WASHINGTON — Five California men pleaded guilty to a loan modification scam that fleeced more than 400 troubled homeowners that were seeking access to the Home Affordable Modification Program.
The ringleader of the scam, Roscoe Ortega Umali, and his co-conspirators convinced their victims to send "reinstatement fees" and "trial mortgage payments" to participate in HAMP, a Treasury Department program. The scammers pocketed $3.8 million from October 2012 to September 2014.
"Umali and his cohorts made false claims of operating a non-profit company, brazenly used the U.S. Treasury seal on fabricated documents, and invented fictitious HAMP benefits," according to Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. She announced the guilty pleas in a press release Wednesday.
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Home Affordable Modification Program denial rates are still high, but the Treasury Department and top mortgage servicers contend that the numbers have improved.
July 30 -
The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is renewing calls for further investigation of servicers it claims may be denying too many Home Affordable Modification Program applications.
July 29 -
One in three struggling homeowners who received a loan modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program ultimately redefaulted on those loan.Meanwhile, the program that was supposed to help some 4 million families avoid foreclosure has helped only a fraction of that amount, according to a report presented to Congress.
February 25
The scammers contacted homeowners through nationwide mass mailings. They did "nothing to help modify any mortgages," according to the IG. "Instead, they used the victims' payments for their own personal benefit and to further the fraud scheme."
The five defendants — Umali, Jefferson Maniscan, Raymund Dacanay, Isaac Perez and Joshua Johnson — all resided in the Los Angeles area.
They were indicted last October and they will be sentenced this summer. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
