Mortgage Relief Scammers to Pay $3.6 Million

On January 14, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a settlement has been reached in an alleged mortgage relief scam that took advantage of distressed consumers facing possible foreclosure. The defendants have agreed to surrender assets totaling approximately $3.6 million as part of the settlement agreement. It is the FTC’s largest judgment to date against a purported mortgage assistance relief provider. According to the FTC, the defendants were running an operation based in South Florida that a court found was “permeated with illegal practices” including using a fake nonprofit to lure consumers seeking to save their homes from foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments. The FTC complaint alleged that using Reaching U Network, the defendants falsely claimed to be a “private charity working for struggling consumers that can’t afford legal representation.”