Cordray is seeking civil penalties and restitution for homeowners who paid an average $2,500 up front to have their mortgages modified to reduce payments. The Ohio Debt Adjusters Act prohibits mortgage adjusters from charging fees exceeding $75 for consultation or initial set-up of debt-management plans.
Three interrelated companies are at the center of the most recent spate of debt-relief and foreclosure-rescue fraud, said John North, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau Dayton/Miami Valley.
The BBB has given an “F” — its lowest rating — to the National Homeownership Assistance Foundation of suburban Columbus and two other companies it has been linked with — American Debt Relief Foundation of Cincinnati and VA Payment Reduction Notification of Trenton, N.J.
North said the BBB linked the three companies — which did not return calls for comment — after investigations found they shared common addresses or phone numbers.
All three companies have been named in complaints to the BBB and the attorney general’s office.
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