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86 STATE OF AFFAIRS: SOUTH » counts of mail fraud, and one count of misus- ing a government seal. "Scamming homeowners by selling for $400 to $2,000 what is a free application to TARP's housing program is a despicable crime, and for their crimes, Godfrey and Fischer will each spend the next seven years in federal prison," said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP. "Godfrey and Fischer called their fraudu- lent scam 'HOPE,' exploiting the federal government's foreclosure relief program of a similar name, all the while knowing that they were ripping off thousands of desperate homeowners already behind on their mort- gages," Romero said. According to evidence, from January 2009 through May 2011, Godfrey, Fischer, and their employees operated a business under the name Home Owners Protection Econom- ics, Inc (HOPE). rough the company, the group misrepresented themselves to "induce struggling homeowners to pay HOPE a $400 to $2,000 up-front fee in exchange for HOPE's help obtaining federally funded home loan modifications," the release said. e company claimed that it could guar- antee homeowners a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which is part of the Troubled As- set Relief Program (TARP). Once the fee had been paid, HOPE would then mail a do-it-yourself application package, nearly identical to the application that the government provides for free. Most submitted applications were denied. e company secured more than $4 million from defrauded homeowners. "Godfrey and Fischer used funds that homeowners had paid into the purported non-profit's bank account to pay for their trips to Dubai and the South of France, to shop at luxury stores, to pay for their pool service, and to pay the mortgages on their waterfront home and condominium," the release said. Georgia Marc Oppenheimer Associate Broker, CDPE / BPOR Serving REO Since 1987 1854 Independence Square, Suite D Atlanta, GA 30338 Phone: (770) 668-0063 Cell: (678) 296-6550 oppy@atlantareo.com www.atlantareo.com Georgia RANK: 34 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 3.40% 1.21% 7.3 YEAR AGO 4.05% 2.03% 8.6 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -16.0% -40.6% -1.3 Top County EVANS COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 2.54% 3.34% YEAR AGO 5.41% 1.85% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -53.0% 80.7% Top Core-Based Statistical Area CEDARTOWN, GA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 5.39% 2.19% YEAR AGO 5.30% 2.77% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 1.6% -20.9% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the January 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary January 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Kentucky RANK: 24 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 2.46% 1.85% 7.7 YEAR AGO 2.57% 2.55% 8.2 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -4.1% -27.5% -0.5 Top County PERRY COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 4.70% 7.05% YEAR AGO 5.82% 3.62% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -19.2% 94.6% Top Core-Based Statistical Area CORBIN, KY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 3.18% 3.79% YEAR AGO 2.99% 3.98% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 6.5% -4.8% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the January 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary January 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Louisiana RANK: 21 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 3.68% 2.12% 4.9 YEAR AGO 3.67% 2.87% 6.3 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 0.2% -26.1% -1.4 Top County ST. BERNARD PARISH 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 6.08% 4.55% YEAR AGO 6.34% 6.22% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -4.2% -26.8% Top Core-Based Statistical Area NEW IBERIA, LA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JANUARY 2014 4.41% 3.23% YEAR AGO 4.28% 3.99% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 3.0% -19.1% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the January 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary January 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. New jobs in January, year-over- year Source: Wells Fargo Economics Group STAT INSIGHT 214,400 Foreclosure auction sales made up 6.2 percent of residential sales in Atlanta in January, according to RealtyTrac. KNOW THIS