Torture Charged in LA Area Mortgage Rescue Case

For those of you who have previously paid money to a foreclosure consultant or loan modification company, there may have been times when you felt nothing was being done on your case, that perhaps you had been scammed, and thoughts of revenge entered your mind.

Apparently those thoughts turned to reality for one LA area homeowner and his wife.  The couple going through foreclosure proceedings, are charged with torturing two loan-modification agents they suspected of fraud, authorities said on Monday.

The couple, Daniel Weston and Mary Ann Parmelee, and three other people are accused of luring their two victims to an office where the men were tied up, held for hours and beaten, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney said.

Police were called after one of the victims managed to escape, said the spokeswoman, Shiara Davila-Morales. The incident occurred on Wednesday in the town of Glendale, just north of Los Angeles.

Weston, Parmelee and the three other defendants each were charged with two counts of torture, two counts of false imprisonment by violence and two counts of second-degree robbery, according to a criminal complaint filed against them.

Weston, 52, and Parmelee, 51, both arrested last week and jailed on $1 million bond, shared a house in the suburb of La Canada-Flintridge that is in foreclosure, authorities said.  “The two allegedly sought loan modification assistance from the victims but believed that nothing was being done and wanted their money back,” a statement from the district attorney’s office said.

Considering the problems this couple now has, anybody who feels they have been scammed should keep thoughts of revenge in their mind, and not act out on them.  Taking the law into your own hands is never a good idea and as we see in this case, has done nothing but cause even more serious problems for these homeowners.  I think it is fair to say that losing their home is now the least of their worries.  I guess the bright side is they won’t have to worry about being homeless.

I have previously written articles detailing where to report possible loan modification scams.  To recap that information, file complaints with the following: 1. The FTC, 2. The State Attorney General, 3. The State Department of Real Estate, 4. The State Bar Association if a lawyer is involved, 5. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) and let these agencies deal with following up, getting the word out to alert others, and prosecuting the people as justified.  It is also a good idea for those who paid with a credit card for services not rendered, to contact your credit card company and request a charge-back for services never delivered.