With more than 23,000 foreclosure cases in the Pinellas-Pasco court system, foreclosure fraud has become a real problem in Pinellas County. Unscrupulous individuals prey upon those who are in the process of losing their homes, promising relief, but providing few tangible results.
Pinellas County’s Department of Justice and Consumer Services recently received a $100,000 federal grant to fight foreclosure fraud. The grant was provided through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.
A Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Team has been formed with the Department of Justice and Consumer Services as project coordinator, along with Pinellas County Community Development, St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services, Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation, Gulfcoast Legal Services, the Pinellas-Pasco Area Agency on Aging and the Community Law Program.
The second of four seminars alerting consumers to the perils of foreclosure fraud, and offering direct assistance referrals for those who have either fallen behind in their mortgage payments, or anticipate missing payments in the future is being held in April in Gulfport.
Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Seminar
Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd S., Gulfport
Counselors will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Homeowners can get more information on this and other upcoming foreclosure fraud prevention seminars by calling the Pinellas County Department of Justice and Consumer Services at (727) 464-6200.
This project was supported by Award No. 2009-SU-B9-0021 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Administration, Office of Justice Programs. The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice.
