FTC Mailing Checks to Consumers From a Mortgage Relief Scheme

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing out restitution checks to consumers who were tricked into paying an up-front mortgage relief fee for services they never received.

According to the FTC, Wealth Educators Inc. used telemarketers to solicit mortgage relief programs to consumers by asking for $1,000 to $5,000 in exchange for help in lowering their monthly mortgage payments as well as interest rates.

The FTC lawsuit further alleged that borrowers were instructed to stop communicating with their mortgage lender, which in turn postponed consumers from finding out about the scheme.

The lawsuit named Wealth Educators’ founder and president Veronica Sesma, as well as nine other firms run by the company, as defendants in the mortgage relief scam.

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing out 474 checks to consumers affected by the scheme. Each recipient is expected to receive nearly $70 and has until June 8, 2016 to cash the FTC issued check.

In addition, the federal agency banned Wealth Educators and Sesma from engaging in the debt collection business.

If you have any additional questions about the Wealth Educators lawsuit or the payments from the FTC, call the the Federal Trade Commission hotline at 1-844-836-3604.

The lawsuit was prosecuted by Jonathan E. Neuchterlein, Charles A. Harwood, Eleanor Durham and Maxine R. Stansell of the Federal Trade Commission.

The Wealth Educators Mortgage Relief Lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission v. Wealth Educators Inc. et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-02357, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.