California Attorney General Charges Two OC Women with Loan Modification Fraud
ORANGE COUNTY, CA- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the arrest of Mary Alice Yraceburu and Marianne Curtis. Both women are accused of conning over one hundred people out of thousands of dollars for non-existent loan modification services.
"These scam artists coldly and heartlessly preyed on Californians desperate for help in saving their homes," Attorney General Brown said. "Homeowners in financial trouble have to be on guard against loan modification fraud, so they don't make a bad situation worse."
The AG filed 49 felony charges Orange County Superior Court against Mary Alice Yraceburu, 45, of Riverdale and Marianne Curtis, 67, of Costa Mesa.
Yraceburu was arrested today in Fresno County and Curtis was arrested today in Orange County. Both women, convicted felons who have previously been to prison face the following charges:
- 24-counts of grand theft;
- 25-counts of violations of California's foreclosure consultant statutes;
- One special allegation that the total value of theft was over $65,000;
- One special allegation that the total value of theft was over $100,000;
If convicted on all charges the women face 21 years in prison.
The two women operated a company called Foreclosure Freedom. FF sent hundreds of fliers to California residents promising to help stop foreclosure action on their homes. , The fliers read: "FINAL NOTICE - Respond only to this notice immediately." This is similar to First Gov scam, which the Attorney General stopped late last year.
When homeowners called, they were told their mortgages could be renegotiated to a lower monthly payment. However, they were required to pay thousands of dollars in up-front fees and were instructed not to contact their lenders. Investigators found no evidence of any successful loan modifications and most of the victims were either forced into bankruptcy or lost their homes to foreclosure.
