Aeon Financial Tax Liens sanctioned $16,850 for Frivolous Conduct attempted to rip off elderly homeowner

Submitted by JohnDoe on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 21:03.

 On March 25, 2015, a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas magistrate submitted an opinion which sanctioned Aeon Financial and Mark Schwartz's law firm for engaging in 'frivolous conduct' in their attempt to rip off an elderly homeowner.   Aeon Financial and the Schwartz law office were ordered to pay the elderly man's attorney $16,850. 

In Case no. CV 14 821976  Aeon Financial vs Archie Lewis, et al,  the court specifically mentioned Aeon Financial's employee and noted that he was a disbarred attorney.  Although the court referenced the disbarred attorney as 'Joseph' Lord, he is actually John Lord.  According to numerous property owners, disbarred John Lord still pretends to be an attorney when they call Aeon Financial's mentally challenged legal team for assistance.

The recent court order noted that the elderly property owner paid Aeon Financial $8,671 to settle two tax liens totalling $3,397.54.  After the elderly man paid nearly $9,000, Aeon Financial's attorney filed another tax lien foreclosure and attempted to steal the property owner's house for $321.37 in delinquent property taxes. Aeon Attorneys failed to notify the court that the elderly Mr. Lewis already paid nearly $9,000.  The court noted several 'red flags' which included unexplained fees and additional attorney fees.

Mark Schwartz, Aeon Financial, along with their attorneys, have been ripping off Cuyahoga County and other county residents for years.

Isn't it about time the FBI stepped in to stop these thieves?

SEE copy of attached court order.

 

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Councilman T.J. Dow's delinquent property taxes for years

 I wonder if Cuyahoga  County will sell these property stealing thieves a tax lien against Cleveland Councilman T. J. Dow's property?

Cleveland Councilman T. J. Dow hasn't paid property taxes in several years.  The $25,000 purchase price is highly suspicious as well.

 

PARCEL ID 106-05-078
OWNERS NAME DOW,TIJUAN
ADDRESS 07715 DECKER AVE
CITY CLEVELAND
ZIP 44103

 

 No property taxes paid in years.

 

Scene Magazine coverage

Tax Lien Titan Aeon Financial Penalized in Cuyahoga County
Posted By  on Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 4:33 pm
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Tax lien titan Aeon Financial LLC was sanctioned last week to the tune of $16,850 for loading unexplained fees on top of a homeowner’s paid-in-full tax lien certificates. The mysterious company has notched a foothold in Cleveland and other large cities since the foreclosure crisis bottomed out, and the county judge's recent order against its lawyers signals a contrast to a more typical look-the-other-way syndrome.

A blogger at REALNEO was the first to report on this story.

In 2011, Archie Lewis was hit with a foreclosure complaint on an East 134th Street house he owned (pictured here). Aeon Financial had purchased the property's tax lien certificates as part of a bulk transaction.

With fees and an 18-percent interest rate, the total cost to be repaid came to $7,427.60. Lewis, now 65, paid that in full over time, and the court dismissed Aeon Financial's case in 2013. The following year, however, Aeon Financial opened a new case, seeking payment on the exact same liens. The company has a known record of opening up cases with intent to over-bill homeowners.

This case came before magistrate Tracey Gonzales. Read her full order here

Gonzales wrote: "[Aeon Financial employee Joseph] Lord testified that even though the [payment] schedule created by his office may indicate a zero balance, it doesn't necessarily mean a zero balance. There may be additional fees hanging out there that need to be paid. This Court is amazed. What fees? Where do they come from? Why do they exist? Why weren't they on the schedule you created? [Lewis] has already turned $3,397.54 of outstanding taxes into $8,671.00. However, according to Mr. Lord's testimony, there may still be a few unaccounted for, unlisted, unexplained fees and costs that need to be paid. In other words, even though one has completed their end of the agreement, [Aeon Financial] may just arbitrarily call and demand more money from you."
 

The judge went on to call the litigation "shameful to our profession" and sanctioned Aeon Financial LLC, ordering the company to pay thousands of dollars in attorney's fees.

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/03/30/tax-lien-t...

More local media coverage

 

 

CLEVELAND - Archie S. Moore was facing thousands in attorney's fees and foreclosure, but he fought back, won in court and saved his home.

Moore is one of hundreds of Cuyahoga County residents who have had their tax delinquencies sold by the county to third party collection agencies, like Aeon Financial, LLC., out of Chicago.
Moore told newsnet5.com he got sick and was about $3,000 behind on his property taxes, an amount he was working toward paying. 
However, Moore's tax debt was turned over to Aeon Financial, and according to a March 25 ruling by Cuyahoga County Magistrate Tracey S. Gonzalez, Aeon unfairly added thousands in attorney fees. The court ordered Aeon Financial pay more than $16,000 to Moore and his attorney Gary Williams in restitution.
"I save my home, I'm on fixed income and this is all I got," said Moore. "You can fight back against these collection companies and win, but you're going to have to hire an attorney."     http://www.newsnet5.com/news/cle-homeowner-fights-to-save-home-court-rules-against-collection-company