CHICAGO (WBBM)  -- A Chicago-based mortgage broker whose deceptive lending practices allegedly  led to the loss of at least one consumer’s home is the target of a lawsuit filed Wednesday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
 
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court against Advantage Mortgage Consulting, Inc. and President Robert Enright, alleges a variety of schemes were used to convince consumers -- many on the brink of foreclosure -- that they would pay lower monthly payments when, in fact, their monthly rates increased significantly, a release from Madigan's office said.

Specifically, according to the suit, the defendants used deceptive refinancing schemes, padded loans with higher than stated fees, failed to disclose prepayment penalties and brokered adjustable rate mortgages with consumers who believed they were agreeing to fixed-rate loans.

“Advantage Mortgage Consulting deceived consumers, convincing them to enter unknowingly into mortgages they simply could not afford or did not need,” Madigan said. “A home is a consumer’s most valuable asset, and in these strained financial times, it is unconscionable that Advantage Mortgage Consulting has engaged in such a pattern of deception to separate vulnerable people from their homes.”

The Consumer Fraud Bureau of the Attorney General's office has received 20 complaints against Advantage, the release said.

The suit seeks a court order prohibiting Advantage from engaging in deceptive practices and imposing a civil penalty of $50,000 for each violation committed with the intent to defraud and a $10,000 penalty for each instance where a violation was committed against a person 65 or older. It also asks the court to rescind the contracts signed as a result of deceptive practices, offer full restitution to affected consumers and payment of all costs associated with the investigation and prosecution of the lawsuit.