Schneiderman takes down law firm in mortgage rescue scheme

Brooklyn-based Litvin charged clients up to $750 a month for bogus services

Eric Schneiderman
Eric Schneiderman

A law firm with offices in Brooklyn and Florida saw its fraudulent mortgage rescue practice shut down Wednesday when a New York State Supreme Court judge ordered it to halt its activities.

Litvin Law Firm and Litvin, Torrens & Associates, led by attorney Gennady Litvin, had been charging customers across the country hundreds of dollars in monthly fees, typically $595 or $750, for services they claimed would help avoid foreclosure.

In fact, the firm does not have a nationwide presence and was not even licensed to represent many of the people who were paying fees. Some “clients” never spoke to an attorney. Others were duped by promises of “forensic loan audits” and “a level of service that usually is only enjoyed by large corporate clients,” and found the services had very little value in saving their homes.

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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman hit them with a lawsuit last year after hearing one of their misleading ads on the radio and calling in himself. Even after he revealed his identity, the firm continued to harass him with calls advertising their services, according to a representative from Schneiderman’s office.

“My office has no tolerance for attorneys who abuse their position in order to defraud consumers, and we will continue to take aggressive action against such schemes,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “In the meantime, I urge all New Yorkers to use our AGScamHelp app to check out a company claiming to offer mortgage help and get connected to free, trusted assistance through one of our many HOPP partners statewide.”

The firm, which recently declared bankruptcy, was also ordered to provide detailed accounting information so that Schneiderman’s office can begin calculating restitution owed to the victims.