EAST LOS ANGELES, CA—A leading consumer advocacy group announced
free help to the thousands of homeowners in Southern California
who have lost their homes, are in the process of losing their
home, or believe they will lose their home in the near future
due to mortgage fraud. The group is documenting cases of
mortgage fraud for a report to be issued this summer in the
nation’s capital and will have all cases reviewed by a legal aid
team. “Shady
realtors, greedy mortgage brokers, worthless appraisers, and
careless escrow companies are to blame for some of the crisis
many homeowners face today,” said K.B. Forbes, Executive
Director of the Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a national
not-for-profit organization and public charity which
investigates and educates the public about consumer fraud and
abuses. “We suspect that at least one in five homeowners in
Southern California has been hoodwinked by one of the key
players involved in the transaction. The mortgage and real
estate industry cannot claim innocence.”
Rueben Preciado,
a homeowner from Moreno Valley, discovered that his supposed
30-year fixed loan was not fixed last September. “Our payment
went much higher and we didn’t know why. Our loan, it turned
out, was a three-year fixed and 27-year adjustable.” When he
tried to refinance, he discovered that his loan included an
unconscionable pre-payment penalty equal to six months of
interest. He could not afford to refinance. “We are barely
making it,” said Preciado, a tire mechanic who works at an auto
tire store in Pomona. “I have had to borrow money from family to
stay afloat and not lose my house.”
Consejo has reviewed
Preciado’s case and found that he was never given final
documents showing the loan change and it appears his escrow
company and mortgage broker deceived him.
Consejo has set up a
toll-free hotline at 1-800-474-7576. All services are free.
The Consejo, which has
published ten investigative reports on hospital price gouging,
religious fraud, police abuse, and pharmaceutical corporate
deception, has helped spur at least three U.S. Congressional
investigations and hearings. Consejo’s work against hospital
fraud was profiled on CBS’ 60 Minutes in 2006. Over 500
news articles have been written about Consejo’s work since the
organization was founded in 2001.
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