Here's an important issue for everyone who's looking for help defending their house or modifying their loan.
This is an important read for anyone seeking, or receiving help with their mortgage or foreclosure.
Attorney suspended for involvement with nonlawyers in loan modification business
This is an article from the Florida Bar News August 15, 2011 issue, about an Attorney who's licenses got suspended because he was working with non-lawyers who were providing loan modification assistance. This is in violation of Florida Statutes § 501.1377, the Foreclosure Rescue Act. Long story short, this group of non-lawyers, foreclosure-rescue consultants were taking money from homeowners to the tune of $1,500 to $3,000 through this attorney's office in violation of the law.
According to the underlying petition and this article, this attorney, William Timothy O-Toole of Summit Legal Group, admitted to, among other things, the following:
He was splitting fees with non-lawyers; He was not supervising the non-lawyers who were actually working on his client's cases;
That he allowed almost exclusive control of the office to the non-lawyers, contact with the clients from the initial call, negotiations with the bank and advising the clients of the outcome of the negotiations;
And that he did not know the status of the 2,500 to 3,000 cases he received through this arrangement.
So it appears that he simply let this group of non-lawyers use his name and license for a cut of the fees and really did not do much if anything else for the clients.
The petition and article also state that the non-lawyers were soliciting potential clients with promises of rate reductions or other results. Anytime a non-lawyer contacts you about your specific situation, especially in an unsolicited phone call, should be a big red flag.
Be wary of these foreclosure rescue scams in sheep's clothing.
Categories: Forelosure Defense Attorney, Forelosure Mortgage Modification Fraud, Mortgage Loan Modification
Tags: Florida Statutes § 501.1377 the Foreclosure Rescue Act suspended lawyer foreclosure resecue modifcation foreclosure defense
My daughter was a victim of Summit. They (Randy Baker, Solomon Macari,Aren Anderton and others) never let on that they were non-lawyers. They said they were properly licensed. They said they were working diligently and directly with the bank and told us not to contact the bank directly for fear of jeopardizing the application.
My daughter was not in foreclosure at the time of the application. She was looking for a lower rate and she was looking to have here husband's name removed from the mortgage document. She was told by Cort Snow at Summit that she did not have to make mortgage payments during the process.
The process dragged on and on. Ultimately, I had enough. I discovered that my daughter was in foreclosure and Summit had told her not to worry. I contacted the bank directly and ultimately we were approved for loan modification. It was never clear when and if they received any paperwork from Summit. It was never clear if and when they had had discussion or negotiations with Summit.
Over the past several months, I discovered that my daughter is not alone. There are upwards of forty complaints on various complaint websites; the BBB rating is now F; Baker's prior firm, Baker Kennedy and Associates has been sued by the Florida Attorney General's Economic Crimes Division; and, as you noted, William T. O'Toole, the only lawyer at Summit Legal, has been suspended by the Florida Bar.
I believe the non-lawyers are still operating the scam, although not under the name of Summit Legal. Recent victims indicate that they have been in contact with Solomon Macari after they were to cease operations. None of the victims has been directly informed of O'Toole's suspension, although that was part of the agreement on July 25.
There has been some media attention, but this scam, which has victims in at least 16 states, must be publicized and the non-lawyers must be punished.
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I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's situation. I'm glad you worked out the modification. Make sure she stays on top of it and keeps records of her payments. Also, most modifications have catch all clauses that allow the banks to drop or reject the modification after the trial (3 payment) period, even if you've made all the payments on time! They also have been known to goose the escrow payments in funny ways to try and force the payments back up. So if her payments start going up again don't sit idle as there may be something that can be done to make the bank honor the agreement, especially if the modification was made as part of the court case.
Back to the bad guys here, it important to remember that this was an emergency order to suspend his license. From my reading of the case, the Supreme Court has not given a final verdict in this case for Mr. O'Toole. I'm sure that the other "non lawyers" are in a similar state with the State Attorney General. However, if you know they were supposed to disclose to your daughter what was going on and have failed to do so call the FL Bar and let them know.
As for other people out there, here's a few good tips to remember:
If you've been handed papers where the top one says "Summons" that means your house is in Foreclosure. You can usually look up your local clerk of court web site through Google and follow the case. If you do not see a lot of filings by your attorney that's a big red flag.
Regardless, you have a right to set an appointment to see your attorney in the office listed on her or his letterhead or website. Make that appointment and get a face to face and see what is going on. If you can't get it or the Attorney has no real clue what is going on in your case, that's another big red flag!
Finally, if they are making a lot of promises, like "we'll get the bank to give you a modification," or "a Judge will through that case out for sure." be weary. In many cases banks will not give a modification at all no matter what pressure is brought to bear. Also, litigation, and that's all a foreclosure is once its in the courts, is never certain until it's done and all appeals are complete. In every case there remains the very real possibility that the Bank will come forward with all the evidence required to win the case. If they always had it, frankly your case was over before it was filed. If they didn't but they did a really good job manufacturing it, you or your attorney may not be able to otherwise prove them wrong. Or, the law may change and then everything is out the window. That's why attorneys are not supposed to make. If you're not sure, get a second opinion from a licensed attorney.
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