AG files suit against loan modification firm - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The case filed Monday in Maricopaw Superior Court alleges that LLC and its two Thomas J. Montoya and Robert Sanchez, advertised and promoted the firm as havinf an affiliation withthe U.S. Department of Housing and Urbamn Development, which it does not, according to the But Montoya, in a phone conversatiom with the PhoenixBusiness Journal, said he was “takeb aback” by the charges. He would not elaboratd on any ofthe charges, however, and said he was talkingv with the company’s attorneys. He said the companyt would distribute a prepared statement after consultingwith attorneys. As part of the the AG alleges thatSantoya Financial, located at 2225 W.
Whispering Sprinh Drive in Phoenix, charged fees for services that consumersw could access directlyfor free. “The defendantd deceptively implied to consumers that any fees paid by consumerx for loan modification services with Santoya Financial are refundable because the modification program is backby HUD, withouft disclosing that Santoya Financial’s services are not in any way endorsedc or approved by HUD and that consumersd can obtain assistance from HUD in applyinbg for and obtaining loan modifications without paying any fee whatsoever,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint requests that the courgt enjoin Santoya Financial from continuingits “unlawful acts,” order the company to pay back any monet received from those acts, and the defendantes to pay civil penalties of up to $10,00 0 per violation and costs of the investigation. According to couryt records, Santoya Financial began advertising loan modificationj services in March to consumers who were facinvg foreclosure ontheir homes. Sanchezx was featured on a Phoenix television statiobn in April and allegedlyu represented that his firmwas “workingh with HUD while providing loan modification services to consumers,” the lawsuit stated.
Santoyaw charged consumers $1,199 plus the equivaleng of one month’s mortgage payment, the lawsuit Santoya also represented during phone solicitations that fees collected for loan modificationes would be donated to an organizationb named Partnersin Charity, but “thde fees consumers pay for the loan modificatio n services advertised by Santoya Financial do not go to Partnera in Charity or any other charitabl e organization,” the lawsuit further alleged. The lawsuit also claimsz that Santoya did not obtain the necessary surety bond requirerd by the Arizona CreditServices Act.