Koster obtains judgment against Greene County man

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster obtained a consent judgment yesterday against a Greene County man who allegedly used a foreclosure scam to obtain ownership of homes.

Koster filed an amended petition against Brian Thompson in 2009, stating that he used The Daily Events periodical to search for foreclosure listings and called the homeowners to set up the scheme.

Thompson and associates allegedly promised to stop the foreclosures by purchasing the home or finding a buyer for the home who would pay off the home's mortgage. Thompson and associates would keep the equity in the homes as profit. He told the homeowners he would lease the homes back to them and would resell the homes to them if they could obtain new mortgages. Because there were no written contracts made, some homeowners lost the titles to their homes, their equity or were evicted, according to a news release from Koster's office.

“Mr. Thompson took advantage of consumers at a time when they were especially susceptible to any scheme that promised to keep them in their home,” Koster said in the release.

The consent judgement requires Thompson to pay $51,000 in restitution and prohibits him from violating Missouri's Merchandising Practices Law in the future, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]