http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/70160
By: Marc Fischer and Maoz Lev 

More than 1,000,000 homes were foreclosed upon this past year. Each foreclosure is someone´s tragedy and as always, every tragedy draws its fair share of opportunists. Sadly, the downturn of the real estate market attracted a fair share of evil doers. The vulnerability of these homeowners was exacerbated because the information of a person in default becomes more accessible as the number of missed payments increase. Unlike news stories that try to cover a certain case of fraud this article is intended to provide practical advice given by a real estate expert as well as reiterate the very important warnings provided by the FBI.

We have all heard about the millions of Americans that are at the risk of losing their most valued possession, their home. But most of us do not know that scammers are actively roaming the neighborhood offering homeowners in trouble all kinds of tempting solutions.

Foreclosure figures are staggering. There are over 1.8 Million homes already in financial difficulty. 500,000 in pre-foreclosure status, 383,000 in foreclosure, 373,000 in bankruptcy and over 400,000 in bankruptcy or that are about to be sold in a Sherriff´s sale. (Source: www.foreclosure.com)

Fraudsters don´t need to travel far as homes in distress are found in abundance. What is staggering is that these so called "foreclosure rescuers" know no boundary. The following examples will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Recently, the Illinois Attorney General sued no other than the reverend Walter C. Armstrong a bishop at the Prayer of Faith Church who ran an operation using religion to defraud troubled homeowners. The growth in these cases was anticipated. Earlier this year it was reported by CNN that a home was stripped away from a mentally ill woman from South Brooklyn. The so called rescuer promised that if she signed the title over to him he would pay all her late fees and rent the house back to her. After signing the title over, he sold the house and absconded with more than $400,000. And to make things easier for scammers, they can even buy ready made "foreclosure rescue" websites with "testimonials" of smiling clients, all prepared to lure in distressed homeowners.

The fraudsters can be efficient as finding the homeowner is quite easy. "Anyone can find out who defaults on their mortgage payments, it´s all public information," says Eli Tene, President of I Short Sale, Inc. Tene´s company, based in Woodland Hills, CA, offers free services to homeowners in default, helping them to alleviate overwhelming mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure. "Unfortunately there are many heartless opportunists posing as foreclosure rescue companies who promise to assist homeowners, while literally stealing everything they can from them."

"Protect yourselves by checking with the Better Business Bureau, call the company and don´t be ashamed to ask for references." Tene also added "We have heard of many scams, tempting cash offers or promises of buying the property with the intent to sell it back to the owner may be traps. Owners simply need to check everything. Don´t sign anything without fully understanding the implications, don´t sign under pressure, absolutely do not sign your deed away, and don´t pay in advance for any service. If you are in foreclosure, it is illegal for anyone to charge you an upfront fee."

Tene added"We help homeowners avoid foreclosure by working out a loan modification, or a short sale. Borrowers who qualify can modify their loan, many others opt for a short sale as the service is free and they like the idea of their debt being erased by the lender".

Supervisory Special Agent Paul Bertrand of the L.A. White Collar Crime Division of the FBI reasserted Tene´s perspective that fraudsters are actively pursuing homeowners in default or in foreclosure. According to Bertrand, "Fraudsters use false advertisements claiming that they can save your home. They acquire the lists of homeowners in foreclosure from every source possible and send hundreds of postcards daily"

FBI discovered that one type of scheme outnumbered the rest. "Fraudsters convince the property owner that they will resolve all issues with their lender. The homeowner is requested to sign over 1/8 of their deed to a company controlled by the fraudster, and is requested to make the monthly payments to that company, as opposed to the bank." Bertrand explains that the fraudulent company then files for bankruptcy, thus delaying the foreclosure from proceeding. Since the bankruptcy is a fake, the fraudster will not follow the proper procedures and the court will dismiss it after approximately 60 days. Meanwhile, the illegitimate company will continue to receive payments from the unsuspecting homeowner.

The scammer may repeat the process with the same owner up to two years during that time; the con man receives payments from the unwary homeowners who don´t know that they are not making any payments toward their mortgage.

Bertrand´s team covers the LA metropolitan area and has already caught and prosecuted a number of these perpetrators.