Chicago Woman Says She's Being Evicted After Fraudulent Reverse Mortgage
(CBS) -- She's lived in her North Lawndale home for more than half a century.
Now, Barbara Herron is facing eviction after what she calls a fraudulent reverse mortgage.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
Herron starts packing up 55 years' worth of memories. She says her mother, Effie Herron, had dementia and signed what she thought was paperwork for home improvements, to be done by Mark Diamond.
In 2013, Effie died. Soon after, her daughter says, she started getting letters that $180,000 was owed to Reverse Mortgage Solutions.
Herron says her family never saw a dime and Diamond kept the reverse mortgage loan proceeds.
The house had been paid off.
"I planned to live her and to die here, in this house. All my mother wanted was a place for her children to live," Barbara Herron says.
The home went into foreclosure and has been sold.
Herron, who has severe asthma and uses a nebulizer to breathe, is now facing eviction.
"When I found out I needed a lawyer, it was too late," she says.
Herron contacted a community activist, Rev. Robin Hood, for help. He set up a Go Fund Me page for her and says reforms are needed.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan permanently banned Diamond from operating his business in the state.
Her office is also looking into what can be done to stop Herron's eviction.
Reverse Mortgage Solutions tells CBS 2 take these issues very seriously and will work directly with Herron to address her concerns.
Mark Diamond could not be reached for comment.