AG Bonta secured a settlement holding Florida-based MV Realty, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and its Chief Operating Officer (COO) accountable for operating a predatory scheme that provided immediate cash payments to financially vulnerable homeowners in exchange for the exclusive right to be their listing agent if they ever sold their homes in the next 40 years. The company misled consumers about the terms of these homeowner agreements and deceptively recorded liens on their homes, which prevented homeowners and their successors from transferring their home unless they paid MV Realty tens of thousands of dollars in so-called “early termination fees.” The liens could also impede homeowners from refinancing their homes or getting home equity loans. The settlement requires MV Realty to individually terminate all its liens, pay back homeowners who paid early termination fees, and void its homeowner agreements. It also imposes significant financial penalties and restrictions on its future business activities in California.

“We will not tolerate predatory conduct that targets vulnerable Californians and puts their homes at risk. This settlement delivers the relief we sought in our lawsuit, including full restitution for consumers and the complete undoing of the unlawful practices at issue. At a time when Californians are facing an affordability crisis, exploitation like this only adds pressure on households struggling to make ends meet — and it is unacceptable.” – AG Bonta