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Broward residents charged in foreclosure rescue scam
By Palm Beach Business.com
FORT LAUDERDALE — A federal grand jury has indicted three Broward residents who allegedly ran an alleged foreclosure rescue scam that victimized both financially distressed homeowners as well as area banks.
The grand jury charged Lisa Wright, 46, and Cathy Saffer, 52, both of Pompano Beach, with one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. The grand jury also charged Barrington Coombs, a certified public accountant in Weston, with one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud.
As outlined in the indictment, the scam was actually a new twist on traditional mortgage fraud, which has become rampant throughout South Florida and a major target for law enforcement agencies in the region.
Wright and Saffer operated a business called Foreclosure Solution Specialists from 2006 to 2009 that targeted homeowners facing foreclosure, claiming they could keep them in their homes. Wright and Saffer would tell victims that their homes would be sold to investors but that they could continue to live their and even buy their homes back at a later date.
According to the indictment, rather than selling the homes to legitimate investors, Wright and Saffer orchestrated sham sales to straw buyers who they paid to participate in the scheme.
The indictment also alleges that Wright and Saffer would lie on loan applications regarding the “buyers’ ” net worth, income and job histories to get banks to make loans.
Wright and Saffer allegedly paid Coombs to sign a letters falsely vouching for the fraudulent information on various loan applications.
The sham sales drew equity out of the homes, which Wright and Saffer allegedly pocketed. The two then would allow the loans to go into foreclosure. Homeowners ultimately lost all of the equity in their homes, and most of the victims were forced to move.
“Protecting Americans from financial fraud is one of our top priorities,” said Tony West, assistant attorney general for the civil division of the Department of Justice. “Foreclosure rescue scams, like the one alleged here, are especially insidious because they seek to take advantage of those most at risk of losing everything. These charges demonstrate that we will aggressively prosecute individuals who we believe prey on homeowners struggling in these tough financial times.”
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