Birmingham Man Who Promised Mortgage Help Pleads Guilty

BIRMINGHAM, MI — A Birmingham man accused of exploiting homeowners facing foreclosure on their mortgaged homes and needed help managing their credit card debt pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felonies and and 27 misdemeanors, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Wednesday

Through his limited liability company, Modify Loan Experts, Pasquale Longordo, 39, used the financial pain of others to pad his own bank account, Schuette said in a statement.

“Today’s guilty plea brings some closure and more importantly restitution to the men and women left in a financial hardship due to this man’s deception,” Schuette said. “Individuals who take advantage of people when they are going through a hard time for their own personal benefit will not be tolerated.”

Longordo pleaded guilty in front of Judge Wendy Potts of Oakland County Circuit Court to the following charges:

• One count of False Pretenses, a five year felony;
• Six counts of Attempted Debt Management Act, a misdemeanor;
• Seven counts of Credit Services Protection Act violations, a misdemeanor; and
• One count of Unemployment Compensation Fraud.

Longordo also paid $125,000 in restitution at Wednesday’s hearing. The money will be distributed to his victims.

Longordo is scheduled to be sentenced in Oakland County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 27.
The Deapartment of Attorny General was assisted in this case by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.

“Pasquale Longordo took advantage of victims desperate to keep their homes. He not only mislead them in his ability to negotiate on their behalf, rendering them helpless, but he also took their money and used it for his personal gain,” Catherine Huber, special agent in charge of the Midwest Region of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.

“The guilty plea (Wednesday) is the first step in holding him accountable for his criminal conduct,” Huber said, also in the statement.

Longordo and Modify Loan Experts allegedly promised victims that they would have an attorney assigned to represent them and negotiate mortgage modifications on their behalf with mortgage companies. However, this did not happen and many victims lost their homes as a result.

Additionally, Longordo, who also operated a credit card debt management service, allegedly told debt management victims he was putting their funds into an escrow account and that he would use the payments to negotiate their debt with credit card companies. In reality, Longordo put the victims’ funds into a regular bank account and allegedly used that account like his personal ATM, according to the statement.

During this time, Longordo allegedly received unemployment compensation, although he was ineligible, Schuette said.

Image: Courtesy of Michigan Attorney General's Office