They posed as mortgage brokers, claiming they could help distressed homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments. These scam artists collected fees but never followed through with their promises, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is now taking legal action against them.
For these “services” victims were required to pay at least $1,000 in advance fees and were told to have no contact with their original mortgage servicers. They were also told to refrain from making future payments to their current mortgage servicer.
After collecting fees, the Baileys neglected to provide measurable foreclosure relief. No negotiations were made with homeowners original mortgage servicers, causing many to lose their homes to foreclosure action. In late October, the Baileys received a cease-and-desist order from the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, but the men continued to unlawfully operate their businesses.
Judge James M. Staton, from the 134th District of Dallas County, granted an agreed temporary injunction barring the Baileys from operating their businesses and required the defendants to reimburse all fees to the victims of their fraud or place these monies in a trust pending final judgment.
In addition to this restitution, the attorney general is seeking civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and is requiring the payment of all attorneys’ fees.
The defendants also allegedly violated other provisions of the Texas Business and Commerce Code by failing to provide homeowners with a required option to cancel the in-residence solicitation and violated the Texas Finance Code by failing to obtain a license.
From www.dsnews.com by Brittany Dunn
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