FTC Files Lawsuits against Mortgage Relief Scams

/in /by

The Federal Trade Commission has filed lawsuits in federal court to halt the allegedly deceptive tactics of three operations that preyed on distressed homeowners facing a mortgage foreclosure.

In all three cases announced this week, the FTC took action against defendants who allegedly peddled bogus mortgage relief services, in violation of the FTC Act and the MARS Rule.  The agency also charged that two of the operations violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The companies charged are listed below.

Prime Legal Plans/Reaching U Network. The FTC alleged that from at least mid-2010, the defendants behind this scheme marketed mortgage relief services in English and Spanish, including under the names “Reaching U Network,” and “American Legal Plans.”

American Mortgage Consulting Group. The FTC alleged that since early 2011, the defendants claimed a phony affiliation with the U.S. government, pretended to be attorneys, and promised to substantially lower monthly mortgage payments in exchange for an up-front fee ranging from $1,495 to $4,495.  Along with two companies he controls – American Mortgage Consulting Group, LLC and Home Guardian Management Solutions, LLC – defendant Mark Nagy Atalla allegedly violated “nearly every provision of the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule.”

Expense Management America. Presenting themselves as the solution to all the consumer’s financial problems, the defendants have cold-called thousands of U.S. consumers from their call center in Montreal since at least mid-2010, including those whose numbers were registered on the Do Not Call Registry, according to the FTC complaint.

Note: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. The cases will be decided by the court.

Read the full news article, FTC Cracks Down on Phony Mortgage Relief Schemes.

Fort Lauderdale Foreclosure Defense Attorney

Choosing the best approach to protecting yourself and your family from mortgage foreclosure involves many legal considerations. Contact Fort Lauderdale mortgage foreclosure attorney Marcy Resnik to discuss how you can defend your legal rights in a foreclosure. You can contact Ms. Resnik online or call her at 954-321-0176.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

/in /by

Employers, schools and organizations of all sizes are encouraged to participate in  National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.

While we think of accidents as a leading cause of disability, it is more likely that a person will become disabled due to an illness. Frequent contributors include chronic fatigue, carpal tunnel, back pain, depression, or macular degeneration.

Business professionals and medical experts who are diagnosed with an unexpected disability are particularly at risk of losing a significant income stream.

Your Legal Rights to Disability Benefits

The disability attorneys at Kahn & Resnik, P.L. are experienced in working with doctors and business professionals who have trouble obtaining expected disability insurance benefits. We understand potential coverage issues, including:

  • Date at which benefits become available (elimination periods)
  • Length of time benefits are received
  • Compensation history on which benefits are calculated
  • Definition of comparable work
  • Full-time versus part-time work
  • Estimates of future earnings
  • Total disability versus residual or partial disability claims

Our attorneys have helped many professionals pursue disability benefits in claims against the country’s leading disability insurance carriers throughout the United States.

Fort Lauderdale Disability Lawyer for Professionals

If you are a business or medical professional who has suffered an unexpected disability through illness or injury, contact Fort Lauderdale disability lawyer Howard Kahn if your disability benefits are at risk. We can help you understand and protect your legal rights to disability benefits. Contact us online or by phone at 954-321-0176.

SEC Charges Joseph Hilton of Pacific Northwestern Energy with Fraud

/in /by

“Repeat violator” Joseph Hilton, formerly known as Joseph Yurkin, made numerous misrepresentations to investors while selling limited partnership units in two oil drilling projects earlier this year through his firm Pacific Northwestern Energy LLC, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) complaint unsealed last week in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla. The SEC obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of Mr. Hilton.

According to SEC allegations, Joseph Hilton made numerous misrepresentations to investors while selling limited partnership units in two oil drilling projects earlier this year through his firm Pacific Northwestern Energy LLC. Hilton falsely told potential investors that Pacific acquired its wells from Exxon Mobil Corp., and he overstated Pacific’s experience in the oil and gas industry and the historical accomplishments of its drillers.

Hilton raised approximately $789,000 from investors. The SEC’s action froze the assets of Hilton, Pacific, and the two limited partnerships – Rock Castle Drilling Fund LP and Rock Castle Drilling Fund II LP. Hilton’s securities offerings were not registered with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws.

The SEC’s complaint also includes allegations against Hilton, Pacific, and another company controlled by Hilton called New Horizon Publishing Inc. Through Pacific and New Horizon, Hilton additionally sold $2.5 million worth of investments in oil drilling projects sponsored by United States Energy Corp. while deceiving investors about his identity, the anticipated returns on the investments, the amount of oil being produced by U.S. Energy’s wells, and the existence of natural gas wells. Hilton also operated a boiler room of sales representatives paid on a commission basis.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Hilton changed his name from Joseph Yurkin late last year following a final judgment for fraud in a previous SEC enforcement action against him for securities offerings he made through another company he worked for – Homeland Communications Corp.

“By changing his name, Hilton thought he could evade further SEC scrutiny and keep the investing public from finding the truth in his background,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “The SEC is committed to pursuing repeat offenders and ensuring the open and transparent sale of securities to investors.”

The SEC’s complaint charges Hilton, Pacific, Rock Castle I and Rock Castle II with violations of Sections 5(a) and (c) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b). The complaint also charges Hilton with violations of Securities Act Section 17(a)(1), (2), and (3) and Exchange Act Sections 15(a), 10(b) and Rule 10b-5(a), (b) and (c). Pacific and New Horizon are charged with Exchange Act Section 15(a) violations in connection with their historical U.S. Energy related conduct. The SEC is seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions against Hilton and his entities.

Fort Lauderdale Securities Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

Contact Fort Lauderdale securities litigation and arbitration attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq. if you or someone you know has a securities or broker dispute. He is an experienced securities litigation and arbitration attorney, and is available to assist individual investors, brokers, and brokerage firms involved in securities matters. You can reach him at 954-321-0176 or online.

Miami Medical Professionals Charged in Medicare Fraud Scheme

/in /by

In Miami, a total of 33 defendants are charged for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving a total of $204.5 million in false billings for home health care, mental health services, occupational and physical therapy, and durable medical equipment (DME).

In one case, three defendants are charged for participating in a fraud scheme at LTC Professional Consultants and Professional Home Care Solutions Inc. which led to approximately $74 million in fraudulent billing for home health care.

In another case, five defendants are charged for participating in a fraud scheme at Hollywood Pavilion which led to $67 million in fraudulent billing for mental health services.

Overall, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities have led to charges against 91 individuals – including doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals – for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $429.2 million in false billing, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.

Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,480 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The announced cases are being prosecuted and investigated by Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams comprising attorneys from the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Florida, among others, and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the IRS.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Florida Healthcare Litigation

When healthcare business practices become the subject of legal claims, our attorneys assist clients in dispute resolution services involving fraud allegations, licensure disciplinary proceedings, qui tam investigations, regulatory compliance, regulatory investigations, and Stark Law anti-kickback provisions. Contact Florida healthcare litigation attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq. online to discuss a case.

Investor Fraud Summit: Miami, October 12, 2012

/in /by

A Southeastern Regional Investor Fraud Summit will be held at Miami Dade College on Friday, October 12, 2012. Recent investment fraud prosecutions, fraud trends, fraud prevention, and testimony from investment fraud victims will be featured topics.

The Miami Investor Fraud Summit, one of several scheduled across the country, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with participation by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

The FBI reports an unprecedented rise in investment fraud schemes, involving thousands of victims and staggering losses. Since 2011, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and 85 U.S. Attorneys’ offices have reported that approximately 800 defendants have been charged, tried, pleaded or sentenced in approximately 500 federal prosecutions involving investor fraud. The total reported amount cheated from victims for this time period tops more than $20 billion. This staggering number includes cases where the total amount victims lost range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions, and, in some cases, billions in hard-earned savings.

Fraud avoidance is a goal of the seminars, which are designed to protect investors from losses due to fraud. In addition to the SEC, FINRA and the Department of Justice, participating agencies include the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Bankruptcy Trustees, AARP and the Better Business Bureau.

Miami Investor Fraud Summit Time and Location

Miami Dade College
Chapman Conference Center
245 N.E. Fourth Street, Bldg. 3, Room 3210
Miami, FL 33132

9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT
Friday, October 12, 2012
Admission is FREE to the Public
Register by phone at 305-416-6211

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo Ferrer will host the summit that will feature Attorney General Eric Holder. They will be joined by U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Robert O’Neill, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Pamela Marsh, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce Vance, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office Eric Bustillo and other agency representatives.

Fort Lauderdale Securities Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

Contact Fort Lauderdale securities litigation and arbitration attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq. if you or someone you know has a securities or broker dispute. He is an experienced securities litigation and arbitration attorney, and is available to assist individual investors, brokers, and brokerage firms involved in securities matters. You can reach him at 954-321-0176 or online.

Investor Alert on Stock Trading Halts & Suspensions

/in /by

“When Trading Stops: What You Need to Know About Halts, Suspensions and Other Interruptions” is the title of a new investor alert published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

While trading in most stocks takes place without interruption, FINRA’s new Alert explains how, when and why interruptions in trading occur, and discusses both what brokers are required to do and what investors should do in these situations.

When a company is listed on a U.S. stock exchange, it agrees to notify the listing exchange about any corporate developments that could affect trading activity in its stock—before announcing them to the public. Stock exchanges have the authority to halt trading based on their evaluation of a given announcement. These regulatory halts tend to be relatively short and are designed to allow prompt and full dissemination of the news to the marketplace at large. While the halt is in effect, brokers are prohibited from publishing quotations or indications of interest, or trading the stock.

In contrast to trading halts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is authorized under federal law to suspend trading in any stock for a period of up to 10 business days when it believes that the investing public may be at risk. Many factors influence the SEC’s decision, including a company’s failure to keep up the required filing of periodic reports and whether market manipulation may be taking place.

For the most part, companies subject to trading suspensions have been quoted in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. When a trading suspension ends, a broker that wants to resume quoting the stock immediately must first obtain current information about the company from a reliable source, file a form with that information and obtain approval from FINRA.

“In sharp contrast to trading halts, the trading suspensions the SEC imposes usually aim to help stop fraud. Investors should exercise real caution before purchasing a stock after a trading suspension has ended,” said Gerri Walsh, FINRA’s Vice President for Investor Education.

When Trading Stops also discusses single stock trading pauses, currently triggered when the price moves up or down by specified percentages in a rolling, five-minute period, as well as marketwide circuit breakers that may be activated by specified percentages declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Click on the link to read the full investor alert, “When Trading Stops: What You Need to Know About Halts, Suspensions and Other Interruptions.”

Fort Lauderdale Securities Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

Contact Fort Lauderdale securities litigation and arbitration attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq. if you or someone you know has a securities or broker dispute. He is an experienced securities litigation and arbitration attorney, and is available to assist individual investors, brokers, and brokerage firms involved in securities matters. You can reach him at 954-321-0176 or online.