Lauren Taliento faces 46 charges in New York as prosecutors allege one foreclosure client’s mortgage payments were diverted for personal use
STATEN ISLAND, UNITED STATES — Lauren Taliento pleaded not guilty to a 46-count indictment alleging she took mortgage-related payments from one homeowner seeking help to avoid foreclosure in New York.
The indictment contains 46 counts, including allegations of third-degree grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Taliento pleaded not guilty, putting the accusations at the beginning of a criminal process in which prosecutors will have to prove their case.
The charges center on Miguel Mora, a 60-year-old retired New York City subway conductor from Plainfield, New Jersey. Mora said he contacted JT Homesavers in 2024 while struggling with his mortgage and seeking a modification that could reduce his monthly payments.
According to prosecutors, Taliento instructed Mora to make payments through her rather than directly to his mortgage lender. Prosecutors allege that the money was not forwarded to the lender and was instead spent by Taliento.
Taliento disputes the accusations. After her arraignment, she said the operation was not a scam and maintained that she cared about the homeowners she assisted. She has also blamed banks, investors and predatory lending for foreclosures involving people who sought help from her company.
Indictment focuses on payments from one homeowner
Mora has described paying $8,200 in past-due mortgage obligations as well as more than $14,000 in checks and cash while relying on Taliento's assistance. He said that roughly 20 months later, his bank told him it had no documentation of the arrangement he believed was being pursued on his behalf.
Although Mora did not lose his home, he said the episode damaged his credit because mortgage payments remained unpaid.
The indictment currently identifies Mora as the alleged victim, an important distinction because other homeowners have publicly made separate accusations involving JT Homesavers but are not identified as victims in the existing criminal indictment.
That distinction matters in reporting on an active criminal proceeding. Claims made by other homeowners may become relevant to an investigation, but they are not equivalent to criminal charges and do not establish wrongdoing on their own.
The Richmond County District Attorney's Office has said its investigation remains active and that additional charges could follow. Whether that happens will depend on the evidence gathered by investigators and decisions made by prosecutors.
Other homeowners say they also sought foreclosure help
Three Staten Island residents — Donna Manitta, Fabiana Polizzi and Constance Pantazis — attended the court proceeding and publicly alleged that they suffered serious financial consequences after turning to JT Homesavers for loan-modification assistance.
The women said they ultimately lost their homes to foreclosure. Their allegations, however, are separate from the conduct currently charged in the indictment.
Polizzi has said she approached the company hoping to modify her mortgage while facing financial pressure as a single mother. She has publicly blamed the experience for the loss of her home. Taliento rejects responsibility for those foreclosures.
The conflicting accounts illustrate why the criminal case and the broader complaints against the company must be treated separately. The indictment is a formal accusation subject to judicial proceedings; additional claims made outside that indictment remain allegations unless independently established through evidence or incorporated into future legal action.
Mortgage-relief rules restrict advance fees and third-party payments
The case unfolds against a regulatory framework designed to protect financially distressed homeowners from businesses promising to negotiate mortgage relief.
Federal rules generally prohibit mortgage-assistance companies from collecting fees before obtaining a written mortgage-relief offer from a homeowner's lender or servicer that the homeowner accepts. The Federal Trade Commission has warned consumers that demands for advance payments are a major warning sign when seeking foreclosure assistance.
New York authorities provide similar guidance. The state Department of Financial Services warns homeowners to be cautious when anyone requests an upfront payment in exchange for obtaining a loan modification or stopping a foreclosure. It also specifically advises homeowners not to send mortgage payments to anyone other than their mortgage company without the lender's approval.
Those consumer protections are significant because homeowners seeking foreclosure assistance are often already under intense financial pressure. Falling further behind on a mortgage can affect credit, increase arrears and narrow the options available to resolve a delinquency.
The existence of those rules does not itself establish whether Taliento violated them. Her criminal liability must be determined from the specific evidence and charges presented in court.
Regulators warn against stopping direct mortgage payments
Federal consumer agencies identify several recurring warning signs in mortgage-relief schemes: demands for money before results are delivered, promises of guaranteed loan modifications, instructions to stop communicating with a mortgage servicer and requests to send mortgage payments to a third party.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises homeowners to remain in direct contact with their lender or servicer and notes that HUD-approved housing counselors can provide assistance without the kinds of advance-payment arrangements that regulators have repeatedly warned about.
New York's court system likewise advises borrowers who have missed mortgage payments not to ignore communications from their lenders. State guidance explains that the longer a borrower falls behind, the more difficult it can become to recover financially.
New York also provides a formal process for residential foreclosure cases. State rules require mandatory settlement conferences in qualifying residential foreclosure actions, creating a forum in which borrowers and lenders must negotiate in good faith toward a possible resolution.
Together, those protections provide homeowners with alternatives to relying exclusively on private businesses that advertise an ability to stop foreclosure.
Taliento remains free while the case proceeds
Taliento was released after her arraignment and is expected to return to court in November. An order of protection requires her to stay away from Mora, the alleged victim named in the indictment.
Prosecutors sought an additional restriction that would have prevented Taliento from continuing to provide loan-modification and mortgage-assistance services while the case was pending. The request was withdrawn after the judge questioned whether the court had authority to impose such a condition.
As a result, the criminal case has not itself barred the company from continuing to operate while Taliento awaits further proceedings.
Public business information describes JT Homesavers as a Staten Island company providing foreclosure assistance, loan modification, mortgage audits and related consulting services. Taliento is identified as its president.
The company's continued ability to operate while criminal proceedings remain unresolved makes the distinction between accusation and conviction especially important. Taliento has pleaded not guilty, and the prosecution has not yet established the allegations at trial.
Case highlights risks for homeowners facing foreclosure
Beyond the individual prosecution, the case underscores a broader consumer-protection problem: homeowners facing foreclosure are particularly vulnerable because they are seeking help under time and financial pressure.
Regulators advise borrowers to contact their mortgage servicer directly when they fall behind, verify the credentials of anyone offering financial assistance and be skeptical of anyone demanding advance fees or directing mortgage payments away from the lender.
Consumers can also seek assistance from HUD-approved housing counselors and, in New York, use state foreclosure resources and legal-service organizations to understand available options before entering agreements with private mortgage-relief companies.
For homeowners, the practical lesson is not that every foreclosure-assistance business is illegitimate. It is that control of mortgage payments, written authorization from the lender, fee arrangements and the status of any proposed loan modification should be independently verified before money changes hands.
For Taliento, the legal question is narrower. Prosecutors must prove the offenses charged in the 46-count indictment, while her defense will have the opportunity to challenge the allegations and evidence.
The Richmond County investigation remains open. Until the criminal case is resolved, Taliento is presumed innocent of the charges against her.
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