Prosperity Bank prosperity bank ripped me off after promised me a loan and made me 2 months behind on mortgage payments. saint augustine, Florida

   This is a common Internet scam.    You were not dealing with a bank.  Just a couple of scammers with throwaway cell phones and Internet access.

    Advance fee loans are not legal, so anyone trying to get you to do this is scamming you.

     Though you didn't mention it, I'm guessing that they had you send them money via Moneygram or Western Union.    They do this because it's the only way they can get your money without leaving a paper trail.   Legit companies do not require you do send money this way.  Also, if this scam is like the hundreds of others reported here, they probably asked you to send the money to someone in another country (usually Canada).   This is another red flag and it's done so that no U.S. law enforcement agency will have jurisdiction over the transaction.  The scammers know this reduces the chance that they'll get caught to nearly zero.

   Sorry to hear that you lost so much to this scam, but I'm afraid there's very little you can do about it.  For more info on this particular scam, see the FTC's webpage :

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm

no lender requires money upfront for a loan.  You were scammed and your money is long gone.