused. (No money?)

If these allegations are true, its emblematic of what went wrong during this bubble; people and institutions embodying trust – pastor, mortgage and title companies as well as brokers and individuals gamed the system, turned real property into fake money.  Its very Madoff and all the rest.

Complaint courtesy of Courthousenews