BellBrook Finance is a loan scam

GARDINER — Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection issued an alert Thursday to warn consumers about the prevalence of ‘advance fee’ consumer loan scams, and the frequency with which fraudulent companies claim to be located in Maine. The most recent example involves “BellBrook Finance Center,” which purports to be located in Belfast.

BellBrook Finance Center solicited the family of a deployed active-duty service member from Virginia. The company promised a $5,000 loan in exchange for advance payments via electronic payment, including $2,000 for insurance, $895 for a lenders’ fee, and $887.50 for five up-front monthly payments. The money was paid through a money card company called Green Dot. The loan was being sought to fund a trip for the service member’s wife to visit her deployed husband overseas.

Law enforcement officials in Belfast told Leach that no such company is located there, and that they have received other complaints about this scam. A call to the company resulted in a “hang up” by an employee who refused to cooperate with the investigation.

When consumers follow-through with transactions of this kind from bogus lenders, they’re often directed to transmit funds to an alternative location - often thousands of miles from the phony company address. Once the advance fee is sent to the perpetrators, there is little chance of recovering those funds.

The Bureau recommends that consumers deal only with known, licensed lenders, and encourages consumers to call the Bureau toll-free at 1-800-332-8529 to verify the status of lenders or check the Bureau’s licensed supervised lenders at www.credit.maine.gov.