Florida Attorney General - Volume 7, Issue 29

Publication of the Office of the Attorney General • Volume 7, Issue 29 • July 24, 2009

Florida's Foreclosure Fraud Crisis

This week, my Mortgage Fraud Task Force filed a lawsuit against four related companies which were orchestrating what I believe is one of the worst foreclosure rescue fraud schemes in Florida.

The companies and their owner were targeting homeowners desperate to save their homes from foreclosure, offering what seemed like unbelievable assistance for a steep price. The assistance turned out to be just that – not worth believing in and never provided. The companies even used the President's voice to lure victims into a sense of security, all the while taking thousands of dollars in illegal up-front fees.

It is so incredibly important we stand up to these companies that are doing nothing more than preying on people in their times of desperation. It makes me angry to see companies and people with no heart or soul blatantly take advantage of homeowners’ hardships for their own personal gain.

Help fight the fraud by reporting it to us online at http://www.myfloridalegal.com/mortgagefraud or by calling 1-866-966-7226. Using this valuable information from Floridians, my office will mount a stronger and better defense on behalf of Florida's homeowners.

A Orange County man on charges of possession of child pornography. Christopher Q. Ellis was taken into custody by law enforcement with the Attorney General's CyberCrime Unit with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

A South Florida health care facility has been arrested on charges of elder exploitation. Frances Minaya was arrested by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

A Jensen Beach Pastor and his wife have been convicted of mortgage fraud by a Martin County Jury. Rodney McGill and his mortgage broker wife Shalonda face up to 170 years in prison after running a mortgage fraud scheme that enticed victims to participate in a real estate investment “opportunity” but instead was an effort to rid the McGills of their mortgages. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution in partnership with the State Attorney Bruce Colton of the 19th Judicial Circuit.

Attorney General McCollum announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against four related South Florida companies that allegedly charge up-front fees for loan modification services to homeowners facing foreclosure. FHA All Day.Com and owner Jason Vitulano, as well as three other affiliated companies, purportedly collect up to $1 million in up-front fees on a monthly basis. The companies were allegedly soliciting hundreds of consumers nationwide via the internet and though telemarketing robo-calls which illegally used President Obama's voice.

Orange County Man Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

Former Health Care Admissions Director Arrested on Exploitation Charges

Jensen Beach Pastor, Wife Convicted of Mortgage Fraud Scheme

McCollum Files Lawsuit Against 4 South Florida Companies for Foreclosure Rescue Fraud

Attorney General Names Orlando Police Officer "School Resource Officer of the Year"

The Attorney General's lawsuit against FHA was featured on several news sites throughout the state, available online at: http://twurl.nl/5ntpfy, http://twurl.nl/cca7a3, http://twurl.nl/iyv2gz, http://twurl.nl/7zdu5o and http://twurl.nl/evehkj

Attorney General McCollum recognized Officer Jesse Day of the Orlando Police Department as the 2009 School Resource Officer of the Year. The Attorney General's Office presented the award at the 30th annual conference of the Florida Association of School Resource Officers in Jacksonville. The conference was attended by more than 300 law enforcement officers from around the state.