Friday, March 27, 2009

Mortgage Forclosure Help Fraud

Florida is getting hit with another string of parasites: firms that pray on desperate people.

They promise results, promise that a lawyer is representing them...and take your money.

In the Florida Bar News, March 15th, 2009

By Gary BlankenshipSenior Editor

Holcomb said her office investigated 16 companies in 2007-08 for mortgage-related UPL, and so far this year another 10 cases have been opened. The number of cases actually can understate the problem because each company can have dozens of victims, she said.The Attorney General’s Office reports receiving 108 complaints in a two-week period, and has filed eight suits and launched 48 investigations of mortgage fraud.The range of UPL actions, Holcomb said, is widespread. In some cases, companies have advised clients on filing federal lawsuits. In others, they have tried to retain lawyers to represent their clients.“They would get the client and then they would hire the attorney and they would send that attorney a flat fee and then tell the lawyer what to do,” said Holcomb, adding most attorneys turn down such proposals, recognizing it is a violation of Bar rules.“A corporation can’t practice law and they can’t hire an attorney to practice law for them,” Holcomb said.



We see this every day with our attorneys. People throwing good money after bad, thinking they have hired a lawyer. Some companies never do more than make one obligatory call to the bank...then forget about it.

Think about it. That is why we have licensed attoneys and rules...to protect people. They need it...not get rich quick merchants.

2 comments:

  1. Think about that.

    Attorneys who follow their contracts and tell the truth.

    What about the kind that pocket filing fees and leave town?

    http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2002/04/23/News/Students.Blame.Arrests.On.Their.Lawyer-1299405.shtml

    ReplyDelete
  2. and by the way, the word you are looking for is 'prey' not 'pray'. Look at your first sentence.

    ReplyDelete