Like many American homeowners these days, Holly Quick's mortgage on her dream home near Cleveland ballooned beyond her budget. When she fell several months behind on payments, her bank called with warnings that she was near foreclosure. "I was in desperation. I had two kids to think about," Quick tells INSIDE EDITION.
Just when she was about to give up hope, Quick received a card in the mail from a company in Clearwater, Florida called "Foreclosure Assistance Solutions" or "F.A.S." The card read, "We can help you get caught up even if you do not have all the money your mortgage company is demanding." "Call now even if you think it's too late! We can help!" Desperate, Quick called the company.
She says a salesperson for F.A.S. told her she would have to pay them a $1,500 dollar service fee upfront, which Quick paid with a credit card.
Quick explained that F.A.S. promised to work with her lender to keep her out of foreclosure. One condition was that she was to have no contact whatsoever with her lender. "I was guaranteed that I would not lose my house," she says.
However, to her surprise, several months later, her bank called to tell her she was already in foreclosure. Quick and her kids would have to abandon their dream home. Moreover, she says her bank told her that F.A.S. had never even contacted them.
At F.A.S.'s offices in Clearwater, Florida, there isnt even a sign to identify the company. But, authorities say in just a two year period, salespeople for the company were able to convince desperate homeowners from around the country to send them almost $13 million dollars.
INSIDE EDITION interviewed a woman who was a salesperson for F.A.S. for two years. The woman, who asked not to be identified in our report, tells INSIDE EDITION that she was instructed by management to take a homeowner's money, even when it was too late to save the home.
INSIDE EDITION obtained a telemarketing used by F.A.S. salespeople. An apparent scare tactic, the , in part, reads: "The sheriff can show up and take you and your kids...and physically remove you from your house...for all your neighbors to see!"
Aaron Frank says he also fell for the sales pitch. He says when F.A.S. promised he could keep his home near Austin, Texas out of foreclosure, he sent them every last dollar he had, and then never heard from them again.
"No phone calls, no letters, no nothing," Frank tells INSIDE EDITION.
The former F.A.S. salesperson told INSIDE EDITION that every day, panicked people complaining that they'd been taken would call the company to demand a refund. "There would be hundreds of messages on the voicemail, and the person in the refund department at that time, I watched them just keep hitting the delete button. Never even listening to them."
Frank says while waiting for F.A.S. to help, he too lost his home. At 52, he's had to move back in with his elderly mother. "I felt so low," Frank says. "I never felt so low in my life, it was so bad."
"It's the classic take your money and run scheme," says Ohio attorney general, Marc Dann, who is now investigating F.A.S. "They're preying on a vulnerable population. They're taking money and doing nothing in return," Dann tells INSIDE EDITION. "These are the worst of the worst."
56-year old Herb Zerden is one of the leaders of F.A.S. He lives in Florida, behind closed gates, in a $2 million dollar mansion complete with pool and boathouse. INSIDE EDITION caught up with him while he was gassing up his $70,000 Mercedes
Just when she was about to give up hope, Quick received a card in the mail from a company in Clearwater, Florida called "Foreclosure Assistance Solutions" or "F.A.S." The card read, "We can help you get caught up even if you do not have all the money your mortgage company is demanding." "Call now even if you think it's too late! We can help!" Desperate, Quick called the company.
She says a salesperson for F.A.S. told her she would have to pay them a $1,500 dollar service fee upfront, which Quick paid with a credit card.
Quick explained that F.A.S. promised to work with her lender to keep her out of foreclosure. One condition was that she was to have no contact whatsoever with her lender. "I was guaranteed that I would not lose my house," she says.
However, to her surprise, several months later, her bank called to tell her she was already in foreclosure. Quick and her kids would have to abandon their dream home. Moreover, she says her bank told her that F.A.S. had never even contacted them.
At F.A.S.'s offices in Clearwater, Florida, there isnt even a sign to identify the company. But, authorities say in just a two year period, salespeople for the company were able to convince desperate homeowners from around the country to send them almost $13 million dollars.
INSIDE EDITION interviewed a woman who was a salesperson for F.A.S. for two years. The woman, who asked not to be identified in our report, tells INSIDE EDITION that she was instructed by management to take a homeowner's money, even when it was too late to save the home.
INSIDE EDITION obtained a telemarketing used by F.A.S. salespeople. An apparent scare tactic, the , in part, reads: "The sheriff can show up and take you and your kids...and physically remove you from your house...for all your neighbors to see!"
Aaron Frank says he also fell for the sales pitch. He says when F.A.S. promised he could keep his home near Austin, Texas out of foreclosure, he sent them every last dollar he had, and then never heard from them again.
"No phone calls, no letters, no nothing," Frank tells INSIDE EDITION.
The former F.A.S. salesperson told INSIDE EDITION that every day, panicked people complaining that they'd been taken would call the company to demand a refund. "There would be hundreds of messages on the voicemail, and the person in the refund department at that time, I watched them just keep hitting the delete button. Never even listening to them."
Frank says while waiting for F.A.S. to help, he too lost his home. At 52, he's had to move back in with his elderly mother. "I felt so low," Frank says. "I never felt so low in my life, it was so bad."
"It's the classic take your money and run scheme," says Ohio attorney general, Marc Dann, who is now investigating F.A.S. "They're preying on a vulnerable population. They're taking money and doing nothing in return," Dann tells INSIDE EDITION. "These are the worst of the worst."
56-year old Herb Zerden is one of the leaders of F.A.S. He lives in Florida, behind closed gates, in a $2 million dollar mansion complete with pool and boathouse. INSIDE EDITION caught up with him while he was gassing up his $70,000 Mercedes
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