Consumer protection lawsuits were filed on November 23, 2009 by the Pennsylvania Attorney General against four loan modification or "mortgage rescue" businesses, along with their officers, who are accused of deceiving Pennsylvania consumers seeking help modifying their mortgage loans.

"Consumers struggling with high interest rates or large loan payments were drawn to these businesses by misleading ads, deceptive websites and false promises of 'permanent changes' to their mortgages," Attorney General Tom Corbett said. "Instead, many consumers paid large up-front fees that resulted in little, if any, relief from their mortgage problems - leaving them in even worse financial situations."

Corbett said the civil lawsuits were filed by the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection against the following businesses and individuals:

• Foreclosure Awareness Inc., of Bensalem and Boca Raton, Florida, along with owner Michael Squillace.
• Nationwide Foreclosure Prevention Center LLC, of Williamstown, NJ, and owner Robert P. Valentin.
• Best Interest Rate Mortgage Company LLC, of Huntingdon Valley, PA and Westmont, NJ, as well as company President Michael J. Diplacido.
• U.S. Mortgage Mod LLC, of Philadelphia, and owner Marc Dambrosio.

Corbett said that in addition to false or misleading claims about the ability to actually modify loans, some of the companies named in these lawsuits also allegedly used deceptive mailings to consumers designed to appear as if the correspondence came from a government agency or government-related program.

Additionally, the companies did not provide consumers with state-required financial disclosure information, failed to inform consumers about their five-day right to cancel and accepted up-front fees without posting the necessary surety bond or trust account. Other companies were not licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking to handle mortgage loans or loan refinancing.

"For most consumers, their home is their single most valuable asset," Corbett said. "Any business involved in credit-related activities, including loan modification and 'mortgage rescue' services, must give consumers clear and detailed information about the process before accepting payment."

Corbett said the consumer protection lawsuits announced today are the result of an ongoing statewide investigation into loan modification services being conducted by the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, along with the state Department of Banking, the Pennsylvania Department of State and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). Corbett thanked those agencies for their continued cooperation and assistance.

More Information on Individual Lawsuits