Isaak Khafizov, Mortgage Modification Scam, New York 2012

Grimy Times Exposes Mortgage Modification Scam

Isaak Khafizov, a 27-year-old resident of Queens, New York, was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a mortgage modification scam that targeted hundreds of distressed homeowners across the United States.

According to court documents, Khafizov, a former owner of American Home Recovery (AHR), a mortgage loan modification business, used AHR to commit a systematic fraud that preyed on financially struggling homeowners. Khafizov and AHR’s salespeople fraudulently induced homeowners to pay thousands of dollars in up-front fees by making false promises about getting better interest rates and lower monthly fees, as well as falsely claiming to be affiliated with government agencies and possessing special expertise in mortgage modifications.

After receiving up-front fees from the homeowners, Khafizov and AHR did little or no work to try to renegotiate the homeowners’ mortgages. On those rare occasions when Khafizov succeeded in getting a homeowner a mortgage modification, he typically did so by coaching the homeowner to lie about their income and assets on forms submitted to the mortgage lender.

As a result of the scam, Khafizov and AHR defrauded financially struggling customers out of over half a million dollars in fees. Many of AHR’s customers wound up in foreclosure as a result of the scheme.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program for their work on the case.

Isaak Khafizov’s sentencing is a significant victory for victims of mortgage modification scams and serves as a reminder of the importance of being cautious when seeking help with financial difficulties.

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