Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Scammer banned from debt/mortgage relief business in FTC action, (Mar 14, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

Pursuant to a court order obtained by the FTC, an individual involved in a mortgage modification scam has been banned from selling debt relief and mortgage-related products and services and from telemarketing, the agency announced today. Denny Lake is the last individual defendant in a mortgage modification scheme aimed at financially strapped homeowners (FTC v. Lake, Dkt. SACV 15-00585).

The court order resolves an FTC action, brought in April 2015, halting the HOPE Services and HAMP Services scheme that promised consumers help in getting their mortgages modified but, instead, stole their mortgage payments, leading in some cases to foreclosure and bankruptcy. The court found that Lake, d/b/a JD United, Advocacy Department, Advocacy Division, and Advocacy Agency, substantially assisted HOPE and HAMP Services, while knowing or consciously avoiding knowing that the other defendants were violating the FTC’s Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule and its Telemarketing Sales Rule.

In addition to the banned activities, the final judgment and permanent injunction prohibits/bans Lake from:

• making misrepresentations about any products or services, including financial products in particular;

• making unsubstantiated claims about any financial product unless they are non-misleading and based on reliable evidence;

• profiting from consumers’ personal information; and

• failing to dispose of consumers’ personal information properly.

In addition, the order imposes a judgment of more than $2 million, which represents the amount of bogus mortgage payments paid by consumers.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews