Attorney General Madigan sues California man for deed fraud

Chicago, IL –Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against a California  man for deceptive tactics in selling Illinois consumers deeds to their homes.                                                                                          

 

The Attorney General’s suit, filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court, alleges Neil Camenker, of Camarillo, Calif., violated Illinois law when he solicited consumers in direct mailings to purchase the deeds to their homes for $87.

Camenker’s solicitations through his business, State Record Retrieval Board, based in Los Angeles, contained inaccurate information about the homeowner’s property and failed to inform consumers that their deeds are available for a small fee from their county recorder’s office, as required by the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

“Illinois consumers should know they can obtain a copy of their property deed for a nominal cost from their local county recorder’s office,” Attorney General Madigan said. “Consumers should disregard solicitations seeking large sums of money for copies of their deeds and instead report the incident to local authorities and my office.”

Madigan’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit Camenker from selling record services in Illinois, void pending contracts with Illinois residents and obtain restitution for affected consumers. The lawsuit also seeks to impose on Camenker a civil penalty of $50,000, additional penalties of $50,000 for each violation found to be committed with the intent to defraud, as well as $10,000 per violation found to be committed against a person 65 years or older.

Assistant Attorney General Philip Heimlich is handling the case for Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.