Money Tree Mortgage State of Washington looking for more victims Woodstock Georgia

Hello Everyone

I am the person who was responsible for organizing the shutdown of the Kansas office of Money Tree Mortgage. I was ripped off by Todd Webster and after many, many denials, I was finally able to convince an investigator for the District Attorney's office that this was a definite scam. I invested many hours working on this and contacted quite a few Money Tree Mortgage victims so that I could bring this to the attention of the District Attorney. If it had just been my word, I doubt very much that my case would have moved forward...the more people you can get involved in this, the better.

In the summer of 2004, I testified in a preliminary hearing and then again in 2005 for the actual jury trial for Todd Webster. Here are some things that I would like to suggest to anyone in other states that are trying to fight back against this company.

First, any documentation that you can collect will be very valuable when it comes to the trial. I found that Money Tree destroyed many of the paper records and loan applications shortly after receiving them, and having copies of your application and correspondence with them will be very valuable to you. I went to Kansas with a stack of emails, applications, and letters to Money Tree. Todd and Randy Webster are very good at what they do, but they didn't have a chance against an organized group of victims. When I walked into the trial with a stack of papers, I saw a little color drain from both Todd's and his attorney's face.

Second, the lawyers for MTM are hoping that you will be too embarassed to testify and they will try to intimidate you by throwing in a few questions about how you handle your financial affairs to try and throw you off or embarass you. If the District Attorney is on the ball, he/she will shoot this down right away. If not, simply answer "yes" or "no" and don't elaborate. Todd Webster's attorney tried this with me, but it backfired on him when I kept my cool and only answered with very short answers. You are not down there testifying about whether you deserve a mortgage, you are down there because MTM told you that they already had one for you when they didn't and committed fraud. Relax and take your time before answering questions.

Third, be proud of yourself for having the guts to pursue this. It is very inconvenient and stressful, but your actions will prevent this from happening to others. Even though it appears that we have shut down Money Tree, there are still other scam artists out there and the publicity of this trial may cause them to think twice before attempting to rip people off.

Many of us who were ripped off by the Kansas office filed a class action suit against Todd. Money Tree had some liability insurance and our attorney accepted a settlement. It was not really worth the hassle....we were each awarded $300 and the attorney got $120 of that and it took about seven months to get our money! The only person who came out on the class action suit was the attorney representing the victims. Our attorney was pretty sure that Todd and Randy have the money they stole hidden in offshore accounts. I'm fairly certain that both Todd and Randy have filed for bankruptcy. There is probably very little, if any, money to settle a class-action suit.

Todd Webster got a very short sentence. He was only in jail for a few months, but the court ordered him to pay restitution. I have still not received my court-ordered restitution, but Todd has to pay it or go back to jail.

The bottom line is that you need to be prepared for a very long, drawn-out process. If you are expecting this to be a "quick and dirty" thing, it's not. From the time I first contacted the District Attorney to the actual jury trial against Todd, it was over 2-1/2 years.

Good luck to everyone in Washington.

I am a mortgage broker and am surprised to see that people are still willing to pay up front for any mortgage. As an independent mortgage broker I have never made any of my clients pay for credit reports, application fees, etc.
The fact of the matter is that an honest mortgage broker will know whether or not they can get someone a loan. We make enough money to cover our overhead costs with just one commission. My insider tip would be avoid any mortgage broker that is going to charge you up front. Because if they do then they most likely will try to get as much money as possible from you - and you dont want to do business with someone like that.

Laura,
I too am a victim of Money Tree Mortgage. I would be greatly appreciate it if I could receive the info for Washington State. I have been totally frustrated by Money Tree's "business practices".

Thanks.

Laura,
I too am a victim of Money Tree Mortgage. I would be greatly appreciate it if I could receive the info for Washington State. I have been totally frustrated by Money Tree's "business practices".

Thanks.

Laura,
I too am a victim of Money Tree Mortgage. I would be greatly appreciate it if I could receive the info for Washington State. I have been totally frustrated by Money Tree's "business practices".

Thanks.

Laura,
I too am a victim of Money Tree Mortgage. I would be greatly appreciate it if I could receive the info for Washington State. I have been totally frustrated by Money Tree's "business practices".

Thanks.

I was also ripped off by Money Tree Mortgage in Woodstock, GA. How do we get in touch with you privately? I didn't see an e-mail address or anything.