FCC: Embattled realty company, MV Realty, used robocalls to target homeowners

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — MV Realty is already facing lawsuits and investigations into its business for allegedly “swindling” homeowners into contracts, but now the Federal Communications Commission is stepping into the picture.

The FCC is the latest government agency to take on MV Realty amid Action News Jax’s investigation into their deals. According to the FCC, MV Realty used at least two telecommunications companies to “flood homeowners with robocalls with misleading claims about mortgages.”

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Action News Jax teamed up with our sister stations across Cox Media Group to investigate MV Realty. The company would offer homeowners fast cash in exchange for the exclusive rights to sell their homes for 40 years.

We found the company has filed lawsuits seeking thousands of dollars from homeowners across the U.S. We talked with homeowners who signed contracts with MV Realty, interviewed former MV Realty company insiders, and researched thousands of documents related to the case, including more than 12,000 liens on properties in seven states.

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Many homeowners say they didn’t know what they were committing to, and when they broke the deal, the company took legal action in many cases.

Now, the FCC said it is ordering companies to make sure robocalls from MV Realty don’t make it to consumers.

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is suing MV Realty, and so are Attorney Generals in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Georgia and North Carolina confirm they have open investigations as well.

A Washington State legislator has drafted legislation to try to curb these kinds of contracts there and the chair of the Senate banking and housing committee has asked the FTC and CFPB to investigate the company, citing our work.

MV Realty has declined multiple requests for on-camera interviews. The company has instead emailed statements saying the terms of its agreements are clearly explained and that the company is confident “any inquiry will confirm [its] team has operated in full compliance with the law.”

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