$49,000 returned to 198 people, and what that ratio means
In January 2025 the FTC sent more than $49,000 to 198 consumers harmed by a mortgage relief scheme — about $250 each, against upfront fees this industry charges in the thousands. It is the plainest answer available to the question every victim asks, and the reason the MARS Rule tries to stop the payment rather than recover it.
- Year
- 2025
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Settled
- Reported loss
- $49,000
- Victims
- 198
- Schemes
- Mortgage relief and foreclosure rescue scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-07
The facts, as recorded
- The FTC announced the distribution on 23 January 2025.
- More than $49,000 was sent to 198 consumers harmed by a mortgage relief scheme.
- That is an average of roughly $250 per person.
- Documented upfront fees in this sector have ranged from $1,995 to $6,000, with monthly charges of $495 commonly imposed thereafter.
- The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule makes it illegal to charge any fee before the company has obtained a written offer of relief from the lender and the homeowner has accepted it.
- Free help is available from HUD-approved housing counselling agencies, on 1-888-995-HOPE.
Why this case matters
It answers, with a real number, the question every victim on this site eventually asks.
$49,000 divided by 198 people is about $250 each.
Against upfront fees documented in this sector at $1,995 to $6,000, plus $495 a month.
So the realistic recovery is somewhere in the region of five to twelve per cent of what was taken — and it arrived after a case had been brought, litigated and resolved.
Why this is not a criticism of the FTC
The Commission distributes what it recovers, and it cannot recover what has been spent. Across this whole site the pattern is identical: a judgment states what was taken, most of it is suspended for inability to pay, and the cash that exists is divided among the people who can be identified.
The FTC also has to find the victims. 198 people received cheques; the scheme almost certainly had more customers than that, and those without traceable records get nothing.
What it explains about the rule
This is why the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule is written the way it is.
It does not say the service must work, or that claims must be substantiated, or that refunds must be available. It says a company may not take any money at all until it has obtained a written offer of relief from the lender and the homeowner has accepted it.
That is a rule aimed at the moment of payment rather than at the quality of the service, and this distribution is the reason. Once the money has gone, recovering a quarter of one per cent of a household’s remaining equity three years later is not a remedy. Preventing the payment is the only intervention that works at scale.
The alternative that costs nothing
HUD-approved housing counselling agencies, free, on 1-888-995-HOPE.
That is worth stating alongside the refund figure, because “do not pay anybody” leaves a real problem unaddressed. A homeowner behind on payments needs actual help, and the reason the fraudulent version sells so well is that people do not know the free version exists.
Sources
- FTC Sends Refunds to Consumers Harmed by Mortgage Relief Scheme. US Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-07. Supports: The January 2025 distribution of more than $49,000 to 198 consumers.
- CFPB, FTC and States Announce Sweep Against Foreclosure Relief Scammers. US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Accessed 2026-09-07. Supports: The $1,995 to $6,000 initial fees and $495 monthly charges documented in this sector.
- Mortgage Relief Scams. US Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Accessed 2026-09-07. Supports: The MARS Rule prohibition on advance fees, and the HUD-approved counselling route on 1-888-995-HOPE.