The Justice Department filed a lawsuit accusing several California loan modification companies of violating federal housing protection laws by discriminating against Hispanic homeowners, MorningConsult.com reported yesterday. The defendants named in the suit are The Home Loan Auditors LLC, Century Law Center LLC, SOE Assistance Center Inc. and Spieker Law Office, along with principals Omar Alcaraz, Araceli Castro, Oralia Gutierrez, Hortencia Leon, Raul Luna, Elena Ramirez and David Spieker. The mortgage servicers violated the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act by limiting Hispanic homeowners’ access to financial assistance and targeting them for predatory loan modification services, the Justice Department said in a release. The complaint, filed in federal district court in Northern California, alleges that the servicers encouraged Latino homeowners to pay about $5,000 for unnecessary loan audits, according to DOJ.
