Crime & Safety
Bellevue Company To Pay $750,000 Over Illegal Foreclosures
Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. was accused of illegally foreclosing on a veteran's home, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
BELLEVUE, WA - A Bellevue company that provided foreclosure services for mortgage comapnies will pay $750,000 for breaking a law that protects servicemembers from civil actions, according to Western District U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. reached the settlement this week after the U.S. Department of Justice sued in 2017.
According to the justice department, the company foreclosed on a home owned by a U.S. Marines veteran in 2010, two month after he got home from serving in Iraq. That veteran, Jacob McGreevey of Vancouver, sued Northwest Trustee Services in 2016 under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Under that law, Northwest Trustee Services was supposed to obtain a judicial foreclosure within nine months of the end of McGreevey's military service.
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A federal investigation found that the company may have illegally foreclosed on other homes owned by veterans. Each victim will get $125,000, according to Hayes' office.
The state of Washington took Northwest Trustee Services into receivership in March.
Find out what's happening in Bellevuefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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