Attorney General: Another mortgage rescue fraud uncovered in Tampa

Don't think the housing bust has put crooks out of work. They'll try to turn a buck in any business climate. Witness the complaint filed in Tampa Tuesday against United States Mortgage Crisis Center LLC.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's office said USMCC guaranteed strapped homeowners in Hillsborough County that it would reduce a person's mortgage payoff by at least a third. All it took was payment of a $325 application fee. USMCC purported to help homeowners tap the "Hope Now" program enacted by President Bush in 2007.

Bush signed no such law in 2007. And as the company's name suggests, the mortgage crisis center operated under the false assumption that it was a non-profit, government affiliated agency, the attorney general said.

In fact, it was an outfit incorporated earlier this year in Lee County by Catrina and Wendell Ponder. None of its "customers" ever got a break on his mortgage payoff through the efforts of the company. The AG's office uses some florid language in describing the company's activities:

Defendants have committed and are committing acts or practices in trade or commerce which shock the conscience...and are unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous or substantially injurious to consumers.

McCollum is asking the courts to shut down the company and force it to make financial restitution. It also asked the court to impose a fine of $10,000 for each violation, an amount that would rise to $15,000 if the victim was elderly or handicapped.

By the language of the lawsuit, the company is still operating. Let the buyer beware.

Comments

[Tracy McCurdy]

Facts are that this company USMCC not only reduced my mortgage by over 57% but they also did it during a time when my 4 year old daughter was in need of a heart transplant and my husband and I lost our jobs because we were at Todds Children Hospital day and night. Thanks to these people my daughter still has her home and the good memories all made possible by this company. They sent us our payment back as they were required they explained but we in return gave them 10,000 dollars from our daughters malpractice lawsuit for saving our home. The Gov gets involved in things and dont even know the truth. Facts all say that this corp was shut down within 60 days of opening. So were they really given a chance? My bank would not talk to me and USMCC solved that by helping me send certified mail in which I got a response in 3 days. USMCC knows the laws and I will continue to call them my friends regaurdless of what the Gov has to say. Lastly I ask the Gov to get the facts before making conclusions. I am a tax payer and am very unhappy reading this post.

[Catrina Hughes]

I got a phone call today from Mr. and Mrs. McCurdy. I was the sole owner of United States Mortgage Crisis Center before it was shut down by the AG. Here are the facts. 1. You need no license from the Florida Department of Finance to conduct this business which was verified by Mr. Miller of the Department. 2. I saved numerous families from losing their home which in return also saved the lender from the large costs of foreclosure and resell. I charged $325.00 while lawyers are charging 1000's. 3. Mortgage reduction takes time. It is a long process therefore we had about 60 clients and had to do them 1 at a time. The AG came in about 40 days from our grand opening and shut us down with a cease order which meant we could no longer negotiate on our clients behalf. The AG did this to insure there victory in the end. They put down the cease order and we only got to help reduce 6 clients mortgages prior to the order and had to repay the other 50 clients or so. Prior to the cease order we had 6 completed Mortgage Reductions, 2 turndowns from banks unwilling to help the client and approx 50 clients in different stages of negotiations. The 2 denials were returned there processing fee IN FULL upon there Lenders denial of a Mortgage Reduction. Now ask yourself who is really at blame here? Facts are that I may not be able to operate and help the general public but I still till this day help my fam and friends and all together I have made banks eat 2.4 million dollars in greedy interest percentages that they dont deserve. Are you serious that because I loan you $100,000.00 at 9% to put a roof over your childs head that I can make you pay me back $300,000.00 over 30 years??!! WOW! Certain banks need be shut down and I will still continue my fight all the way to congress that the Gov shuts down the good and supports the bad. Any questions just try to find the 17 billion to autos or 300 billion to Banks and you will at a Spa or casino or in CEO compensations and not with Joe the Plumber to keep a roof over his family. Lasly the Fed has cut rates almost to 0% yet a mortgage rate today is still 5% why? how? Banks think the cut was for them to get more profits to clean up the mess but that is nonsence and you know it. Banks should be giving rates at the most a quarter over what they are paying for the money. 2.5% fixed for 30 years but we will never see that until we as Americans come together as ONE and stronghold them with our best weapon (the power in numbers)majority rules. Anyone who is in dire need of a Mortgage reduction please dont judge me yet. Send me an email to catrinaponder@yahoo.com and I will send you the exact steps to getting one. No charge, No fee, just American to American and once you see it works I only request that you tell everyone how to do it. Try me. God Bless America.

[Att. M. Smith]

Wendell Ponder does not have any affiliation with USMCC and has currently brought a defimation law suit against the proceeding. Please be advised that all current authorities are currently under a thorough investigation and results will be posted upon determination. It is believed that Mr. Ponder was the victim of hate crimes by Hunters Ridge Country Club where his wife resided in Naples Florida and was told by its employees blacks were not permited on the premises. This claim was made shortly before Joe Johnson's Lawsuit claiming that the local Bonita Springs Rec center was racist. Mr. Ponder has provided written statements/recordings and video survelance from ex-employees of Hunters Ridge that go to verify his findings. Palmira Golf and CC is also under investigation for not allowing Mr. Ponder on its premisis after he volunteerily quit his position as an employee. I guess this is why we still refer to Florida as The Dirty South!

[Tino]

"Lasly the Fed has cut rates almost to 0% yet a mortgage rate today is still 5% why? how?"

I ask myself that very question all the time. For the mortgage rates to fully factor in the risk of default, they should be in the range of 10% or more, especially for borrowers with bad credit.

If you think that 5% is too high for a mortgage rate, feel free to set up your own lending business. In fact, please contact me. I will take out a $1,000,000 loan from you at 5% right now.

[Bob Jersante]

This is some very interesting info. I for 1 understand the Mortgage reduction because I did my mothers. She is 61 years old and got canned from her job after 28 years. She was in a major bind because my dad passed in 2006. Her lender was Regions Bank and they were sticking it to her. I, thank God, am a legal assistant and new the path to take to get her payment reduced. It took me approx 7 monthes and about 30 hours of phone time. My mother truly only wanted to get some cash out yet at no fault of her own her home value dropped from 174k to 92k. She has not done a mortgage since 1996 when they purchased the house. She also put 20% down. How in the world can she now owe more than the prop is worth? Its obserd! I will tell people about the mortgage reduction program for you and I hope that you do win because people that played by the rules that truly need help should know about the program. Tino I must tell you to check your concience! The way the law is written says that the only homeowners that qualify for help are the ones whom own MORE then 1 home. I wonder who wrote that law? I can hear them talking saying well lets make a law so I dont lose my vacasion home in Florida or the 2 in Cali. Also not everyone trying to get a reduction is at fault because of non payment or poor credit. Some are hard working Americans that lost there jobs when fortune 500s went belly up BK. Dont they deserve a break? I mean the Gov says the rule to remember is you can give but you cant take away. Well when your home value drops by 40% at no fault of your own and you were trying to do the right thing and save your equity for an emergency and now you have no equity remember this: America has become greedy! Take all you can take or get ran over by a stampead of lawmakers, politicians, and Gov crooks. Learn this time and TAKE! TAKE! TAKE! Especially your equity. When the realestate boom comes around again Im going to refi my home take out a couple 100 thousand, buy a couple more homes and take out all the equity from them. Then eventually because I own 9 homes maxed to the tilt the Gov will let me qualify for mortgage reductions and basically I got free money! Infact I got enough to retire on! But Ill wait patiently until the cycle repeats and get my kids enough to retire on.

Truly

Bob

[Tino]

Sorry Bob, your situation is sad, but the math just does not support your statement.

If the loan was taken out in 1996, the note would have been at least 25% paid down by now. On top of that, 20% was put down at the time of purchase. That is 20% + (25%*0.8) = 40% of the original value in 1996 that has been paid off.

So what was the original purchase price?

You are expecting us to believe that the value of the house has fallen from $174,000 in 1996 to $92,000 today. There is absolutely no way that this has happened. I am looking at houses in the $500-700,000 range that were about $175-200k in 1996. The Case-Shiller index for Tampa has doubled since 1996.

But down 45%? Bob, I'm calling you either completely inept at math or a liar.

Even if the house was purchased at $174k 13 years ago (which it was not), the amount on the note would only be about $100k, which is what the house is roughly worth.

The more likely story is that the house was purchased for under $100k, and either (1) the owner previously took out a big chunk of equity and cannot pay it back or (2) the owner has very little due on the note but has no income, hence no refinancing opportunity.

Don't try to tell us that a home worth $174k in 1996 is only worth $92k today. We're not that gullible. You need to work on your story if you are going to try it on someone with an open checkbook.

[A concerned citizen!]

I just have one recommendation for anyone out there that is in desperate need of help....LOOK ELSEWHERE! Be responsible people and do your own research. You can look on any of the clerk of courts sites in Lee Co, Collier Co and Volusia Co in FL to start, to find Catrina Ponder aka Catrina Hughes is a convicted felon and still awaiting adjudication on other fraud charges. Also you'll find that they have been evicted from multiple rental properties, including Hunter's Ridge and Palmira CC. Not due to any racist activity, but due to the fact that they don't pay their rent! And upon leaving multiple homes...let's just say they didn't leave them as they found them. You could also google their names and find many other illegal activities of Catrina as well as her husband, Wendall, who also goes by Jason Hughes. BUYER BEWARE! That's my motto!

[Another Concerned Citizen]

The first three comments in this section are obviously posted by Wendell and Catrina Ponder. For anyone who has come in contact with them or may come in contact with them, let us get the truth out in the open.
The two of them are CONVICTED FELONS. If you have any doubt just go on the Florida Department of Corrections website and enter 'Catrina HUGHES' or 'Catrina PONDER' and boom, there she is, twice convicted in FLORIDA for grand theft and check fraud. Go on Google and put in either one of their names, and up pops their Florida scams, their pending Pennsylvania case, as well as the fact that Wendell was convicted back in Pennsylvania (where they fled due to ongoing investigations and the liens on them) of check fraud as well.
Both of them are fraudsters, and are willing to take advantage of anyone gullible enough to go to them for help on their mortgages. God forbid you rent to them, as witnessed by their trail of damaged property (from Naples to the Palmira Golf and CC, to Hunters Ridge CC) all of which had to ban the two of them after they trashed their rental units, leaving the owners to fix the mess they left behind.
The posting from Attorney M. Smith above is obviously from Wendell Ponder, as he has always had a problem SPELLING anything. I doubt that Attorney Smith exists, or will bother to come on the site to give his particulars.
Anyone scammed by them, notify law enforcement immediately, and demand that they be prosecuted. Call local as well as state(Attorney General) and federal (IRS and FBI) officials and insist SOMETHING BE DONE.
If they live around you, print copies of their convictions and pass it around, and contact the property owners to warn them their property is in peril. Send these guys where they belong, TO JAIL!!!!

[The Smartest Guy in the room]

Hey everyone pretty scary how the little midget and his friend wasted their day on having there names removed from this blog. I love it. They cant win. They are scared to post their names.. Infact so scared probably because the last popo that confronted Mr. Ponder almost got the AK-47. They dont understand that the system is a joke because they have given there lives to the system. The perfect private eye hired by the good judge was found out by Wendell within a month by his good friend Russel. From that point Mr. Ponder just lead them down a one way road with a rope attached. They followed.Play on Player, Play on... Left Florida? Really? I didnt know that. I thought that Ponder and his wife applied for a name change but hmmm I wonder what state it was in??? Detective small dick will have to research if he can reach his computer. The Ponders also own several homes from Florida to Cali to Texas to Arizona but they seem to have all their assets in other peoples names to protect them from corrupt public officials such as these 2 goons. To my recolection I even heard through the grapevine that they own a very large profitable telemarketing firm but I believe its in some homeless guys name that had a valid ID and needed some cash. Hard to keep up with these Ponders or whatever they changed there names to. Probably Smith.. Yep knowing Wendell he probably changed his name to John Smith because there are over 1 million John Smiths. What a bright guy. Well gotta run but I know in 2003 he ran to Florida because he caught his employee stealing from him and sat the guy on fire and watched him burn to death, then sat the house on fire to cover it up. Be careful because Wendell is one of the last remaining GANGSTERS and he wont go alone without already paying the hitman. I guess the contract will read something like Biggie Smalls and tupac. Ill be waiting to write more of this story. This is a journalists dream.
Your Friend,
The Modern Day Robinhood

[The Smartest Guy in the room]

Anyone that can show that Wendell was convicted of check fraud or any other felony please call me at 724-962-2081 immediately and I will pay you 1million US dollars. If Wendell has not ever been convicted please call Cook County Attorney General and make a complaint about Judge HSimmons and Anthony. Please tell them there corrupt ways as public officials are untolerable and ask for immediate sanctions. I will be waiting. Search for the truth because the truth shall set YOU FREE..... right REV??

[The Smartest Guy in the room]

Dont start looking for Wendell because he stoped emailing you. You have been set up and now we finally know who you are. GOT YA $$$$$$$

[The Smartest Guy in the room]

The AG was here.. post 5:15 eh. mustve just got off...........

[The Smartest Guy in the room]

I love technology...

[2 P]

I love it homie. My advice to you is simple: RUN WIT ME or RUN FROM ME. you fell right into my PI trap. Im good huh. No emails anymore. Stop the jokes from your friend and tried to get me to respond but little did you know that I was setting you up to get you to come to this site so I could find out for sure who you were. GOCHA dummy. I lead you on for years thanks to Russel telling me you know the Judge. No one can break my inner circle. Im the DON. Now as you warned me that life was going to get hard, I will tell you the same. Never spend your time looking at a person and tapping their phones. Because just maybe their setting you up. Just maybe they have multiple rebuy minutes cards phones in NO NAME. Maybe they are leading you North and making moves in the South. or East or well you get it.

[Bill]

hey wendell, i feel bad for you so i am going to help u out through my job. i research your name and found out that u have never commited the crimes reported in this news paper. so for your honesty i have emailed u some very interesting info on judge henry simmons of cook county 'chicago' illanois. my report states that he ran quite a scam himself to become a judge. says he was running against a pretty prominent young lady and he new he was no match for her. so he had all the females of his lawfirm run as well to take away a large portion of the female votes she was getting. it worked, he won and all the ladies in his firm dropped out and he paid them each 5 figures and made great insider promises to them. this was a top level scam and a first of many to come through his long tenor as judge. i also have 2 interviews to complete localy in which mr simmons accepted bribes for some judicial favors. i will keep u posted. i would like to schedule an interview with u so that i may print this story in the press. i am not on your side in anyway. i am against public officials abuse of power. i also saw your website about simmons and anthony and would like to verify the truth of its suggestions. public abuse of power is a very common thing these days and i believe that u should continue to use the free press your getting to vindicate yourself and cause serious questions about the judge and anthonys caracter. i advice u that finacially u may not be able to cause havok in their lives but if you keep assasinating their caracter you will feel vindicated. keep writing and researching them and eventialey u will have several other press members researching them and digging as well to be the first to break the story.goodluck and be carefull because i see that anthony can be a very vindictive man that has alot of power at his fingertips. i also see that henry simmons wife beth simmons has made several calls to 911 for him abusing her. she believes that his violent fits even have caused her kidney to shut down in wich she underwent a kidney transplant back in 2002 or so. no charges were filed because hs paid financialy. goodluck and we will talk after my interviews are complete. remember i want to be the first to break this story even if i must compensate you.
sin, bill

[Wendell]

Who in there right mind spends there day writing on these sites. You people are totally nuts. For starters I am the Wendell that is being discussed in this article not the above. The phone number is incorrect to you dummies. Thats my neighbors phone above 2081. The writer of this article can reach me at 724-962-7589 and I will be given the message. As for the Judge Simmons, you writters got him wrong. He is a very nice guy. He rented me his 3500 square foot home and my friends destroyed it. My lesson learned from him was very valuable. DONT sign for anything you cant afford. Dont let your friends move in if you do sign. As for Anthony Carter, he also is a very nice person but we could not help him so he used his power and his sons detective firm against us. O well, you live and you learn. Obviously some people writing these rediculous entrees are board and they don't have the facts. As a private invest I look at the verbage above and see the word PERIL.... I scan through some emails and recorded conversations that I have from the golf course and I find that the word PERIL is used frequent by a certain type of person. Lets just leave it at that. Just thought that I would respond and end any other assertions by leaving you the number to contact me at above, 239-877-3072. As for my crimes against humanity well here is my social 169-62-4523, birth date 08/29/74, see what my record really says for yourself. Remember, JESUS spoke in parables about who would get into heaven. You guys should read his writings so that you will know if you should be barried with a coat or a water hose. The tax collecter stole and got into heaven but the great, rich, law abiding lady didn't. I wonder why? I will check back frequently until then, love, piece, and happiness to all. James Thorner you should have emailed me for my side of this story before you went on writing these articles full of decite. My offer stands and the email is below.

[concerned citizen]

Can you believe they now live in Pa with a new real estate brokers office in her name. He is also coaching a pee wee football team. This is outrageous

[Tom Smith Att]

bb

[Tom Smith Att]

My firm received another phone call from Mr. Ponder today and voiced his concern about the assasination of his character on this blog. First and formost let me be clear. The Ponders being discussed in this blog are not from Pennsylvania and have never been to Pennsylvania. They are from Texas and Florida but share the same names. There are currently 72 Wendall and Katrina Ponders registered as US citizens and married. I would advise all bloggers on this site to be advised that your IP address has been logged, address verified and forwarded to the firm rep for Mr. and Mrs. Ponder of Pa. Again this is an attempt to clear the names of Wendell and Catrina Ponder of Pennsylvania and offer them our appologies for any uncontrolable, unwarented statements presented herein. Mr. Ponder I have faxed all requested documentation to your lawyer and I hope that it helps you in your presute of justice. My client has also provided you with a written affad for use in any civil lawsuit you may bring against the proceeding character statements. I hope this helps and I wish you and your wife the best.