State Orders $46,000 in Fines Against Promoters of Illegal Mortgage Rescue Scheme

Some Oregon victims lost their longtime homes

(Salem) — The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services issued final orders to cease and desist and levied fines against two men, one from Portland, for operating a mortgage rescue scheme that claimed to
pay off homeowner mortgages.

Rex A. Haragan of Portland, doing business as Bountiful LLC, and Kenneth G. Titus Sr. of Schenectady, N.Y.,doing business as Redwood Trust, were fined $23,000 each for securities violations and violations of Oregon
laws governing credit services organizations.

The Redwood Trust business entity operated by Titus Sr. is not the same as and has no connection to Redwood Trust, Inc., based in Mill Valley, Calif., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol
RWT.

Haragan operated Bountiful LLC, a multi-level marketing organization that recruited approximately 45 representatives to locate prospects and promote the Redwood Trust grant program in exchange for tiered
commissions of up to 8 percent of the amount of the mortgage payoff. The Redwood Trust promoters claimed they would pay off or eliminate home mortgages of consumers who applied for grants, in exchange for upfront
fees of $3,000 or promissory notes for $5,000. The only known Bountiful LLC grant applicant whose mortgage was paid off by Redwood Trust was Haragan’s stepson. Redwood paid off his mobile home for less than
$20,000. Haragan received a commission on the transaction.

For the rest of this article please visit www.oregon.gov.