Former Stripper Gets 12 Years in DC-Area Rescue Scam

A former Washington area stripper who ran a foreclosure rescue scam in and around the nation's capitol has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of stealing millions from struggling homeowners. Joy Jenise Jackson, former president of Lanham, Md.-based Metropolitan Money Store, also was ordered to pay $16.9 million in restitution. MMS operated as a loan brokerage firm, using table funding from such subprime lenders and New Century Financial Corp. and Argent Mortgage, both of which are no longer in business. According to Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, Jackson co-founded MMS, which offered foreclosure consultation and credit services to financially distressed homeowners. From September 2004 to June 2007, Jackson and others fraudulently promised to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and repair their damaged credit. But instead they took title to their victims' homes, and engaged in an equity skimming scheme that resulted in foreclosure for many. To date, ten defendants have pleaded guilty in the MMS case.