Beacon couple accuses CT mortgage broker of trickery and artifice

A Dutchess County couple claims they have been making monthly payments on a phony mortgage to a previously sanctioned Danbury Connecticut mortgage broker.

Sheila E. Williams and Elijah W. Winston accused Charles L. Levesque and Fairfield Financial Mortgage Group Inc. (FFMG) of “engaging in trick … and artifice,” in a complaint filed Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court, White Plains, to gain possession of their home in Beacon.

Levesque did not reply to an email asking for his side of the story.

Williams and Winston took out two mortgages with FFMG in 2005 when they bought a three bedroom, one bathroom house on Liberty Street for about $285,000.

In 2008, Levesque allegedly persuaded them to refinance the mortgages so that they could make improvements to their property. They claim they never received any of the money promised for the improvements.

About two months after the refinancing, FFMG and Levesque were under investigation by the Connecticut Department of Banking for failure to notify regulators of eight lawsuits against the business and for other regulatory violations dating back to 2006.

In 2010, the agency barred Levesque from the mortgage industry for four years and ordered him to do 100 hours of community service for any nonprofit organization not involved in consumer credit services.

Levesque allegedly told the couple that he was closing shop and would get in touch with them once he moved elsewhere.

For more than five years Williams and Winston made no mortgage payments. During this period, the complaint states, they never received any demands for payments from any institution.

They also claim they have been unable to find an official record of the mortgage.

Then “out of the blue” Levesque contacted them and demanded that they pay him individually for the mortgage, according to the complaint, and threatened to foreclose on their house if they refused.

They paid Levesque from $1,491 to $2,394 a month, the complaint states, but recently stopped paying. In October FFMG assigned its purported mortgage to Levesque.

The complaint does not say why the couple stopped paying Levesque, when they discovered his regulatory history or how much they ostensibly owe on the unpaid balance on the 2008 refinancing.

FFMG is still in business and operates out of Levesque’s home in Danbury, according to an annual report filed on Dec. 2 with the Connecticut Secretary of State. Charles L. Levesque Jr. is listed as the president and CEO.

Williams and Winston accused Levesque and FFMG of fraudulent inducement and  unjust enrichment. They are demanding $200,000 and a court order directing them to clear the title to their property.

Williams and Winston are represented by Hopewell Junction attorney Michelle N. Daly.