PatrickPretty.com

Tag: DNA Mortgage Reduction

  • DNA Now Says It Is Selling ‘Protective Spray’ To Block ‘Wrongful Ticketing’ From Red-Light Cameras; Simultaneously Announces ‘Alert Button’ To Protect Abducted Children

    A Florida multilevel marketing (MLM) company that says its license-plate data system can help law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program locate abducted children now says it is working against cities “worldwide” in their efforts to enforce traffic laws.

    Data Network Affiliates (DNA) announced that it was offering “DNA Protective Spray” by the case to distributors. The spray is applied to license plates to obscure the view of cameras that take photographs of cars that run red lights. DNA said the spray protected against “wrongful ticketing by city cameras worldwide.”

    DNA did not explain the incongruity of saying it supported law enforcement in its efforts to locate abducted children while at once working against law enforcement in its efforts to enforce traffic laws.

    Even as DNA was announcing the availability of its purported “Protective Spray,” the company announced it soon would adopt a browser-based “DNA World Wide Alert Button” to let members know when a “child is reported missing in your immediate area.”

    DNA purports also to be in the mortgage-reduction business, claiming it is the “MORAL OBLIGATION” of churches to spread the word about the money-making program and perhaps use it to raise church funds.

    This morning the Federal Trade Commission announced three settlements in cases that banned “deceptive marketers” from selling mortgage-relief services. In one of the cases, a judgment of $11.5 million was entered against one of the marketers. A judgment of $6.2 million was entered in the second case, and a judgment of nearly $5.3 million was entered in the third case.

    DNA said distributors would be able to order its protective spray “very soon.”

    “This product has sold millions for $29.95 a can which is good for up to 3 or 4 applications when done properly,” DNA said.

    The product falls under the umbrella of a series of products that purportedly can help DNA members “RETIRE BY CHRISTMAS 2010,” the company said.

    DNA also said it soon would offer “The New DNA Phone & Fax Module,” which purportedly “will make MAGIC JACK & SKYPE OBSOLETE.”

    In April, DNA announced that it was offering an “unlimited” cell-phone plan with a free phone for $10 a month. The company later withdrew the offer, acknowledging it had not studied cell-phone pricing before announcing it had become the world’s low-price leader.

    Some DNA members have implied the company was backed by Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump and Apple Inc. No evidence to support the claims has emerged.

    DNA has compared itself favorably to Walmart, Google, Facebook and Amway. Curiously, the company once claimed it offered a Business Benefit Package, which it dubbed the BBP. The company now appears to be referring to the package as the BBB, using the acronym associated with the Better Business Bureau.

  • EDITORIAL: MLM’s Great Race To The Bottom? While FTC, SEC, CFTC Warn About Affinity Fraud, Data Network Affiliates Says Its Mortgage-Reduction Program Is A ‘Church Fundraisers DREAM Come True’

    Apparently tithing, bake sales, quilting bees, church-sponsored dinners, flea markets and car washes by Christian teens to raise money for projects have gone the way of the dinosaur.

    Building on an earlier claim that churches have a “MORAL OBLIGATION” to pitch its purported mortgage-reduction program, Data Network Affiliates (DNA) now says the program is a “Church Fundraisers (sic) DREAM Come True.”

    Some DNA members are describing the program as a “Crusade to Help American Families Keep their Homes.”

    Just when you think you’ve seen it all in MLM, the company also claims it has been asked to sell “Funeral Caskets MLM”-style. In a pitch to members, DNA compares itself favorably to “FACEBOOK, GOOGLE & WALMART…”

    The company says churches can benefit from its bid to rid the mortgage world of “toxic” assets, defining its “exciting DNA Mortgage Reduction System” as the “ONLY ONE OF IT’s (sic) KIND” — one that allows “DNA to pay out $300 on The Front End in a TEN LEVEL PAY PLAN and up to $1600 on The Back End in a TEN LEVEL PAY PLAN.”

    “The line for DNA introducing products and services will be just as long” as the lines at Walmart, the company says. “Yesterday we got a call to sell Funeral Caskets MLM…”

    We wonder if selling human body parts MLM-style will be next — and we wonder if livers, kidneys, hearts, lungs and skin will be positioned as a moral imperative for clergy to hawk and wonderful products for churches to sell after registering as “PRO” affiliates for an opportunity to pocket commissions 10 levels deep.

    Although DNA has been pitching the mortgage-reduction program for only days, two testimonials from customers who purport to be happy DNA campers suddenly have materialized on the company’s website.

    “I was lost, and thought I had no where to go,” writes “Trish” on the website. “I was out of options then my real estate broker referred me to your program DNA Mortgage Reduction.”

    “Trish” did not identify the purported broker. Nor did “Trish” explain the purported broker’s affiliation with DNA and how DNA apparently was able in just days to gather her information, get it in the proper hands for a legal review of her case, study it for potential “DEFECTS,” conduct a “Forensic Audit,” draft the paperwork to be mailed to the lender being petitioned to write down her mortgage, wait for the lender’s presumably favorable response after assessing the value of the property and its legal position after being slapped by DNA’s paperwork, arrange for new loan documents to be drafted and vetted by attorneys on both sides, attested to by a notary and formally signed by all parties.

    Regardless, “Trish” described her DNA experience as a “miracle,” claiming that “I now have a new mortgage and my home is $24,000.00 lower principal balance. I am saving over $300.00 a month.”

    Before concluding her testimonial Trish made sure she thanked “Principal Mortgage!” It is unclear if “Principal Mortgage” is the name of DNA’s vendor.

    Meanwhile, in a testimonial purportedly authored by “Nichole,” the “DNA Mortgage Reduction” program and a person named “Mike” were given credit for saving “Nichole’s” home after she “prayed” about the matter.

    “I owe a lot to DNA Mortgage Reduction,” wrote the purported “Nichole.”

    “I now am secure in my home with a affordable mortgage and my kids do not have to move,” Nichole offered.

    Things apparently happened quickly for “Nichole.”

    “When I had gotten letters from the attorney that was going to my bank and copies from the bank responding I knew I was going to all right,” Nichole wrote. “They did exactly what they promised and lowered my principal balance and interest rate.”

    DNA has been pushing the purported mortgage-relief program for only days, including over the long July 4 weekend into which a U.S. banking holiday was sandwiched — and yet both “Nichole” and “Trish” claim their reliance on DNA has resulted in new mortgages with favorable terms.

    Incongruously, DNA’s own website says the process “takes 90 to 120 days.

    “The Lender will have 20 business days per RESPA to respond to the written request and 60 business days to resolve/settle this matter,” DNA says.

  • DATA NETWORK AFFILIATES: Churches Have ‘MORAL OBLIGATION’ To Pitch Members On Firm’s ‘Mortgage Reduction’ Program; Purported Data And Cell-Phone Firm Venturing Into Foreclosure-Rescue And ‘Resort’ Businesses

    A multilevel-marketing (MLM) company that positioned itself as a firm that collected data that could be used by law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program to rescue abducted children — and later declared itself the world champion of cell-phone pricing — may be entering the foreclosure-rescue and real-estate businesses, members said.

    News about the purported moves of Data Network Affiliates (DNA) follows on the heels of federal sweeps in which 1,215 defendants were charged criminally in real-estate fraud cases and the FTC banned more than a dozen companies from selling mortgage-relief services.

    One of the firms charged by the FTC was assessed an $11.4 million fine when it was found to be in contempt of court for violating previous sanctions, the FTC said.

    In the FTC cases, enrollees in the purported mortgage-relief programs were charged “up-front fees and made false promises that they could get their loans modified or prevent foreclosure,” the agency said.

    DNA has advised members that it intends to charge a fee of $1,500 and that some affiliates can earn commissions by recruiting hard-hit homeowners into a program known as “DNA Mortgage Reduction.”

    In an email to members, DNA suggested that churches were an excellent place from which to recruit members into the mortgage-reduction program (italics and bold added):

    “DNA Mortgage Reduction is a SUPER BIG HIT… Sorry only for USA Properties for now… Even the smallest package upon the $1500 payment once we know the person has a case… (remember it is 100% free to see if a person qualifies for the program)… Pays a MINIMUM to ALL Affiliates $100 1st level; $5 on levels 2 to 9; and $50 on level 10… Plus the PROS earn up to 100% Matching Bonus…

    “REMEMBER that is the smallest package for homes up to $125,000… There are so many Million Dollar homes out there that qualify and for them the fee is less than ONE MORTGAGE PAYMENT… We estimate that DNA will have tens of thousands of home owners who will purchase this package once they find out they qualify for such… THE SAD NOTE IS: that 9 out of 10 people who do qualify don’t even know this service exist… THAT IS WHERE YOU COME IN… Our DNA Vendor is even offering incentives of $1,000 to $10,000 CASH BONUSES to DNA Affiliates who personally reach multiple sale quantities within a 90 day period…

    “THINK OF ALL THE CHURCHES… They have a MORAL OBLIGATION to let their Church Members know about this DNA OFFER… There are Churches that could turn in 100 to 1000 applications in 30 days… ALWAYS REMEMBER IT IS 100% FREE TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE A CASE… Statistics say that 85% of all mortgages written from 1996 to 2006 will qualify…”

    How DNA arrived at the conclusion its $1,500 mortgage-reduction program was a “SUPER BIG HIT” when it appears to be only days old was unclear. Also unclear are how DNA arrived at the conclusion that churches have a “MORAL OBLIGATION” to point members to DNA, how DNA arrived at its estimate that “tens of thousands of home owners” will purchase its package and the source of the “statistics” DNA used when advertising that “85%” of mortgages written between 1996 and 2006 “will qualify.” The name of DNA’s “vendor” also was unclear.

    DNA, which is believed to have no ability to help either law enforcement or the AMBER Alert system and no capacity to deliver cell-phone service despite YouTube claims it had a branding deal with Apple’s IPhone and could offer “unlimited” service for $10 a month  — also recently has pitched members on an “opportunity” called the “DNA Resorts Program,” members said.

    The program also has been referred to by DNA as the “DNA SPA & Resort” program,  which purportedly features a “No Interest Easy 24 Month Payment Plan” of $625 a month. DNA is soliciting members to spend $14,995 on the resorts program, suggesting that some prospects will put the entire amount on a credit card.

    Meanwhile, in an earlier pitch for the purported mortgage-reduction program, DNA suggested applications would be vetted to determine if “Mortgage Compliance Violations” had occurred. (Italics added.)

    “Are you a Victim of Deceptive Predatory Lending Practices?

    “Is your Value of your home UPSIDEDOWN?

    “Find out if you may be a Victim of Mortgage Compliance Violations involving Predatory, Deceptive, Discriminatory and Unfair Lending and Servicing Practices. These Unfair Lending Practices have placed thousands of HOMEOWNERS all over the United States into Non-Affordable Mortgage Programs.”

    DNA, whose domain registration data is hidden behind a proxy in the Cayman Islands but lists a street address in Boca Raton, Fla., on its website, may be venturing into even choppier waters with its mortgage and resort pitches.

    “The possibility of losing your home to foreclosure can be terrifying,” the FTC says. “The reality that scam artists are preying on the vulnerability of desperate homeowners is equally frightening. Many so-called foreclosure rescue companies or foreclosure assistance firms claim they can help you save your home. Some are brazen enough to offer a money-back guarantee. Unfortunately, once most of these foreclosure fraudsters take your money, you lose your home, too.”

    Read details about recent mortgage-relief scams targeted by the FTC.

    DNA says it is promoting its mortgage-reduction and resort programs in a webinar and that it believes “9 out of 10 people who attend this upcoming DNA Webinar will say ‘YES’ to DNA.”

    The “one” who says no will be offered the “FREE DNA PSYCHIATRIC DISCOUNT PLAN,” DNA said in an email to members.