Boynton Beach church claims it was defrauded by mortgage company

The Haitian Bethel Baptist Church in Boynton Beach has filed a lawsuit against Boca Raton-based Nationwide Mortgage Bankers, claiming they were defrauded in efforts to obtain a mortgage loan to expand the facility. The Palm Beach Post reported that the church had paid more than $321,000 to secure a $1 million loan from Nationwide, but the loan was never delivered and the deposit wasn’t returned, according to the lawsuit.

Nationwide executive Guilfort Dieuvil, who was named in at least five lawsuits by Florida homeowners that also alleged fraud by another one of his enterprises, is also named as a defendant in the church’s suit. In court documents, Dieuvil claims that the $321,222 paid was for consultation services and not for a deposit to secure a loan, and that the church was aware of these terms all along. The church had wanted to expand in order to accommodate its growing base of parishioners. [PB Post]