Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force announces September 29-30 housing workshops
Statewide events to provide on-site opportunities to discuss mortgage modification with lenders, learn
about government programs, and connect with housing counselors

Wilmington – On September 29th and 30th, Delaware homeowners are invited to attend free statewide
housing workshops sponsored by the Delaware Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force, in
conjunction with the Delaware State Housing Authority and the Office of the State Bank
Commissioner. The free workshops are offered to facilitate loan modifications, reduce foreclosures,
and provide educational information to help resident stay in their homes and manage debt.
The September 29th and 30th workshops are offered amid continued record-setting foreclosure
filings in Delaware, which surpassed 6,000 in 2009.

“Our Mortgage Fraud Task Force is offering these workshops to reduce foreclosures, combat
housing scams, and help homeowners stay in their homes,” Attorney General Biden stated. “We urge
homeowners who have missed mortgage payments or are concerned about losing their homes to
foreclosure or housing fraud to attend these free workshops and get the free help they need and deserve
in one location.”

For 2010, Delaware foreclosure filings continue at a record pace, in the range of 500-600
filings a month. March and May saw the most filings to date, with a total of 591 filings per month, and
it is projected that the number of mortgage foreclosures statewide will again reach 6,000 filings this
year. Since the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established in April 2009, it has
sponsored, in all three counties, 10 housing workshops with mortgage lenders. More than 650
consumers have attended these workshops, and a recent survey indicates that they have helped over
250 Delaware families avoid foreclosure.

Homeowners who are worried about missing a mortgage payment, are facing foreclosure, or
suspect foreclosure fraud are urged to attend and receive immediate on-site help from housing
professionals. At each workshop, mortgage servicers, state employees, and HUD-certified housing
counselors will discuss mortgage modifications, the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program
(DEMAP) and other government homeowner programs, and foreclosure rescue scams.
Walk-ins are encouraged. Workshops will take place as follows:

Date Time Location Address
Servicers
Attending
Counselors
Attending
Wednesday
September 29
11 am – 2 pm
Warren L
and Charles
C. Allen
Jr. CHEER
Community
Center
20520 Sand Hill
Road
Georgetown
GMAC
Bank of
America
Citimortgage
CCCS of MD & DE
DCRAC
Interfaith
NCALL
Wednesday
September 29
4 – 7 pm
Outlook at
the Duncan
Center
500 West
Loockerman St.
Dover
GMAC
Bank of
America
Citimortgage
CCCS of MD & DE
DCRAC
HOND
Interfaith
NCALL
Thursday
September 30
4 – 7 p.m.
Chase
Center On
the
Riverfront
815 Justison
Street
Wilmington
PHH
GMAC
Chase
Bank of
America
West End
Neighborhood
CCCS of MD &DE
DCRAC
HOND
Hockessin Community
Center
Neighborhood House
Homeowners who wish to meet on-site with their mortgage servicer are encouraged to bring
information about current income and details about their current mortgage, including loan number,
monthly payment, interest rate, and loan balance.

For more information about the September 29 and 30 housing workshops, call the Attorney
General’s Foreclosure Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or visit www.deforeclosurehelp.org or
www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/mortgageforeclosure.

Media interested in attending these workshops should contact Jason Miller at the Delaware
Attorney General’s Office at (302) 577-8949.
# # #

Biden calls on Web site to remove adult services ads

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau and his colleagues in 20 other states have called on
backpage.com, an online advertising Web site, to eliminate its section of adult-themed classified ads.
Biden was among the many Attorneys General who successfully persuaded online-advertising
powerhouse Craigslist.org to drop its adult classifieds because the postings were being used to solicit
child prostitution and other forms of human trafficking. The Attorneys General raised similar concerns
about backpage.com’s ads.

“Craigslist was correct to take down its ads that were exploiting women and children, and
backpage.com should immediately do the same,” Biden said. “This is about right and wrong, and it is
wrong for a Web site to profit from prostitution, especially when it could involve children.”

In addition to Delaware, states calling on backpage to close adult services are: Arkansas,
Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and
Virginia.
# # #

Free anonymous drop-off offered in Middletown this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Wilmington

 

– On Saturday, September 25, the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is
sponsoring a Middletown drop-off site for expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceuticals, prescription

drugs, and other medications. The drop-off site, open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Middletown Police

headquarters, 130 Hampden Road, is part of National Take-Back Day coordinated by the US Drug

Enforcement Agency.

“Prescription drug abuse is a public safety threat,” Attorney General Biden stated. “Abusers

exploit the system to support their destructive drug use or drug trafficking, and they commonly access

those medications in their family medicine cabinets. This event is one way we’re limiting access to

these drugs and acting to keep our families safe from the harmful effects of drug abuse.”

Biden urged Delawareans to safety dispose of unneeded medications by turning them in to the

Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Middletown or at another drop-off site statewide. The service is free

and anonymous; no questions asked. Please note:

•

Prescription and over-the-counter solid dosage medications (i.e. tablets and capsules) areaccepted.

•

Intra-venous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted.•

Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.In addition to the Middletown site, other Delaware drop-off sites sponsored by state and local

law enforcement agencies include: Dover International Speedway, Delaware State University, the

Camden Municipal Building, New Castle Police Headquarters, Delaware State Police Troop 1A (next

to Brandywine Town Center), and Wilmington’s Rodney Square. Visit www.dea.gov for a complete

searchable list, with addresses, of drop-off sites in Delaware and nationwide.

Rates of prescription drug abuse as well as accidental poisonings and overdoses due to the

misuse of these drugs have increased at an alarming rate nationwide. In addition, many Americans do

not know how to properly dispose of unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or

discarding them in the trash – both potential safety and health hazards. According to recent studies

cited by the Office of National Drug Control Policy:

 

•The number of individuals who consumed prescription drugs for a non-medical purpose for the

first time now exceeds the number of first-time marijuana users.

•7 of the top 10 drugs abused by 12th graders are prescription drugs.

From 1997 to 2007 there was a 400% increase in treatment admissions for individuals primarily

abusing prescription pain killers.

The DEA’s prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign seeks to prevent the abuse and theft of

prescription drugs left in our nation’s medicine cabinets. Government, community, public health and

law enforcement partners have joined together this Saturday to collect potentially dangerous expired,

unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at more than 3,900 sites across the nation.

# # #

Biden secures the permanent closure of two Frankford drug houses

Frankford, DE – Attorney General Beau Biden today announced the permanent closure of two
Frankford properties that have been the site of constant drug crime and violence over a period of
several years. The closures are the latest in the Delaware Department of Justice Nuisance Abatement
initiative, a program he expanded statewide in 2007 to identify properties where crime is allowed to
continue unchecked. Delaware’s Nuisance Abatement Act gives those property owners the choice to
either clean up the problem voluntarily or face the Department of Justice in court.
“Properties like these hold neighborhoods prisoner with fear and apprehension. They’re the
bad apples that spoil the bunch. That’s not what ‘home’ should mean for any family,” Biden said.

“Nuisance Abatement is a powerful tool to root out these poisonous properties from the community
and create a better quality of life for law-abiding Delawareans.”

On October 15, 2009 the Delaware Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the owners of
28565 Blueberry Lane in Frankford because of severe drug nuisance activity. At a hearing last
November in Sussex County Superior Court, the Department provided evidence of that activity,
including an armed robbery during which shots were fired in the presence of an eight-year-old child, a
stabbing, and a drive-by shooting during which bullets entered the house when a six-month-old and a
two-year-old child were present. Since October, 2004 police have visited the property at least 18 times
to apprehend fugitives believed to be on-site. Following the hearing, at the Department’s request,
Resident Judge T. Henley Graves agreed that the property presented an immediate threat to the public
health, safety, and welfare and issued a temporary abatement order closing the property. Since that
time, no additional instances of drug activity have been reported.

In its investigation of the Blueberry Lane property, the Department of Justice learned that
another Frankford property owned by the same individuals, located at 34676 Delaware Avenue, was
also the site of substantial drug activity over a period of several years. The Department then sought
permanent closure of both properties in order to protect the community. That order, developed as a
consent agreement with the properties’ 8 owners, was signed yesterday by Judge Graves. It contains
the following terms:
– Owners and residents Ronald and Vanessa Foreman must vacate the Delaware Avenue
property within 30 days.
– Owners Ronald, Vanessa, and Greg Foreman are to have absolutely no contact with either
property or the surrounding 2-mile radius ever again.
– The owner/occupants of both properties have relinquished any and all property rights to
both properties.
– The remaining co-owners will clear both properties of all mobile homes, trailers, campers,
and other structures within 90 days.
– After clearing both properties, the remaining co-owners will be permitted to sell the lands,
subject to approval by the Department of Justice.
– If any owner maintains a drug nuisance anywhere else in the state, the agreement is violated
and the state will seek civil penalties of a minimum of $25,000.
“Nuisance abatement is community prosecution at work – prosecutors and investigators
working side by side with residents and community leaders from the ground up to improve our
neighborhoods,” Biden added. “We find a problem, and then we develop a solution. Today’s
permanent closures are a powerful step in helping the residents of Frankford have the peace and
security they deserve in their homes and in their neighborhoods.”

The Attorney General thanked Delaware State Police, the Governor’s Task Force, the
Frankford Police Department, and residents for their active involvement in identifying and
investigating these properties. He also recognized State Senator George Bunting and State
Representative John Atkins for their support and cooperation in the case.

Representative Atkins, who represents the community affected by these nuisance properties,
said that residents’ persistence and input was key in bringing these issues to light. “Let this be a
warning that we are not going to tolerate these illegal activities around the district,” said Rep. Atkins,
D-Millsboro. “I am glad that our residents had the courage and diligence to report these problems and
show pride in their community. I am proud to support Attorney General Biden in his efforts and was
proud to support the legislation we passed to clean up our neighborhoods and rid them of nuisance
properties and drug havens.”

In August, 2007 Biden launched a statewide effort to combat crime in Delaware under the
state’s Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act. Under the Nuisance Abatement Act,
enforcement actions can take a variety of forms, including closure of a property. The Delaware
Department of Justice identifies nuisance properties up and down Delaware through its own
investigations and in cooperation with state and local police agencies, local authorities, civic
associations, and neighborhood residents. Through its enforcement actions, the Department gives
property owners the choice of voluntarily cooperating to clean up the illegal activity, or defending
themselves in court and being forced to clean up the crime by court order. To date 15 properties have
been shut down, over 125 nuisances have been eliminated, and over 300 properties are on the
program’s “watch list.”

For more information on the temporary abatement issued in October, please visit
http://www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/media/releases/2009/drughaven.pdf.
# # #

Attorney General Biden announces agreement with Publishers Clearing House

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden joined 31 states and the District of Columbia today to
announce an agreement with sweepstakes company Publishers Clearing House. The agreement comes
after a multi-state investigation into the company raised concerns about deceptive trade practices.
“There is no excuse for misleading vulnerable people into spending their hard-earned money,”
said Biden. “The Delaware Department of Justice will continue to stand up for the rights of Delaware’s
consumers against companies that would take advantage of them.”

The agreement modifies the terms of a prior agreement reached with the company in 2001.
That earlier agreement resolved States’ allegations that Publishers Clearing House engaged in
deceptive marketing practices by mailing promotional materials designed to mislead customers into
believing that purchases from the company would increase their odds of winning the sweepstakes.
As a result of the current investigation, the States believe that Publishers Clearing House was
not in full compliance with the 2001 agreement, and that consumers would still be confused by the
nature and language of some of the company’s sweepstakes promotional mailings.

Today’s agreement includes stronger provisions and additional conditions to help ensure that
consumers are not further misled or pushed to make purchases. The conditions include:
– Changes to the entry/order form that make it clear no purchase is necessary
– Prohibiting the use of a customer’s initials, identifying numbers, or other personally identifying
information on materials to make it appear as though recipients have a better chance of winning
– Implementing procedures to guard against duplicate magazine subscriptions

Publishers Clearing House agreed to pay $3.5 million to cover the cost of the states’ investigation.
Delaware will receive $40,000 in the agreement, which will go to the State’s Consumer Protection
Fund.
# # #