WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) are taking action against various companies doing business as Home Matters USA, Academy Home Services, Atlantic Pacific Service Group, and Golden Home Services America for operating a sham mortgage relief operation that misled consumers and cost them millions.
The owners of the companies, Dominic Ahiga and Roger Scott Dyer have also been targeted in the actions, according to the FTC.
In the first case brought jointly by the two agencies, the FTC and DFPI allege the companies charged consumers thousands of dollars with false promises they would negotiate with consumers’ mortgage lenders to alter their loans, at times even representing they were affiliated with government COVID-19 relief programs.
A federal court has temporarily shut down the operation and frozen the assets of the defendants in the case, the FTC said.
Numerous Names Used
The defendants have pitched their services under a number of names, including Academy Home Services, Atlantic Pacific Service Group, Golden Home Services America, and Home Matters USA among others. The FTC and DFPI complaint alleges that they have been deceiving consumers since at least June of 2018 with false promises that they can negotiate lower interest rates or payments.
“The investigation in this case found that the defendants target distressed homeowners with their deceptive claims in telemarketing calls, text messages and online ads, often promising that in just three months, they can get consumers’ mortgages modified,” the FTC said.
Government Affiliation Claimed
In many cases, the complaint alleges, they claimed to be affiliated with government agencies or that their services were part of government COVID-19 assistance programs. The FTC said when consumers paid for the defendants’ services, they rarely, if ever, get the promised modifications, and instead are harmed by the scheme.
Among the ways consumers were harmed, according to the agencies:
- Deceiving consumers about their services. The defendants, as part of the sales process, regularly misled consumers, saying they had a track record of success and were able to “beat the system.” Consumers would receive documents with bogus claims about specific changes to their mortgage, including lowered interest rates or payments, but the complaint alleges that the defendants regularly failed to deliver any meaningful benefit to consumers.
- Costing consumers money and harming their credit. While the defendants charged consumers, many of whom were already struggling with mortgage payments, hundreds or even thousands of dollars, the harms extended beyond that loss. In many cases, the defendants told consumers not to pay their mortgage while using their “services,” leading to many consumers facing late fees and significantly lower credit scores.
- Costing consumers their homes. According to the complaint, the defendants require consumers to sign “cease and desist” letters that are sent to their mortgage lender, requiring the lenders to communicate only with the defendants. By not receiving notices of missing payments or default even as they continue to pay defendants, some consumers have found themselves in foreclosure.
Additional Allegations
The complaint alleges that the defendants’ practices violate numerous laws and regulations, including the FTC Act, the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, and the California Consumer Financial Protection Law.
The individual defendants in this case are Dominic Ahiga and Roger Scott Dyer. The corporate defendants in this case are Apex Consulting & Associates, Inc., Green Equitable Solutions, Infocom Entertainment Ltd, Inc., and South West Consulting Enterprises, Inc.
The Very Best in CU Reporting. For You. For Free. Or Your Money Back.
Don’t forget to check your Spam/Junk email folder if you haven’t been receiving your free, popular and daily CUToday.info news headlines.
And if you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time.
CUToday.info has received very positive response from readers following the move to an improved provider of the daily headlines, but many also noted they did need to go to their Spam/Junk folder and mark it as safe.
The new email solution has not only improved every reader’s delivery experience, but it also features a fresh, new format that is easy to read, especially on mobile devices.
Please note and/or make your IT department or email administrator aware the emails will be coming from the domains CUTodayinfo.com and CUTodayinfoReply.com.