Other LanguagesOLYMPIA – Rising mortgage payments have paved the way for scammers who peruse foreclosure listings. Grasping at any offer for help, their victims have paid for false promises, been cheated out of equity and, in severe cases, were tricked into transferring ownership of their homes.
Now, in an effort to shelter consumers from equity skimmers, the Washington Attorney General’s Office is using those same listings.
SEATTLE – Approximately 200 Washington consumers who paid for a service that they thought would help save their homes from foreclosure will receive partial refunds under a new settlement announced today by the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
OLYMPIA – December will be a bit more rewarding for 8,750 Washington residents. They’ll receive checks this month totaling nearly $9.9 million as part of a national settlement with former subprime lending giant Ameriquest.
OLYMPIA – Attorney General Rob McKenna and Scott Jarvis, Director of the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), announced today that more than 12,000 Washington residents are eligible for an estimated $9.1 million in restitution from Ameriquest Mortgage Company and its related companies. The money comes from last year’s $325 million national settlement, in which states alleged widespread fraud by Ameriquest as part of a high-pressure scheme to sell mortgages that trapped consumers into debt and put them at risk of losing their homes.
SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced a lawsuit against an estate property consignment business and its owner for allegedly failing to fully compensate customers for sold items and keeping unsold property. The company is located on the Olympic Peninsula and also does business online. The Attorney General’s Office filed a suit today in Kitsap County Superior Court, alleging violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act by Great Estates, LCC, of Port Orchard, and its owner, Alice Simpson, of Olalla. The company has also done business as Cornucopia Ailisia.
A loan officer convicted of stealing more than $44,000 from homeowners as part of a program to pay off their mortgages today received an exceptional sentence of 68 months incarceration, $70,600 in restitution and a $10,000 fine, Attorney General Rob McKenna announced.
SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna announced a settlement today with three Washington-based businesses and their owners accused of taking unfair advantage of homeowners and other property owners facing tax foreclosure. At the same time, the office filed civil charges against two other individuals connected to the case.
TACOMA – Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today that his office has filed first-degree theft charges against a mortgage loan officer accused of stealing a check intended to pay for brokerage fees.
KENNEWICK – On May 25, a former mortgage loan officer was sentenced to nine months in jail and ordered to pay restitution of $13,500, plus costs for witness and attorney’s fees for stealing money and forging a promissory note.
Kennewick, WA – A former Kennewick loan officer, charged with stealing $9,000 from his former customers through an investment scheme, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment today in Benton County. He was released on his own recognizance until trial.