The Illustrated Primer

You are Getting Sleepier

In Mortgage Refinancing Shysters, Part I I described a suspicious refinancing solicitation letters I got from the Intercontinental Capital Group (ICG).  After writing about it, I got some interesting feedback. One cryptic comment came from what appeared to be a former ICG employee who wrote:“I agree with your assessment on ICG and know this for a fact…” Now my curiosity was piqued.  What was it that this individual knew? 

I performed another search on the term “Intercontinental Capital Group and Fraud” but this time, the search returned many more postings about unscrupulous dealings. There were many negative comments regarding ICG, but I noticed that among them were also a few positive ones. 

The details of the pro-ICG comments were interesting. They gave the impression that they came from bona fide customers.  On the one hand, the language seemed to be unbiased acknowledging some bad online press while on the other hand the writers claimed that they were very satisfied with the quality of service they received from ICG and that the company was entirely above board. One example read:

…I previously cancelled an appraisal appointment that I had scheduled with this company because I read something online that got me nervous especially being a single mom that just got back to work after being injured. I checked out these links and feel a lot better. I am going to give them a call and hopefully the rates are still low because I really would like to get rid of this adjustable rate mortgage and lower my monthly payments.
by educatedconsumer August 6, 2009 5:13

Then last week, I myself received such a comment on my blog from a user who identified himself as “Joseph.”  He wrote:

I received one of their letters and refinanced with them. They did a fine job and got me a good rate. I agree that maybe it wasn’t the best way of soliciting business, but it’s a tough market. Either way, they did the job they promised to do. 
by Joseph October 28, 2009 13:33

Now, I don’t know about most people, but I certainly don’t spend my free time posting positive comments on blogs trying to sway other readers to believe that allegations of fraudulent or contentious services are unfounded.

I suspected that Joseph had some vested interest in ICG. From the crux of the comment left by him, it seemed that he was so moved by his mortgage refinancing experience that he became overwhelmed with the desire to spread the good news about ICG to the rest of the world.

When I examined the comment source, I noticed that the e-mail associated with it was jennifermargulis@gmail.com.  Now it is possible that Jennifer, following the romantic style of George Sand, was using the pseudonym “Joseph”.  But on the other hand it was also possible that Joseph was Jennifer’s darker side, I have heard of stranger things before. So I decided to slip into my feminine persona and contact Jennifer via e-mail and ask for some mortgage refinancing advice.

Hi,

I am looking into refinancing my home mortgage and would like to get more information about your services and rates. 

Can you please provide more information about your offerings?

Best regards,

Brittney Darcey

It didn’t take vary long before I received the following ICG e-mail response from Jennifer:

Hi Brittney, 

Intercontinental Capital Group can probably give you a good rate and fast service. Their website is: 

http://www.intercontinentalcapitalgroup.com

You should contact Brad Allen over there, he can give you the information you’re looking for. His phone number is 212.485.9655. His direct e-mail is ballen@icghome.com. 

I hope they are able to help you!

Best, 

Jennifer Margulis

The Internet search confirmed my suspicions that Joseph and Jennifer Margulis were indeed one and the same (see image below). It also turns out that Jennifer was in fact an ICG marketing employee on a company mission to remove the rotten apples from the barrel.  Apparently, she found my posting about her notorious company and decided to sprinkle some fluffy propaganda comments. To make them look more credible, her comments were disguised as coming from little Joseph, your all-American, happy and satisfied mortgage customer.

ICG may be right about how tough the mortgage refinancing market is. But regardless, deceptive solicitation letters, whitewashing negative feedback, and impersonating legitimate users in order to lure customers have no place in any business, even less so in financial organizations which, above all, should uphold integrity and honesty.

Caveat Emptor

© Copyright 2009 Jacob Apelbaum All Rights Reserved