Stories from Scammed Homeowners

Real Stories

Pam Bellospirito

Centereach, NY

Twenty years ago, Pam Bellospirito and her husband Roger purchased their home in Centereach, Long Island where they raised their 5 children. In July 2008, the Bellospiritos were struggling to pay their mortgage and fell behind on payments due to medical issues. Mrs. Bellospirito turned to a friend who recommended that she get help in filing a loan modification and suggested that she contact a financial company in Centereach for assistance.

Mrs. Bellospirito went to the company in July 2008. When she visited their offices, they guaranteed they could modify her loan and help her family avoid foreclosure. The company representatives required her to sign a contract and pay them an upfront fee of $3,993. While Mrs. Bellospirito did not have the necessary funds, she borrowed the money from her family since the company's contract stated "in the event we are not able to successfully modify your mortgage we will return 100 percent of this fee."

While Mrs. Bellospirito is angry and saddened that a fraudulent company preyed on her during her greatest hour of need, she hopes that by sharing her story she can keep other families from suffering the same fate.

On July 31, 2008, Mrs. Bellospirito signed a contract with the company and ceased communications with her lender upon the loan modification company's specific instruction: "upon acceptance of funds, the client is to exterminate all communications with their lending institution unless otherwise authorized by the company; and any breach of this condition can jeopardize the company's negotiating proceedings and voids the aforementioned return policy."

Two months passed and Mrs. Bellospirito heard nothing from the company. In September 2008, she received court papers stating that her lender had filed a foreclosure action and a court date was set for later that year. She brought the papers to her contact at the loan modification company and he told her not to worry – he would handle the situation. Mrs. Bellospirito came to find out months later that the company had only contacted her mortgage company once in October 2008 and that the company did not appear in court on her behalf on the assigned court date. The Bellospiritos were being scammed.

In January 2009, Mrs. Bellospirito wrote a letter to the fraudulent company requesting a refund of her $3,993 fee. It was around this time that the Bellospiritos learned that they were losing their home. Mrs. Bellospirito began working with Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDC) and loan modification papers were sent to their mortgage company. Mrs. Bellospirito's letter to the loan modification company went unanswered.

Since that time, Mrs. Bellospirito has taken the loan modification company to small claims court and has filed a formal complaint with the New York State Attorney General's office. She continues to wait for a refund. Fortunately, the Bellospiritos received a loan modification and saved their home from going into foreclosure through their work with CDC. While Mrs. Bellospirito is angry and saddened that a fraudulent company preyed on her during her greatest hour of need, she hopes that by sharing her story she can keep other families from suffering the same fate.

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