NORTH IDAHO-- The former president of North Idaho loan modification company, Apply 2 Save, has finally responded to the claims by federal investigators that he swindled thousands of people out of millions of dollars.
Derek Oberholtzer denied those allegations. His filing from October 13th comes as even more people and businesses claim Oberholtzer and Apply 2 Save ripped them off.
Apply 2 Save opened in May 2008, saying it could renegotiate home loans for people facing foreclosure. The Federal Trade Commission, State of Idaho, and thousands of customers say that never happened.
In his filing in federal bankruptcy court from mid-October, Oberholtzer denies any wrongdoing. He says the FTC complaint should be thrown out.
Messages left for Oberholtzer and his attorney in California were not returned. Meanwhile, the debts keep piling up.
Apply 2 Save and Oberholtzer have filed separate bankruptcies. Apply 2 Save owes more than $135,000, most of that in unpaid taxes. More than 8,000 people have filed claims against the company. Oberholtzer himself owes more than $3.6 million.
Figures filed last month show he owes the IRS more than a $1 million, the State of Idaho $1.2 million in taxes, and $2.3 million from a state lawsuit. The money and the bankruptcies are still a long way from being sorted out.
That means plaintiffs, many of whom lost their homes waiting for Apply 2 Save’s help, may not get paid back for some time. The Federal Trade Commission says there is no evidence Oberholtzer is back in business, but according to an FTC attorney, he taught himself the entire Apply 2 Save business in just a few months.
