Bogus Mortgage Modifiers Fined Nearly $19 Million

A trio of con artists will pay $18.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they and their company swindled homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments.

Sean Zausner, David Zausner, David J. Feingold and First Universal Lending LLC were accused by the FTC of preying upon destitute homeowners with lies about their ability to negotiate more affordable mortgages.

In addition to the nearly $19 million penalty, a federal court also banned the defendants, all of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., from the mortgage modification business.