The Chronicles of a Conman Continue

Earlier this week, while I was up in Detroit, I received a call from an ABC News Reporter doing a story on shady loan modification companies which appeared on today’s ABC News website. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6966576&page=1

Naturally, the reporter asks me if I had any clients who have been victims of shady loan mod companies. I introduce him to my good friends Nickie Struthers and Dan Howard. You’ll remember them from the CNBC piece from last month (if you don’t, just scroll down). They were the couple from Florida who got taken by Chris Campbell of Lionstar Financial who claimed to be acting as an affiliate of Green Credit Solutions.

About two weeks after the CNBC piece airs, Dr. Howard received an email from Chris Campbell apologizing for ripping him off and that he was doing everything he could to get their money back to them. He gave the excuse that his wife he had just married left him after Thanksgiving and that threw him into a deep depression that was so bad he had to move back in with his parents.

I finish giving the interview to the ABC News reporter and not even 10 minutes later, I get a call from a Detective with the Cypress Police Department asking for any information about Chris Campbell and Lionstar Financial. Apparently, he did the same thing to another homeowner in Cypress with the same BS excuse he gave Dr. Howard.

With all publicity this case is getting nationally, Chris Campbell decides to talk to the reporter from ABC News.  I wonder if his parents threatened to kick him out of his Fortress of Solitude in their basement? He tells ABC News that he went into a deep depression after believing he’d lost his clients’ money, and that’s why he did not answer their calls. That he relied on a subcontractor to get Dr. Howard a loan modification. He claimed he is working to find a way to refund Struthers’ and Howard’s money.

“I think they deserve their money back and I will try to make it up to them,” Campbell said. “I’m not a con artist. I’m just a former mortgage guy. I tried to find an alternative for them. It backfired on me.”

What he forgot to mention to ABC News is that he is not and never was licensed to write loan modifications or collect upfront fees in neither California or Florida. DRE also does not have a license for him on file for being a Real Estate Agent. So in other words, he was operating an illegal loan modification company.

He also neglected to tell ABC News that Dr. Howard began asking for his money back before all this went down in the media.  He was apparently on his honeymoon in early November when Dr. Howard began asking him for a refund. So unless his wife ran off with a para-sailing instructor, the Limbo Stick Co-ordinator or Isaac the bartender, I’m not buying it.

The good news with this story is that this won’t be the last people hear about Chris Campbell. Dr. Howard and myself have been approached by other national media outlets about this story.

MFI-Mod Squad was in the Miami Herald!

MFI-Mod Squad was mentioned in a front page article in the Miami Herald yesterday!  You can read it here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/front-page/story/918426.html

At Peoples First Financial, People Don’t Come First, The Benjamins Do!

Several weeks ago, I received an email from Jon Angers, a homeowner in Holyoke, Massachusetts telling me about how he got ripped off by a shady mod company out of California. I told him there is nothing unusual about that because California seems to be a haven for illegally run loan mod companies but what he told me made angrier than Bill O’Reilly after a debate with Al Franken.

Jon told me he was being forced to move because he lost his house to foreclosure.  Hes said Peoples First Financial didn’t negotiate a mod as they promised him in writing.  Now they keep jerking him around about giving him his $1295.00 upfront fee back.

Jon signed with Peoples First Financial in August of 2008 after their associate Kevin Wilcox claimed he could get him a 5% on a new modified loan and close it in 60 days. Kevin Wilcox also told Jon to forward any calls from Citimortgage directly to Peoples First Financial. After reviewing these emails, leaving countless messages and emails Anir Sani, I began to research Peoples First Financial.

I began my investigation and discovered some rather disturbing things:

• Peoples First Financial is in direct violation of California Department of Real Estate guidelines, which require all modification companies that charge an advance fee to be approved and have their fee agreements approved. Peoples First Financial hasn’t been approved.

              http://www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html

• Peoples First Financial is currently under a Desist and Refrain order by DRE. The order was filed on 1/7/2009.

             http://www2.dre.ca.gov/PublicASP/pplinfo.asp?License_id=01768177

• California law bars any foreclosure rescue or loan modification company from charging an upfront fee if the client is in default.

             http://www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html

After discovering this, I asked Massachusetts Attorney Glenn F. Russell, Jr. to represent the Angers pro bono. Mr. Russell then sent several faxes and emails. On February 6, 2009, the Angers received a response from Peoples First Financial, which said that they must fill out a form explaining why they think they are owed a refund and indicating that if one is granted, it would arrive in 6-8 weeks.

 ”This is ridiculous,” says Glenn Russell. “I have never seen a company treat their clients this way. The Angers trusted this company to protect them from losing their home. Now not only are they going to lose their home because of Peoples First Financial, now this company wants to jerk the Angers around about their refund. This is appalling, and I plan on pursuing every legal option available to help the Angers keep their home!”

Peoples First Financial is still conducting business even with the Desist and Refrain Order issued by DRE. I would stay clear.