The state sued companies in Shelton and Trumbull, claiming they engaged in a predatory lending scheme that defrauded dozens of consumers, many of them first-time home buyers who speak little English.
Trumbull-based Royal Financial Services L.L.C. and Shelton-based Elizabeth Athan Real Estate L.L.C. were among several companies statewide sued by Connecticut”™s attorney general, Department of Banking and Department of Consumer Protection.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal accuses Elizabeth Athan Real Estate of soliciting people with low incomes to purchase multiunit homes owned by defendants at inflated prices, while discouraging buyers to seek an independent appraisal.
Royal Financial Services is accused of falsifying information on mortgage applications and of blindsiding consumers on closing day with previously undisclosed costs.
Royal Financial Services is owned by Trumbull attorney Maurizio D. Lancia, according to his firm”™s Web site.
Elizabeth Athan Real Estate appears to have shut down, according to the New London Day which first reported on the alleged scheme last spring.
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