Attorney General Settles with Vladislav Zagranichny and Community Mortgage Group
Company Used Attorney General Press Releases to Lure New Customers

BALTIMORE, MD (May 27, 2009) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced that his Consumer Protection Division has reached a settlement with Vladislav Zagranichny and his company, Community Mortgage Group, Inc., regarding their alleged deceptive use of press releases issued by the Office of the Attorney General. The press releases at issue announced the settlements the Office had reached with Household Finance Corporation and Ameriquest Mortgage Company concerning their lending practices.

According to the Division, Zagranichny mailed the press releases announcing the Household settlement to consumers and instructed them to contact his now defunct company, Mortgage City Corporation. In a second advertising campaign, Zagranichny mailed the press release announcing the settlement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company to consumers with language added to the release instructing consumers to call his second company, Community Mortgage Group. The Division alleged consumers were misled into believing they should contact Zagranichny and his companies in order to receive their restitution payments under the Household and Ameriquest settlements.

“The Consumer Protection Division was created to protect Maryland consumers from being deceived by fraudulent businesses or individuals,” said Attorney General Gansler. “It is especially egregious when a company uses materials from my office to target the very same consumers we are trying to protect.”

Zagranichny and Community Mortgage Group denied that they violated any Maryland laws but agreed to cease using any advertising containing any names, logos, or other references that implied that the ads had any government origin, sponsorship, endorsement or affiliation. Mr. Zagranichny and his company also agreed to pay an $80,000 penalty.