Pair are charged in fraudulent foreclosure rescue scheme

Attorney General Bill Schuette has announced charges against two residents of mid-Michigan for their roles in a foreclosure-rescue fraud scheme that took place in Lansing. Joella Jean Britton, 37, of Eagle, and Nicole Lee Otis, 35, of Lansing, are each charged with one count of false pretenses, a ten-year felony, for providing fraudulent information to a mortgage lender. An investigation by the Lansing Township Police Department revealed that Britton and Otis allegedly claimed they would help a Lansing couple facing the threat of foreclosure by purchasing their home and selling it back to them on land contract. The statement showed that Otis was putting $20,000 down on the deal. In reality, the victim homeowners were instructed to sign over part of their proceeds from the sale to fund Otis' $20,000 down-payment. Although the homeowners made payments under the land contract, Otis had stopped making payments on the mortgage, and the homeowners were still evicted from their house after Otis allowed it to fall to foreclosure. Published: Mon, Apr 4, 2011