Mortgage and Lending Fraud
Mortgage foreclosures have become common for many homeowners since the housing bust in 2008. However, a new trend emerging shows that some of the more recent foreclosures are a result of potentially unscrupulous lenders, including private entity investment companies who buy and manage mortgage loans.
In some cases, lenders such as Nationstar (aka Mr. Cooper) have been accused of predatory lending practices, mortgage loan fraud, and unfair and deceptive mortgage loan modifications. These alleged violations result in wrongful foreclosures and inaccurate credit reporting.
Losing your home can be financially and emotionally devastating as you deal with damaged credit and financial loss. This is especially true when you fall victim to events that are completely out of your control. The shock of learning that, through no fault of your own, your home will be auctioned off despite obvious errors by your lender can be extremely frustrating.
How Our Mortgage and Lending Fraud Attorneys Can Help
The Consumer Law attorneys at Fields Law Firm may be able to help. Our law firm can review your case, free of charge, and determine whether your lender violated any of the state or federal laws.
It costs nothing to get answers to your questions –
If the lender did violate your rights, you have the right to sue them and, if you win the case, you could receive $1,000 or actual damages (whichever is greater), and they must pay your attorney fees and out-of-pocket costs.
Here’s a checklist of how we can help you:
Step 1 – Creating a Case File
Our Consumer Rights team can help you gather the information regarding the events leading up to your current situation. The sooner we can begin to document the details, the better.
- A timeline of events.
- Logs of any phone conversations with dates, names and phone numbers of any representatives you spoke to, and notes on what information they gave you.
- Copies of any email or letters received from or sent to the lender.
- Your most recent credit report from all credit reporting agencies.
- Any evidence of the fraud or deception.
Step 2 – Understanding Your Rights
You have rights under federal laws. Our attorneys will review your case and determine whether those rights were violated. If so, you may have the right to seek monetary damages.
- The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law which protects consumers against unfair debt collection practices, such as harassment.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is also a federal law which protects consumers against credit reporting errors and failure to conduct a reasonable investigation of disputes to resolve the errors.
- The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a federal law that protects consumers from unsolicited phone calls and text messages.
Step 3 – Correcting Credit Reporting Errors
If your credit report has any errors or inaccuracies, our attorneys will assist you in contacting each of the credit reporting agencies to get the errors corrected. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, after a consumer disputes the accuracy of his or her report, each agency is required to investigate the dispute within 30 days, and report the results of the investigation.
In some cases, these credit reporting errors can lead to separate lawsuits against each of the credit reporting agencies and the bank or lender, particularly if the bank or lender knew that they had submitted inaccurate information and all three agencies failed to correct the mistakes.
The common credit reporting agencies are:
- Equifax
- Experian
- Transunion
- Innovis
Step 4 – Reporting Fraud to the Appropriate Agencies
In some cases, reporting fraud to the various state and federal agencies may be helpful, and could prevent similar fraudulent activity against another unsuspecting consumer.
- Mortgage Fraud: The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General is responsible for investigating suspected fraud, waste or abuse in HUD programs or operations.
- Lending Fraud: Filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission will also enter the fraud into the Consumer Sentinel Network so that law enforcement can stop ongoing fraud and track these crimes.
- Mortgage Loan Modification Fraud: The Loan Modification Scam Alert Campaign was launched in 2009 after Congress asked NeighborWorks America to help educate homeowners and offers links and phone numbers to report loan modification scams.
- Consumer Fraud: Report fraud by filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit for a consumer problem, such as bill disputes, mortgage servicing or foreclosure issues.
Step 5 – Taking Care of You and Your Family
We understand that you may be worried about your family, especially if you are facing foreclosure and an uncertain future. The emotional toll on you and your family during this stressful time and the added financial burden can also have significant health impacts. And, your current financial situation may leave you wondering how you could even afford to hire an attorney to fight for your rights.
At Fields Law, we are committed to helping those who have been injured by predatory lenders, both physically and financially. That’s why we provide our legal services on a contingency basis. That means for most cases there are no upfront costs or fees and we don’t get paid unless we win. We will take care of everything for you, so that you can focus on the health and well-being of you and your family.
If you find yourself a victim of mortgage or lending fraud, inaccurate credit reporting or wrongful foreclosure, Fields Law can help.
