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80 Law Firm; Litvin, Torrens and Associates; and the principal attorney of the firms, Gen- nady Litvin, for the alleged scam. Schneider- man claims the firms promised financially vulnerable and struggling homeowners that they'd receive comprehensive legal services to obtain a mortgage loan modification or avoid foreclosure. e firms allegedly collected hundreds of dollars in monthly fees from the borrowers they targeted but did not deliver on any of their promises. "Consumers facing foreclosure place a special trust in attorneys hired to help them navigate the myriad of legal issues they are facing, and our office will hold those account- able who perpetrate scams that prey upon families at risk of losing their home," Schnei- derman said. "Coupled with our Homeowner Protection Program that has served over 30,000 New York families seeking help with their mortgage, we will continue to fight for those still struggling in the aftermath of the housing crisis." e law firms perpetrated the scam by advertising through radio, television, and the Internet that they were located in 31 states and were equipped to provide nationwide foreclo- sure defense, which was not possible because the firms had offices only in New York and Florida, Schneiderman said. e lawsuit alleges that through these ads, the firms lured struggling homeowners into calling them and paying $595 or $750 for legal services. rough their third-party marketers, the firms promised struggling homeown- ers nationwide that they would receive a "custom-made attorney defense team" that gave them "a level of service that usually is only enjoyed by large corporate clients," according to Schneiderman. e marketers also promised "forensic loan audits" that were "vitally important" to identifying errors in mortgage documents, winning concessions from lenders, and avoiding foreclosure, ac- cording to the lawsuit. Instead, despite paying fees, many homeowners never spoke with an attorney in their state or received any kind of mortgage loan relief such as a modification, and the forensic loan audits had little value in saving consumers' homes, according to Schneiderman. e marketers affiliated with the Litvin mortgage rescue scam reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2012 in which they agreed to pay nearly $3.6 million in compensation to consumers and were permanently banned from working in the mortgage and debt relief services field. Pennsylvania RANK: 12 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 2.58% 2.20% 5.8 YEAR AGO 2.45% 3.13% 7.4 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 5.6% -29.6% -1.6 Top County MONROE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 2.65% 3.38% YEAR AGO 2.95% 4.28% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -10.1% -21.2% Top Core-Based Statistical Area EAST STROUDSBURG, PA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 4.97% 8.76% YEAR AGO 5.01% 12.37% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -0.9% -29.2% 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 August 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary August 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Rhode Island RANK: 10 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 3.49% 2.30% 7.7 YEAR AGO 4.06% 2.86% 9.6 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -14.0% -19.5% -1.9 Top County PROVIDENCE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 4.35% 2.78% YEAR AGO 5.06% 3.47% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -13.9% -19.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 YEAR AGO YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 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 August 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary August 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Vermont RANK: 9 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 1.65% 2.32% 4.1 YEAR AGO 1.59% 3.25% 4.5 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 4.0% -28.6% -0.4 Top County GRAND ISLE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 1.53% 6.03% YEAR AGO 1.74% 5.67% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -11.9% 6.3% Top Core-Based Statistical Area RUTLAND, VT 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 2.02% 3.60% YEAR AGO 2.27% 4.32% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -11.0% -16.6% 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 August 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary August 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. 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