The promise of quick cash has landed thousands of unsuspecting homeowners across the country with 40-year liens attached to their homes or lawsuits demanding thousands of dollars, in what Florida’s attorney general now calls a deceptive scheme to swindle customers out of their home equity. Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit Tuesday against MV Realty, a Florida-based company that was the subject of a national collaborative investigation by eight local television news stations in November.
“For a company to prey on unsuspecting homeowners in a way that locks them into a 40-year obligation designed to siphon away equity from the property is disgraceful,” said Moody.
Florida’s action seeks to enjoin enforcement of MV Realty’s contracts with consumers, prevent future deceptive and unfair practices, return the money the defendants wrongfully took from homeowners and impose civil penalties. It is unclear whether legal action would apply to homeowners in other states.
The company responded with a statement saying, “MV Realty has always been committed to transparency in all of our business transactions, and we are confident that any inquiry will confirm that our team has operated in full compliance with the law.”
MV Realty was co-founded by former reality show contestant Amanda Zachman, formerly Amanda Zuckerman, who appeared on CBS’s “Big Brother” in 2013. She is also named individually in the Florida attorney general’s lawsuit.
