Colorado AG files suit in suspected fraudulent foreclosure rescue legal services operation

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against a Denver man, Sherron L. Lewis Jr., suspected of defrauding homeowners in foreclosure, including the elderly and disabled, by collecting upfront fees in exchange for fraudulent legal services. According to the complaint, Lewis Jr. attracted homeowners facing foreclosure through his Web site, www.illegalforeclosures.com, and mail advertising and informed consumers that they could defeat the foreclosure process and eliminate their mortgages. Lewis, who is not licensed to practice law, is suspected of providing consumers with legal advice on how to combat their foreclosures through the use of frivolous lawsuits. According to the complaint, Lewis’ lawsuits, often leveled against judges, public trustees and even one of his victims, have been routinely dismissed as meritless. As part of his services, Lewis is suspected of requiring his victims to pay upfront fees for his services, which is illegal under the Colorado Foreclosure Protection Act, and he has acquired an interest in his victims’ properties as part of his agreements. In some cases, Lewis has rented out properties he has acquired an interest in while he delays foreclosure through his frivolous lawsuits. In one case, Lewis is suspected of advising a quadriplegic victim in Jefferson County, Colo. to file multiple lawsuits to challenge foreclosures on his home and two other properties. Lewis is suspected of charging the man more than $20,000 in exchange for the “legal work” he performed for the victim. In another case, Lewis is suspected of occupying an elderly Illinois woman’s home rent-free for more than a year. When the woman attempted to repossess her own home, Lewis filed a lawsuit against her claiming racial discrimination. For more information, visit www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov.