'Foreclosure aid' firms to pay fines

Oct. 14, 2009 12:00 AM

The Arizona Attorney General's Office has reached settlements with two Valley "foreclosure help" firms it filed complaints against this year as part of the national "Operation Loan Lies" crackdown on mortgage fraud.

Richard Winer, principal of the firm Taken Care of Investments, has agreed to pay fines totaling $691,000, half of which goes to consumers who lost money to the firm, according to a Maricopa Superior Court consent judgment.

In March, the Attorney General's Office filed a complaint alleging Winer and his businesses defrauded 270 Arizona homeowners in danger of foreclosure by promising to obtain the deed to their home and then lease it back to them. Instead, homes were sold to investors who usually evicted homeowners. Winer is consenting to pay the fine without admitting guilt.

Glendale-based Hope for Homeowners Now and its principals, Matthew Castaneda and Michael Winding, have been ordered to pay almost $580,000 in fines, according to a default judgment filed in Superior Court. In July, the Attorney General's Office filed a complaint against Hope for Homeowners Now alleging the company solicited an upfront fee of $3,195 from homeowners by discouraging them to work with non-profits that provide loan-modification help for free.

Home Buyer's Fair on Saturday

The Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association is teaming with some government housing agencies to hold the Home Buyer's Fair 2009 on Saturday. The free event offers help with the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, buying a home with no money down, credit repair, qualifying for a mortgage and buying a foreclosure home.

The Mortgage Lenders Association is working with the Phoenix office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Consumer Credit Counseling and housing agencies to put on the event, which starts at 10 a.m. at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel. Details: azmortgagelenders.com.

Executives shuffle at brokerages

Some shuffling at the Valley's residential brokerages. Dominic Scappaticci has left Russ Lyon Sotheby's Phoenix office to be president of Phoenix-based Realty Executives. John Foltz, Realty's former president, will become president emeritus. Russ Lyon Sotheby has named Glenn Niere chief executive and Deems Dickinson president. Phoenix-based Russ Lyon merged with Equitable Real Estate last year.