Consumer alert: Foreclosure rescue company masquerading as law firm
On August 10, I issued an urgent warning to consumers about two foreclosure "rescue"
companies allegedly masquerading as a law firm in Connecticut.
My office is investigating and preparing action against the companies and coordinating with the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel (OCDC), which has filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and other legal remedies against the firms and associated individuals, including Kent Gross, Hazen Sturtevant and Nicola L. Zagarolo.
The OCDC alleges that these individuals -- doing business as First Legal Group, P.A., and Nationwide Home Relief Law Group, P.A. -- operated a law office in East Berlin without a Connecticut law license. The operators allegedly hired Connecticut lawyers who did virtually no work for consumers. In addition, they appear to have been operating in Florida, Connecticut and six or more other states.
These legal imposters may have taken $750,000 or more from at least 200 Connecticut homeowners in distress -- providing virtually no legal help. Our message about these fakes: forewarned is forearmed.
Countless consumers -- victims of the mortgage crisis -- already may have been duped into paying $2,000 to $4,000 each to a bogus Connecticut law firm for foreclosure legal services. We urgently warn all consumers about these companies and urge victims to call us, because many of them deserve their money back.
This bogus law firm, operating nationwide, took money from Connecticut consumers to do foreclosure mediation -- a service already provided free of charge by the courts. Mediation can be critically important in saving homeowners from foreclosure, but no one should be charged for such services under the false guise of legal services, especially by non-lawyers.
These legal imposters data-mined court records for foreclosure actions, and then used direct mail and other marketing tactics to solicit homeowners, posing as a law firm specializing in "home rescue" services. They hit homeowners when they were most vulnerable and frightened by the threat of foreclosure.
We will fight to retrieve these companies' illgotten gains and to return money to victims. My office, working closely with the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, will hold accountable anyone who unlawfully posed as a Connecticut law firm to scam unsuspecting consumers facing foreclosure. The victims seemingly suffered doubly, first potentially losing their homes, and then, through paying deceptive fees.
Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. said, "I am very concerned that consumers may have been misled about the legal capabilities of these two firms. A capable, licensed attorney can certainly be of assistance to consumers who are in debt and wish to know what their options are."
Farrell, an attorney who practiced law prior to becoming Commissioner of Consumer Protection, recommends that consumers check that any attorney that they are thinking of hiring is licensed to practice in Connecticut by visiting the State of Connecticut's Judicial Branch website at http://www. jud.ct.gov/.
Farrell added, "Hiring an attorney is not the only option, but whomever a consumer hires to assist them needs to be familiar with Connecticut's foreclosure and debt collection laws, as well as federal laws concerning personal bankruptcy."
Consumers who have information, questions or concerns about either or both of these two companies are urged to contact my office at (860) 808- 5420.
