Three people were indicted in Nevada for allegedly operating a foreclosure rescue scam in Las Vegas during 2008 and 2009. The indictment alleges that Doninador Palalay, Marie Tejada Medina and Benjamin Aquino Moraleda III allegedly operated a foreclosure rescue scam under the business name of PDM Financial Group Inc.
PDM Financial Group is alleged to have charged one percent of the victims’ loan balance(s), or between $2,600-$3,700 for loan modification and document preparation services and misled customers by falsely claiming that their services would prevent foreclosures on their homes and/or that they would obtain loan modifications. The state alleges that the services were not performed.
The state further alleges that Palalay, Medina and Moraleda defrauded consumers by having them sign false Deeds of Trust that gave the defendants liens on the victims homes based on false promissory notes. These deceptively claimed that loans had been made on the properties, when in fact, the loans had not been made. The state alleges that this was done to cloud the title to the home and prevent the legitimate lenders from foreclosing on the victims properties.
“My mortgage fraud strike force is working hard to prosecute loan modification scams that plague our state,” said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. “Consumers must also take steps to protect themselves from these scammers. Homeowners who are in a foreclosure situation can call (702) 229-HOME to find a local HUD-approved housing counseling agency to answer or can visit www.fightfraud.nv.gov.”
According to the indictment, it is alleged that Palalay and Medina defrauded a person over the age of 60 by enticing him to invest a large sum of money in PDM Financial Group Inc. without disclosing to him that the business was a criminal enterprise. Further, they enticed the victim to open numerous credit cards in his name which they then used for personal expenses leaving the victim with substantial credit card debt that he cannot afford to pay.
Palalay and Medina are indicted on five B felony counts of Theft—Obtaining Money in Excess of $2,500 by material misrepresentation in violation of NRS 205.832(1)(c) and NRS
205.0835; one B felony count of Theft-Obtaining Money in Excess of $2,500 from a person over 60 years of age by a material misrepresentation in violation of NRS205.0832(1), NRS 205.0835(4) and NRS 193.167(1)(i); six D felony counts of Forgery in violation of NRS 205.095; one B Felony count of Exploitation of an Older Person in an Amount in Excess of $5,000 in violation of NRS 200.5092(a) and (b); and one Gross Misdemeanor count of Conspiracy in violation of NRS 199.480.
Benjamin Moraleda is indicted on five B felony counts of Theft—Obtaining Money in Excess of $2,500 by material misrepresentation in violation of NRS 205.832 (1)(c) and NRS 205.0835; six D felony counts of Forgery in violation of NRS 205.095; and one Gross Misdemeanor count of Conspiracy in violation of NRS 199.480.
The case was investigated and is being prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force and Bureau of Consumer Protection after the their office received numerous complaints about misrepresentations made by PDM financial. These include several clients who paid thousands of dollars to PDM Financial with no contact ever being made with the victims’ lenders for the purpose of obtaining loan modifications.
The indictment is not a determination of guilt or innocence but is just a finding of probable cause that a crime was committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Arrest warrants have been issued for each of the defendants.
For more information, visit http://ag.state.nv.us.
