Foreclosure Devil Scammers With Wings Of Angels

News investigation shows that devils flapping wings of angels are duping thousands of foreclosure victims with pious platitudes. In reality these ruthless schemers rob the unfortunate of their money, their houses and even their self-esteem.

One of the kind is McDowall who ran a number of agencies in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island. His business card is very telling – ‘Helping You Keep What is Yours’. His companies flaunt catchy names like ‘Lost & Found Recovery’ and ‘Home Mergers’. McDowell did not run away with fees like the small con artists – he targeted the property itself. Many lawsuits charging him of fraud are pending against him. He has even resorted to forgery to get the house written off in his favour. The FBI is also after him. He takes the help of a technician nurse as his straw buyer. McDowell has tucked in a whopping $1.6 million by dipping into 117 properties. But he has disappeared into thin air and cannot be traced.

The modes of operation of these scammers are very similar. Posing to be angels of mercy they hone in on the victims after having got their details from public listings of foreclosures. The angel persuades the victim with forceful argument to deed the house to another (his accomplice) who has a good credit rating and will be able to refinance the old mortgage on new satisfactory terms. The assurance is given that as soon as formalities are completed the house will be returned to the original borrower. In reality what happens is that this angelic devil takes a bigger mortgage, pays off the old, pockets the difference and then disappears. The accomplice now becomes the legal owner and the original person is given the boot.

The number of scammers increased to such an extent that a state hotline has had to be opened. It is now flooded with calls from foreclosure-scammer victims. It has necessitated the promulgation of a new state law that mandates all rescue teams to put their proposals on writing with the provision that the affected house owner has the option to back out of the arrangement within five days of agreement. It is feared that in the coming twelve months the number of scammers will increase keeping pace with the rise in foreclosure numbers.

The angelic devils are targeting the elderly, the mentally handicapped and financially distressed.