Gina_Silva's Blog

A ring of accused mortgage scammers is now behind bars!  The group is accused of defrauding it's customers out of millions. My colleague Tim Harrell and I spent so much time investigating this group and we spent time with the victims. People who lost thousands of dollars and in many cases lost their homes because of the actions of "Lifetime Financial". Clients say they were offered low rates; they would sign on the dotted line then the employees would hike up those rates without letting them know. In other cases, clients who had decided not to go with the company, say their signatures were forged and with those fake signatures they suddenly found themselves with the most outrageous loans. (We saw some of those signatures...they certainly appeared to be different to the real owners signatures)

The group led by Eric Pony from Tarzana Ca., allegedly took out all of the equity and left the homeowners with huge loans/monthly payments they simply couldn't afford. Too many people lost their homes. One victim was a 75-year old man who'd had his house most of his life. Now homeless. What is he going to do???

State Attorney General, Jerry Brown says, "As the mortgage crisis worsens, a growing number of fly-by-night companies are employing utterly brazen tactics to push homeowners into illegal and unconscionable loans."

He's absolutely right. I've received so many calls from people saying they've been scammed in similar situations by different mortgage companies.

While San Bernardino and Los Angeles DA investigators say they're making it a priority to stop these mortgage lending predators, it's nearly impossible to catch all of them. So, please be careful out there. TRUST NO ONE! Do your homework and check out these companies thoroughly before you go into business with them. If you've been scammed here's a number to call:

1800-952-5225.