Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has obtained a preliminary injunction against David Coleman, a Methuen mortgage broker who allegedly preyed upon financially distressed homeowners by representing himself to be an attorney and a bankruptcy expert who offered to file bankruptcy petitions to save consumers’ homes from foreclosure.
The preliminary injunction granted by Superior Court Judge Merita Hopkins prohibits Coleman individually and through his business, Mortgage Finders of New England, as well as his employees from contacting individuals to offer foreclosure-related services or assisting individuals with filing for bankruptcy. As part of its lawsuit, the attorney general’s office is also seeking a permanent injunction against Coleman, restitution for consumers, civil penalties and attorney’s fees.
According to the complaint, filed earlier this month in Essex Superior Court, Coleman would target vulnerable homeowners on the brink of foreclosure by combing newspapers for victims’ contact information in foreclosure notices. He would then allegedly make unsolicited calls to the homeowners where he would offer to save their homes from foreclosure by assisting them in filing for bankruptcy in exchange for a $1,000 cash fee upfront.
The complaint further states that Coleman held himself out to consumers as a bankruptcy expert and an attorney, even though he does not hold a license to practice law in Massachusetts or in any other state. Homeowners would meet Coleman at the Bankruptcy Courts located in Boston or Worcester and he would offer unauthorized legal advice and assistance in connection with the filing of bankruptcy petitions, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.
After convincing the homeowners to file for bankruptcy, Coleman would decide under which Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code to file for bankruptcy and allegedly filled out the petitions without consulting homeowners. In many instances, the bankruptcy petitions were deficient and dismissed because they were incomplete or lacked the proper information. Homeowners allege that when they attempted to contact Coleman about these deficiencies, he was either not reachable or, if reached, he brushed off consumers’ concerns.