Local and state officials are warning consumers of a lending scam by a company claiming to be based in Belfast. The company, calling itself BellBrook Finance Center, scammed a Virginia family out of more than $2,000.
Belfast police and the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection issued an alert yesterday to beware of the scheme, according to the Bangor Daily News. The scammers offered the Virginia family a $5,000 loan, but required advance payments of $3,782. The family wanted the loan so their family member, a deployed service member, could afford a visit from his wife. People from New York and Oregon were also scammed.
BellBrook is not licensed in the state as a consumer lender and is not listed with the Maine Secretary of State’s Office. Consumers should only use licensed lenders and should never wire funds to an unknown lender.
