The president of a local company that claims it can stop foreclosures is speaking out about the real reasons he closed his doors.
A sign posted outside Jack Ferm's U.S. Justice Foundation explains the company is filing for bankruptcy and points the finger at its clients, but Ferm insists there's plenty more blame to go around.
Ferm takes aim at the state Attorney General, the Federal and State District Courts, a Fox News legal analyst and even his own clients for the frenzy he says forced him to close up shop.
Ferm, it seems, fancies himself a David, or a defender of David's, in a system ruled by Goliaths, "I got into this as a fight to help the people."
Clients can still contact Ferm by email
He labels himself a consumer advocate. His company claims it helps people to help themselves by showing them how to act as their own attorneys in lawsuits against their mortgage companies, "We were their only hope. They had no hope before us."
Ferm estimates his foundation has filed as many as 800 cases on behalf of homeowners faced with foreclosure, but instead of a pat on the back, "It's unscrupulous. I don't know how anybody can do this to people that come for help."
Monday, it seemed some of his clients wanted a pound of his flesh, "Recently it started to get ugly and violent. That's when I shut it down. Once we get this under control, we will reopen it."
Ferm points to a single instigator for the frenzy outside of his office, not from a competitor or a client, but from a commentator, Fox News Legal Analyst Bob Massi. In a segment that aired locally, Massi warned consumers to watch out for foreclosure scams. He didn't mention Ferm or the U.S. Justice Foundation, yet Ferm insists it damaged his business.
He's filed suit against Massi and the local Fox affiliate and says he anticipates at least a $1 million award, "Everybody again thought it was us he was talking about. People came running demanding refunds. Between January and the first two weeks of February, we paid out over $60,000 in refunds. It was a run on a bank. They run us out of money."
Ferm estimates he's owed hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients who haven't paid, on top of the six figures of his own money he's invested in the business.
But despite the circumstances that prompted its temporary closure, Ferm insists he doesn't measure success in dollars and cents, "If I can't help you, or you don't believe I can help you, I don't want your money. It's not about the money, it's about helping these people."
Ferm is under investigation by the Nevada Attorney General and the state bar and faces contempt hearings for allegedly practicing law without a license. He is not a lawyer.
His explanation is that his lawsuits offend the system that so far has done little to help homeowners. Those authorities, on the other hand, say it is Ferm who's not helping.
