Owners of a Florida-based regulation agency have been ordered to pay near $4.6 million to settle claims that they allegedly ran a mortgage mortgage modification and foreclosures rescue scheme that focused Hispanic owners.
The consent order places an finish to a lawsuit initially launched by the Department of Justice in 2018 in opposition to regulation agency Advocate Law Groups of Florida P.A. and its homeowners, Jon B. Lindeman, Jr. and his spouse, Ephigenia Okay. Lindeman.
The DOJ’s lawsuit claimed the couple violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by discriminating in opposition to Hispanic owners once they have been operating their predatory rescue providers.
According to the DOJ, from 2009 via 2015, Lindeman and his spouse focused Hispanic owners via Spanish-language promoting that promised to chop mortgage funds in half. The DOJ mentioned a number of the owners focused had restricted English proficiency.
The settlement, which was introduced final week, additionally features a third defendant, Haralampos “Bob” Kourouklis, who’s Ephigenia Lindeman’s father. Kourouklis ran an organization referred to as Summit Development Solutions USA, LLC, which offered mortgage modification providers to shoppers of ALG. Kourouklis’ title was added to the lawsuit in an amended criticism in 2021.
The division alleges that in that six-year interval, Lindeman and his spouse promised a whole lot of Hispanic owners decrease month-to-month funds in change for hundreds of {dollars} of upfront and month-to-month charges.
Despite charging excessive charges, the defendants did little or nothing to assist shoppers get hold of mortgage modifications, the DOJ mentioned.
Homeowners who opted for the mortgage modification providers have been supposedly instructed to cease making month-to-month mortgage funds and to cease speaking with lenders. In flip, a number of the defendant’s shoppers went into default or misplaced their properties.
Kristen Clarke, assistant lawyer common on the DOJ, mentioned in a press release on Friday that focusing on owners with restricted English proficiency is “reprehensible and illegal.”
“Homeowners of color and other protected groups must be safeguarded from discriminatory targeting that can lead to grave financial loss, including loss of one’s home. We will continue to use our federal civil rights laws to protect the rights of homeowners,” Clarke mentioned.
The DOJ filed the go well with in 2018 after three owners and members of their households filed complaints of discrimination with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
After investigating the matter, HUD issued prices of discrimination and referred the case to the DOJ for litigation.
Per the consent order, the defendants should pay near $4.6 million to compensate owners impacted by the alleged scheme. Out of the sum, defendants should pay a complete of $95,000 to 3 intervenors and a civil penalty of $5,000 to the United States.
Most of the financial judgement, nevertheless, is suspended as a result of the defendants are unable to cowl the sum, the DOJ mentioned.
For the subsequent 5 years, the defendants are required to submit up to date monetary statements and if there are any materials misrepresentations your entire judgement will likely be reinstated, the DOJ mentioned.
Defendants are additionally barred from offering any mortgage reduction help providers and are required to implement nondiscriminatory insurance policies in all future actual estate-related companies, the division famous.
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Source: countryask.com
